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Hey guys, so I finally gave in and figured I'd better get one of those fancy presses for my stamping. Now, which one do i get? I am pretty set on 1ton press, but most of them seem little toys. Any recommendations? Much appreciated! M.

Hi gang, I'm wanting to create a fairly basic 2D logo. I'm looking for tips on ways that are the most cost effective but will still mark the leather permanently. Stamping? Cutting? Burning? I have been looking into customized 2D stamps, but they are quite pricey. Though I'm sure they are a good future investment, I'm wondering if there is an alternative. This stock photo is similar to the design I will be making, with a small crescent moon. Thanks!

I was just wondering what weight mauls do you prefer to use?

Hi, I'm a newbie here although I have visited this forum for a long time. Can anyone help me? I have just had a custom maker's stamp made and although I get a good impression on natural untreated veg tan, I can't make the stamp work on my treated brown veg tan leather. I am using a rubber mallet to hit the stamp and I have tried heating it with a specially adapted soldering iron but it still isn't working for me. I wondered if I should buy an arbor press, but I don't want to invest in one if it is going to be a waste of money, as all I want to do with it is to make a good impression with my custom stamp. I haven't yet tried dyeing my natural veg tan to a darker colour, and I am wondering if my maker's stamp will still show up as clearly after dyeing. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks

This MANUAL HOT STAMPING MACHINES (220v, imported) is brand new, we started the leather project but fail. It is good for making leather logo. APPLICATIONS: FOIL-STAMP, DEBOSS, LEATHER, PLASTIC, WOOD, VINYL, PAPER, RIBBONS, ETC. Capable of printing products like leather bags, upholstery, books, binders, document folders, stationary, napkins, cards, plastic badges, acetate, albums, bibles, wallets, pencils, award ribbons, and much more. $850

All, I'm rather new to this hobby, so I apologize if this question is rather naive. I've been working with some basic kits and belt blanks that were all the standard veg-tanned leather. I'm working on my first custom design where I'm going to make a partial dash cover for my truck. Our family spends a lot of time hunting/fishing/etc and I thought about trying to use deer hide rather than the standard veg-tanned leather. Does deer hide stamp well in a similar manner as veg-tanned? How tough is it to work with? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all! I've only been working with leather for just under a year but I've taken to it rather quickly and I'm really loving it, especially leather carving and tooling - likely due to my past experience with woodcarving - but I'm really having a hard time using background tools properly. I can't seem to figure out how to blend the impressions of the background stamps cleanly, or how to keep the color in the the background consistent - some spots are always a bit more bruised and dark than others even though I try to keep the pressure of my strikes uniform. I would really appreciate any tips, advice, pointers and/or links to videos and tutorials. I've watched a lot of youtube vids but can't seem to find anything that really helps me in this department. Thanks so much! I look forward to learning from everyone here. Meg

