Hand Embossing Roller

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I was cleaning out a drawer in one of my leather working tool boxes and found this thing.



I've never found a use for it. The tines are somewhat equally spaced but they are not the same (some thinner, some at different angles) so it wouldn't make any kind of decorative impressions. Maybe it was used for book binding or printing in centuries past. Years ago I had found it in a box of old stuff in my father's shop and grabbed it to maybe use for leather working. It's been taking up drawer space ever since.

Many times I've considered getting an embossing wheel to make a border on a holster but just didn't want to spend the money for one. So I ordered an embossing wheel from ebay hoping it could be made to fit in it. I could have also bought the handle for it but it wasn't worth the additional $40 Tandy wants for the thing. I rummaged around in my used and maybe-someday-wanted aircraft hardware.



The search netted an AN3 button head machine screw the right length, an AN close tolerance nut and two brass washers.

To remove the wheel, I ground off the ends of the pivot shaft and removed it. Then I ground the end down to be smaller so it wouldn't drag on the leather when rolling the wheel. A little Birchwood Casey Super Blue and the ends looked like the rest of it.



Assembled it made a crude-looking but usable tool. Now I guess I'll have to think of something to use it on to make the $10 and the half hour's time worthwhile.

[Rube Burrows]

Always nice when you can repurpose an old tool for a new use. Great job.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Always nice when you can repurpose an old tool for a new use. Great job.

That's for sure. Especially when it wasn't being used before.

[Major 2]

That appears to be an old (worn out) pounce wheel.
Very cool repurpose job 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thanks, Major. Pounce wheel? Possibly, but the tips were 1/4" wide with flattened tips probably a little more than that apart.

[Davem]

I never thought about a hand embossing tool. I did some spur straps/leathers a while back.  Border groove, then another border groove, mule shoe along the second groove and basket weave in the middle.  Between the 2 grooves I used a micro screwdriver at an angle to create sort of a rope effect. Looks "okay" but I want something better. I was hunting around for a stamp type tool but what would work really good, if they made it, is a roller tool that created this rope effect.   Is there such a tool?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I never thought about a hand embossing tool. I did some spur straps/leathers a while back.  Border groove, then another border groove, mule shoe along the second groove and basket weave in the middle.  Between the 2 grooves I used a micro screwdriver at an angle to create sort of a rope effect. Looks "okay" but I want something better. I was hunting around for a stamp type tool but what would work really good, if they made it, is a roller tool that created this rope effect.   Is there such a tool?

There is. Here's a link to an ebay listing for just the roller.

And here's a link to the handle to hold the roller.

These are Tandy tools and are available other places, I just looked on ebay to find them to show you. In the description they give the part numbers if you want to do a search for them elsewhere. CS Osborne also makes these type of embossing tools, too.

[Davem]

Well I guess I am revealing my ignorance but on the other hand, that's how we learn. I didn't even know such tools existed.  Tandy sells a booklet (maybe 50 pages) on leather working and so far that has been my go to information source.  I am realizing there is a whole lot more to it.  I have just got into carving leather and I am now learning about braiding the edges, etc. so a whole new world. In any event thanks very much for the links.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Glad to help, Dave. There are so many great ways to work leather I suspect no one knows all of them. We just keep sharing ideas. I look forward to seeing your leather work.