Need Advice Stamping

[Avion]

I guess this post comprises several questions. 1) My stamping is requiring me to strike the tool way to hard and more than needed. 2) the impression is not as "crisp" as I would like it. I know that I need a heavier maul or mallet...I am currently using my mallet (1 lb.) because I can not adequately control the maul (also 1 lb.) because of the force required. The leather I am currently using is probably 10 to 12 oz. I am using a craftool pro basket weave. Is a 3 lb. maul adequate? Also, will a more expensive stamp help any with the crispness issue? Sorry for such a disjointed narrative of my problem....thanks in advance for you guys help and advice!

[Dwight]

Avion, . . . I am not the "best" person to answer this because I don't do a lot of stamping, . . . and there just isn't enough money left in Ft. Knox to get me to do a lot of basket weave, . . . it's just not worth the wear and tear on my very last nerve.

But having said all that, . . . just about every time I have an issue with a stamp or my stamping, . . . I stop and take stock, . . . and I've usually either started before the leather was really ready, . . . or allowed it to get too dry.

I usually give it a real good 5 to 8 second dunk, . . . then let it lay on a paper towel on my marble until it has turned almost a "dry" color, . . . before I do much stamping if I really am interested in the piece I'm working on.

I use a 1 pound mallet, . . . and I've found that 4 or 5 or 6 "tap-tap" blows will usually equal one "whack" blow, . . . and most of the time will be done a lot more accurately. Whacking the stamp does not work out for me, . . . but again that is just me.

Best wishes my friend, . . . wish I could help more.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Halitech]

I use the medium poly mallet from tandy with no problems

are you casing the leather properly?

[electrathon]

How firm is your bench? Try moving to a concrete floor or sidewalk and see if there is a difference. It may amaze you how much impact you are loosing to bench bounce.

[Avion]

All of this is very good stuff. I am doing another wallet tonight, and it has just been a struggle to get a good impression, seems I fought it all evening. It may be the casing...the leather seemed a little funky. I did also notice a bit of bench bounce. I think the next time the "force" is not with me, I will hang it up for the evening...lol.

[Dwight]

Avion, . . . where are you located? Reason I ask, . . . I've got a couple spare marble pieces, . . . if you're close, . . . I'm sure we could work out something.

I wasn't thinking earlier, . . . Electrathon certainly has the other most likely component.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TomG]

All the above is true. You need zero bounce or you may be making ghost impressions.

If your leathers too wet, it will stamp easily but will mush the edges.

Like Dwight said... a brief dunk, let it come back to looking dry but cool and stamp. Dunk.a test piece at the same time and try it first. You can always add a but of water with a sponge.

Too dry and you can beat it until you die, and get no impression.

[NVLeatherWorx]

And don't forget the quality of the actual stamping tool being used. For those who are using Tandy starter kit tools, get them replaced immediately; they are not the same quality as even the one you can buy from Tandy as a separate tool. Check your stamp numbers and if there is a "Z" as part of the number it has got to go and be replaced. The Tandy "Z" tools are the worst garbage I have ever seen and they don't give an impression that is worth squat. Ever seen any backgrounder that didn't give a good impression even after pounding it to death? The A104Z stamp from Tandy was the first one I found this with (was teaching a new student who received the kit as a gift) and couldn't even get it to pound through the leather. The moral here is: use quality tools and you will be doubly amazed at how your impressions will improve.

Of course, everything else said here is true and just as important. Good luck.

[Grey Drakkon]

I noticed a HUGE difference when I put my marble slab on my kitchen floor as opposed to the desk it was on, even with it being placed over a supported area. Of course, that means I ended up sitting on the kitchen floor stamping away...

[Dwight D]

Hi there!

Im new to this too, I just started using stamps and have found that a pice of "granite: conter top works well.

Put I am not sure what size of hammer to use, weight wise I mean.

Thanks!

[SmokeyPoint]

Dwight, hopefully you don't mean a real hammer. That's how you damage your tools and possibly your eyeballs. A maul or mallet of wood, leather or poly is what you need. You can use anything from a cheap, lightweight rawhide mallet to a 3-lb poly maul, but there are advantages to the "right" weight for the tool you're stamping. The leather mallet has almost no weight, so it will require a tap-tap-tap-tap to get a good impression, so you're controlling the impression depth by the number of light taps. You could find, especially just starting out or on a bouncy surface, that you get bounces in the tool resulting in the ghost impressions mentioned - they'll look blurry. A heavy maul can do an impression in one strike, but will wear your arm out in a hurry and you need to control impression depth by the swing of the maul. And then there's the size of the stamp. Hit a seeder with a 3-lb maul and you've turned it into a punch. Hit a large, wide meander stamp with the leather mallet, and you'll need four or five taps to get a crisp impression.

I use a medium (2 lb) poly maul on the larger stamps, a small (1 lb) on smaller stamps. I use a leather mallet on certain specific tools. You really need to play with the tool you're using and see what it takes to get a good impression with minimal work on your part. The poly mauls are expensive compared to others, but they're worth it.

Edited December 23, 2015 by SmokeyPoint

[SmokeyPoint]

Avion, for your original question - a craftool pro basketweave should give you a usable impression. I own a couple and they work just fine. Don't stamp your wallet until you have the process down. Practice on scrap pieces. Look around your hide and cut off the chunks around the edges that have folds, scratches, whatever and stamp those. Figure it's going to take you 4+ square feet of stamping before you even approach consistency for a product. More if you suck at it. Less if you're gifted. Case properly - try this: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19121 or follow the tandy leather tutorial videos. Then stamp away. Try for straight lines and consistent, crisp impressions. Initially you won't achieve either, then one, then the other, then both.

You'll need to burn some leather and elbow grease to become proficient at this.

[Nuttish]

I echo posts about the stability of your work surface.

In addition to marble countertop pieces, you can score a piece of broken headstone marble from a graveyard or monument company — they're upwards of 3" thick sometimes. You can smooth up broken edges with a bastard file.

You can get a 9x12x3 B grade granite surface plate for a machine shop on eBay for less than $100 including shipping. Probably substantially less if you look around a bit.

There are lots of used lithography stones for around the same price shipped.

These will all be as stable as it gets if your bench is solid.

Check out Fine Woodworking for simple woodworking bench plans.The laminated 2x4 tops are cheap and extremely stable.

Like I've said elsewhere on the forums, you can make a cheap and super nice maul out of a length of 3 or 4" HDPE rod from McMaster and a piece of turned hardwood chair leg for the handle. Forstner a centered hole big enough for the leg, insert leg, screw leg in from the sides with a few wood screws. If you want a taper, turn it on an engine lathe, keeping in mind that HDPE flows, so you have to work carefully lest it slip out of the chuck. Not good. What is good is that you don't care about precision, so rechucking the thing as you work is no big deal.

[Dwight D]

WOW!

Thanks for all the geat advice,!

I was lucky to have a good work bench to start with, I have always hated wobbly work surfaces.

i was also luckey to find a treasure trove of granite counter top, so that helps.

I guess my best bet is to get two mauls, on for light work ans one for heaver work.

Thanks again!

Cheers

Dwight