Is It The Leather Or The Stamp?

[stef73433]

I am having stamping frustrations lately. I feel like i am BEATING by stamp hard and still not getting a deep impression. Is it a leather issue? I use herman oak, so I would like to think not. Is it a casing issue? Junk stamps? I whack that stamp several times hard and still dont get an impression i am pleased with.

[dirtclod]

It could be all of the things you said along with your mallet / maul not being heavy enough. If you using one of the poly mallets their to light to be of much use. Pictures of your problem ?

[Cyberthrasher]

I used a poly mallet for a long time with great results. First thing I'd look at is your casing if you're pounding that hard. Sounds like your leather is dry. Depending on the stamp, you may need to rock it corner to corner to make sure everything is stamping evenly.

[rosiart]

Any of the things mentioned above can cause these issues. Also, what are you using as a base for your stamping? If it is not firm enough, like a slab of granite or if your table has too much bounce, you will not get good impressions.

[electrathon]

try moving to a cement floor and try again. It may surpruse you how much bounce your table has.

Aaron

[Harag]

Try the casing tutorial, see if that helps.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19121

I'm new to this but have tried the above tutorial and just simply wetting the leather with a sponge, I get far greater results from "casing" it overnight, and i've also noticed I can tool for longer. When I simply wet the leather, I noticed I had to wet it again after an hour or so, casing it I didn't have this problem.

[stef73433]

Here's some pics to show the dry leather, the cased leather, my bench, the and some impressions.cement slab I stamp on

[stef73433]

I get clean impressions, just not real deep.oh, and I use a rubber mallet or a rubber hanger type thing.I don't have a good mallet yet.

[Cyberthrasher]

How much deeper do you want to go? Honestly, it looks more like you're just hitting the limits of the stamp. Looks like you need to rock it side to side and corner to corner to make sure the whole impression is a consistent depth, but I don't see any real problem with the overall depth. I would suggest ditching that brick and going to a counter fabricator to ask them for a sink granite sink cutout. They usually give them away since they have to pay by the pound to have them hauled off. It will be a lot more dense and have a finished surface that won't damage your leather.

[dirtclod]

Get a bigger maul or mallet 20 ounce or so, it will work wonders.