I have been fabricating a hot stamping machine in my spare time. My goal is to build an air operated unit at least as competent as the $3,400 Kwik Print 86A/A. Time will tell. Phase One consists of building the heating unit. I will not be held responsible if you attempt to build one of these yourself, which you absolutely shouldn’t do. Heat embossers are made of electricity and extreme pressure and heat and danger and you can burn your house down, maim yourself, and/or electrocute yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t do that. Phase One — the heater The Kwik Print 86 A/A uses an air circuit to deliver up to 1 ton of pressure through a Bimba air cylinder to an OEM ram to which the chase and heater are attached. The machine uses a 400W strip heater and Ulanet Robo Temp. I suspect Kwik Print uses Ulanet heaters and the Ulanet Robo Temp pulsating on/off controller because they’re American made. They’re expensive and I don’t care where my components were made. Maybe you do. My machine uses a 300W cartridge heater and Inkbird PID with solid state relay and thermocouple. The advantages of a PID and thermocouple are that (a) they’re cheap as dirt ($37 delivered from Amazon Prime), and ( once tuned, they’re very stable. My cartridge heater was less than $8 delivered from Amazon Prime. 300W is probably over-spec’d. The arbor press Until I build the frame for the air cylinder, I’m using my Famco 2 ton to test the heating unit. I made absolutely certain to over tighten the press’s guides so that the ram will stay raised. ANY skin contact with the heating plate will result in a second degree burn. The ram has a ½” hole with set screw drilled into its end. The heater The heating plate consists of a stainless steel block large enough to accommodate any embossing die I can see myself using. It’s tapped for a ½” stainless rod that fits into the end of ram. I used a vertical knee mill to dimension it and drill/ream holes for a cartridge heater and thermocouple. The heater hole (red leads) needs to be accurate within a few thousandths for maximum efficiency. The thermocouple hole (silver lead) is tapped to accept the unit’s threaded flange. Mounting and registering dies The embossing die is attached to the heating plate with a piece of 3M heat activated tape. Registration is simple. When the heater is cool, place your work piece on the press with the tape-covered die positioned where you want it. Slight pressure will leave a non-permanent mark on the leather showing you where the die is. Use a pencil to mark the edges of the piece. Slide the piece out of the way without disturbing the die or you have to start over. Place the edges of straight pieces of card stock on your registration lines and hold them down with some hard drive magnets. Don’t worry about the magnets being tall enough to hit the heating plate. Foil stamping dies are taller. Turn on your PID and get the die up to temp. You’ll have to experiment with temperature settings based on the leather and foil you’re using. Gently lower the ram so that it comes in contact with the taped die — always make sure that the leather you used to register the die is under it so you don’t damage it. Magnesium dies are durable for thousands of impressions when properly cared for. Give the ram a little mash. Get ready to stamp by placing your piece against the registration guides. Stamping You can blind deboss (stamping without foil) or use foil. To use foil, cut off a manageable section and place it flat against your work piece. Stamp by lowering the ram in a deliberate manner — you will have to experiment with temperature, pressure, and the amount of time the die remains in contact with your work piece. It’s not hard to get consistently good impressions. Results on leather and paper are nice. Top to bottom left to right: W&C bridle grain, W&C bridle flesh, Brown Horween equine Chromexcel, W&C natural tooling, black Horween bovine Chromexcel, Mohawk 130# paper. Materials 8mm x 80mm 300W cartridge heater — $7.47 delivered — http://www.amazon.com/Mold-Heating-Element-Cartridge-Heater/dp/B00DN6BQCY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1452723192&sr=8-8&keywords=300w+cartridge+heater Ink bird ITC-100VH+25A SSR+ K sensor PID temperature controller with K-type thermocouple and 25A solid state relay — $36.99 delivered — http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RMDZVNO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 Misc. Various lengths of wire, terminal blocks, spade and fork connectors, grommets, scavenged inline fuse, scavenged rocker switch, etc. Suitable enclosure — I had a nice extrusion and face plates 1 ½”+ ton arbor press Stainless steel square rod and round rod in whatever dimensions you want Access to a horizontal bandsaw, vertical knee mill, end mills, drill bits, reamer, taps dies, etc. Dies and tape 3/8” raised/wrong reading magnesium foil stamping dies from Owosso — https://www.owosso.com/Products/MagnesiumDies/FoilStamping.aspx 3M heat bonding film — $22 for 1” x 180’ from Owosso — https://www.owosso.com/3MBondingFilm.aspx Foil This is specific to your application so you’re on your own.

Hi Everybody! Is it possible to make your own watch band and tool or stamp it? If so what is the thinnest leather that can be tooled/stamped? Also does anyone know of a place to get free watch band templates? Thanks and stay awesome!

Hello! I`m glad to welcom you! I want to tell you about our factory. We manufacture stamps for leather carving and design. All designs of stams are unique. All stamps we manufactured in our factory by engraving machine. Stamps made of brass. All stamps have crisp prints. For order and questions please write a private message. Prise: Stamp # 1,2,3,8 - 20$ Stamps # 4,5,6,7 - 15$ Contacts: snleatherbg@gmail.com Fee Shipping in any country.

