Hand held "rolling embossing wheels" - anyone use ever them?

[bedbugbilly]

I did a search on the forum here but didn't come up with anything.  I don't have my Tandy catalog handy but I know they show a number of "embossing wheels" that fit in their stiching wheel handle.  Osborn shows 'em (maybe they make 'em for Tandy?) that fit their "Embossing Wheel Carriage No. 459".  I like a couple of the designs and am thinking of possibly incorporating them into holster/belt borders but I honestly cannot find anyone who has ever had any experience with them.  I've given some thought on how I could modify one of the handles to incorporate a "guide" to follow the curvature of the holster edge, etc. but if they are a waste of time, I don't want to waste $ and time on them.  The wheels are supposed to be 1/4" wide.  Osborn says you can heat the wheel and actually "burn" the design into the leather - I'm not to hot (sorry for the pun) on that idea.  I'm thinking that the moisture content of the leather would have to be just about perfect combined with even pressure in order to get a good rolled embossing of the design.  In a perfect world, I'd love to have one of the old hand crank embossing machines where you can have even pressure along with guides and hand guiding as you crank - but that ain't gonna happen.  So . . has anybody ever fooled with these things?  Are the finished results (after practicing of course) worth the effort?  Or is the "oops factor" and "oh crap" results too high to mess with them?  Many thanks in advance for any info/input.   

[Slowhand Bob]

It is not as easy as falling from a log but I have seen a couple of guys who work them very well.  I really like the open ended hand crank machines and have not devoted the time to these as yet.  My favorite machine uses foot pressure and takes rolls of any diameter, as long as it has a one inch bore.  This opens a lot of doors as to roll styles and patterns to.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   I use them, your leather needs to be cased properly before attempting this though, or your imprint won't be good, it takes a little practice, but you can get nice results, I have the same set up your talking about, I used this at first when I just got started, I don't like the way the stitch marker works in it, so I use individual stitch markers, and use the big wheel for embossing only.

                  Here is a picture of one of my holsters with the embossing as an inside border.

                                  tEN wOLVES  

[Dalton Masterson]

I have several of them. The wheels need a spacer built to fit the handle properly. I just used a leather washer...
I have only used them a few times. 10W is right. The leather has to be "just" right. Most of the time I end up having a pretty shallow impression, and have to try to line it up and reroll.
DM (who realizes he hasnt used them in 3 years or so..)