How to Change Date Cogs on Metal Stamps

Stamp the correct date by spinning the cogs on the bottom.

According to Minnesota Public Radio contributor Marianne Combs, rubber stamps were first introduced to the office environment in the late 1800s (see References). For modern-day offices that deal with time-sensitive material, metal date stamps with rubber bottoms are still a must-have. They allow you to stamp any document with the correct date for processing and record-keeping. The stamps work by having an abbreviation of each month, the numbers 0 through 9 and a variety of years on the bottom of the stamps. You can change the date by spinning the metal cogs on the stamp until the bottom rubber reads the correct date.

Instructions

1. Flip the stamp over so that you're viewing the rubber surface on the face of the stamp. You'll notice that the letters and numbers are backward, but you should still be able to make out the date that it currently reads. If you have a self-inking stamp, find the view window on the side of the stamp that allows you to see the current date.

2. Spin the cog farthest to the right if you have a traditional stamp, and farthest to the left if you have a self-inking stamp. This will be the month cog. You'll notice that all of the months are abbreviated to make room on the stamp. Spin the cog until the correct date is on the flat surface of the rubber or you can see the correct month through the viewing window on the side of the stamp.

3. Move to the center cogs. You'll see two cogs the represent the first and second number of the current date. If the date is only a singular number, such as January 2nd, choose the numbers "0" and "2" to represent the correct date.

4. Turn the cogs on the last numbers to read the current year. Some metal stamps have all four numbers of the year on one rubber panel, while others will allow you to choose each number of the year individually using the cogs. Spin until the correct date is reached and check the entire date to make sure that it reads properly before you use the stamp.

References

• Minnesota Public Radio: Rubber Stamps: Office Tool or Art Object?