I am making tool holders as well as laser cut templates. Right now I have 2 models of tool racks. a large and a small rack. the small rack holds 60 tools and is 29.00 shipped in the US and the large Rack holds 118 tools and is 49.95 shipped in the US thanks for looking Lewis

Does anyone have a formula for the curvature of a border stamp? what the minimum radius possible for a stamp based on the length of the bottom edge of the stamp? Does that formula hold true for the meander style stamps as well? I am trying to meander a border and am unable. I am attempting to figure the minimum radius i can bend around using the double stamp ( same stamp just top and bottom of edging) Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, Brand new here to the site. I've been working with leather for a very short amount of time. I bought some of this "Woodland distressed pigskin" from Tandy. It works well for what I'm making. Someone has asked me to make an item for them and to somehow imprint their initials in it. I realize that it can't be stamped, but I was hoping someone had an idea of how I could add their initials. I'm a little desperate to find a way to do this, because people love the item, and the leather used to make it. I'm selling stuff to be able to keep up with this hobby that I've come to love! Please let me know if you have ANY ideas. Thanks!

I have been playing with leather and tooling for over a year now and i have decided to start upgrading my tools and collection. Let me know if you have any suggestions or if you have some tools and stamps you would be willing to let go.. Also looking for a new smaller maul. THank you

Basketweave stamping is quickly becomeing my new nemesis. I just can't seem to 1) stay on a straight line with it or 2) space the stamps properly. I've been watching the Tandy tutorials and always make a guideline and work back and forth on either side of it, but my technique does not seem to be improving. Does anyone have any other helpful hints or suggestions?

Hey guys I'm still pretty new at this, but I'm getting frustrated with my projects turning out mediocre. Right now I'm working on a roper wallet for my brothers birthday so I want it to look really good. Most of the outer part is basket weave stamped and I got about halfway through before I got fed up with the leather warping and the stamping seemingly fading away. I'm hitting the stamp about 4 or 5 times with a mallet on a concrete floor. The flesh side of the leather is bumpy where the stamp hits and I think that these bumps being pushed in is what is making the stamping lose definition. It's an almost brand new stamp from Tandy. I can't think of what I could be doing wrong besides not casing my leather correctly (I followed Bob's method from this website). Did I not let the leather dry out enough before stamping? Or am I just not capable of making something look professional? Any help is highly appreciated, I've learned everything I knowfrom you guys! Thanks in advance!

I'm trying to figure out how to get this light-colored stamping on dyed leather. Is the tooling being resisted before dyeing or is the dye carefully applied around the tooling? Or is it something much simpler than that? Sorry for the newbie question and any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Victor

I grabbed this pic off the Internet because I'm intrigued with how he got the border of the stamp light and even the Seeder. I thought it may be stamped after dyeing to get to the leather under the dye, but I tried it and it was just a dark stamp. I'm fairly new...lol....any tips to replicate this effect?

Hey folks, I'm making a journal cover with full stamping on the front-- about 5x7 and the leather is about 8/9 oz veg tan. With the stamping complete, the leather is quit a bit more stiff than when I began, given the compression from the stamping. I haven't dyed yet, just gave thorough single coat of neatsfoot. It's only been a few hours since I applied the neatsfoot, and still very stiff. Should I work more oil into it? Gently flex/bend the leather to make it more supple? Something else?

Anyone know what stamp this is and where I can get it? I love how it gives a chevron look but I can't seem to track it down.

I haven't posted anything for a while. Here are a few things I have been working on.

This is a newbie question, but I finally got my makers stamp and its a kind of stamp I've never used before. It's HUGE and I'm having a hard time getting a clean stamp that isn't "shaky". What is the best way to hammer this stamp?? I'm using a rubber mallot on granite with (obviously) tooling leather. Here's a pic of one stamp that came out right (after several mishaps !)

hello can yall recommend what weight mallet u recommend for stamping large areas(saddle parts) with a geometric stamp, like this pro tool G2290 (11/16") cant get a pic to upload..:/ would two lbs be about right ? gonna order from Barry king likely and does this type of geo. have a name for it style like a catagory thanks Mac

Hello Everyone! I just picked up crafting as a hobby and have intensely fallen in love with it. I have a lot of projects in mind but the one I'm about to work on is a knife sheath. I have been watching some videos on wet forming the sheath and I really like it. I did however also want to practice with tooling but I'm not sure if or when I can do that with wet forming. Is it possible to tool a knife sheath and wet form it? If so how would I go about that? Thank you, Chief

What do you think of our new tooled leather wallet. Please feel free to offer us any feedback or advice. Thanks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwBIzVlenRI