Hardtack box stencil....

[skamikaze]

Anyone know where I can find a good stencil for a hardtack box?

[Brett]

I looked everywhere for a period-type stencil for ammunition boxes. Unless there's a source I'm not aware of (and I'd love to know if there is) the only stencils I could find pre-cut were the more traditional "Army" stencil. Lots of people use these for ammo boxes, but I can't find any period boxes with this exact kind of lettering.

Instead I found a period font, tweaked the letters to match the period letters on the original boxes in Photoshop, and printed them out on heavy cardstock. Then I cut out the stencils by hand. Took about an hour with an X-acto knife, and some trial and error, but the hand-cut stencils provide a very authentic result. I can put the letterin' onto three or four boxes with the same stencil until they get soggy and start to rip.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you ever do find a source for period stencils.

[Ofcalipka]

I made a likeness from photos I found on the internet then printed it out and traced it onto my Army bread box I made with a piece of carbon paper. A little finesse with a sharpie and it looked pretty good to me. If your planning on mass producing these boxes same theory but use an exacto on an old manilla folder to make your stencil. Time consuming but once made you can pump out a ton of stencils.