Studio-N

RB, the surface is of course important when you stamp. if it is bouncy, that could be the problem. No need to get a new stamp if you get a press, just cut the rod down to about 1" and you're good to go. I put an arrow and crosshatch in the back of mine for alignment but a marker is all you need to place an alignment arrow. cheers!

The real problem is the evil empire got it backwards. The face is brass which is great. but the 5" delrin rod they attach to it is the problem. It absorbs the majority of the energy of the blow. So yo have to hit it with something very heavy and very hard and probably multiple times. In my setups, the stamp is delrin but is only 1" tall. I use the hefty handle to drive the stamp. As we all know, metal transfers energy very well. The easiest solution may well be to simply NOT try to do it all in one blow. Looking at the picture, the center looks good and any fading is in the outer edges. Hold on tight to the handle and After the initial strike, try rotating the handle like you would a joystick while tapping the handle. This will slightly tilt the stamp which should allow it to bring out those edges. Hope that helps. Now if you really get frustrated with it, break off the rod and make your own metal handle. Attached is my original handle (circa 1996). It is a home depot special. a 6" pipe threaded on both ends and two brass cap with a flat top. I use to just double face tape my stamps to it and use my regular mallet. worked quite well until I modified the stamps for the hefty handle. Cheers!

yes I have one. I use it to store my boxes of lettering sets and a few laser parts. It's been moved around the country a few times, so it's been banged and scratched but its' still in one piece. cheers!

I love my plough gauge.

I think this qualifies. Yes, that's leather. (made me give up hope of ever doing anything great LOL)

to say that is Awsome looking is an understatement!

Beautiful. I wish I could paint even one-half as well.

If I am cutting a strap, I prefer to use my plough guage (cut on a push). If I am following a pattern, I use my trim knife (cut on a pull). If I am just reducing big chunks of leather into little chunks I use a rotory cutter. I have a small round knife that is nice to look at.

you just need a pair of undercutting pliers (i.e. dikes). I usually get underneath the washer on the flesh side to cut it off.

#5 awls sold. thank you.

Hello. I'm cleaning out some old auction boxes and ran across these guys. It is a 9 pack of what is marked as #5 Awls for American Straight Needle Stitcher. They are a triangular needle/awl. First REASONABLE offer takes them. Cheers!

Hello. I'm cleaning out some old auction boxes and ran across these guys from CS Osborne. All appear unused but they've been sitting a long time, so there is some surface rust on the point. Nothing that can't be cleaned up and should not affect the tools. All are unhandled and are around 4" long with a 3/8" shaft. The first appears to be an awl or scribe point. The others appear to be stitch groovers labeled sizes #1 and #3. We all know how good osborne tools are. First REASONABLE offer takes it. Cheers!

Hello. It's been a while but I managed to sneak in a new embossing plate between jobs. This is of 3 bikers. It is 3 x 3.5" for a wallet back. I hope you like it. Cheers!

Thank you. this is from a 3d model normally used for CNC woodworking.

thank you

Hello. This is an embossing plate of the Anarchy reaper. It is 4" tall which should make it good for a biker wallet or roper wallet. It is done in delrin plastic on my CNC machine from a wood working model. Cheers!

The largest diameter roll I have from the evil empire is at 1 5/8". The rolls from Bunkhouse Tools weigh in at 1 7/8" and larger and don't generally work on the empire's machine. I keep threatening to make some embossing rolls but have been just too busy with regular stamps to get into any new developments. Cheers!

going on 20 years now.

The OP is probably asking about something like this. Really awesome. In order for it to be soft, I can only guess that it is some type of chromium tanned leather. That is a super large area so it must be one heck of a heat plate and press setup to be able to emboss it. cheers!

Looks like an old Y-653(small) or Y-654(larger) from Tandy before they were the evil empire. They have long dropped that. There is one on ebay right now at this link:

the leather conches (rosettes) I use on my samples are cut using an Osborne rosette cutter I got at springfield leather. I cut the handle off so I could use it with my press but you can use it as a hammer punch. They have various sizes. Here's a link: http://springfieldleather.com/16627/Cutter%2CRosette%2C-2%22/

Hello. this is the results from a 3x6 embossing plate I finished of a Chariot in full gallop. Cut in delrin plastic. Cheers!

because the RM leather is expensive, a lot of it has sat around a long time. As a result a lot of it has sunburn spots. make sure you tell them to pick you a piece that is burn free on the front as well. If you're dying it dark, it won't matter but If you are leaving it natural you probably don't want a two-tone piece of leather. cheers!

Thank for the info WB. that's the nice thing about these - once the artwork is done it can be resized to anything larger. I was very happy with the look of this one. cheers!

thanks JP