Hi Ken, I just posted this in one of my tutorial threads also but wanted to provide an answer here too. With the 3D stamps, it can be a pain to get it to emboss cleanly, usually I'll carefully strike the stamp with it's handle and a heavy mallet, being careful not to let it bounce and strike towards the 4 corners of the globe to get a nice even embossing, but with that you can still get some minute shifting/bounce that will show up as not as crisp as you'd like. I tried the C clamp before but just a smaller one, picked up a larger one and that works great, depending on how far into your project you need to emboss, you may need a larger throated clamp to allow you to access the area.
Here are some shots of what I was doing this morning, a sheath I'm working on for a fellow has one of my favorite embossings, a Celtic circle/endless knot, here you can see the great detail even in the texture below the cords.
Using a small block of metal as an anvil, you might get away with some really hard wood, but I'd recommend an aluminum block.
on a flat piece like a belt, you would have it setup like so
here it is with the sheath I'm working on, you can see the block inserted under the leather, I'll carefully tighten it down, making sure it doesn't slide, and possibly will move it towards the clamp's edge to get it to emboss on that side a bit deeper, as it doesn't always emboss straight down. I recommend the screw end be on the bottom side, I think it helps because if you have the swivel on top of the stamp, it could twist itself off and screw you up, pun intended
the resulting embossing, the leather isn't dyed yet, I wiped down the entire piece with a very damp paper towel, not soaked but lightly damp
and here's a couple more I tried this morning to see the detail it provides
Now, you might also be able to do this with an arbor press, that's a bit more money and not as easy to move around, and, I've not tried that
but with the C clamp, you tighten down slowly, let it sink in, then tighten slightly more and let it set and then remove it. BE CAREFUL not to over tighten especially if you are using thin leather, as you can cut through the leather! and possibly damage your embossing stamp!!
If your leather is TOO thick and TOO soft, you might also see the corner of your embossing stamp outlined on the leather, you would need to use a bone folder to smooth that impression out, just how it goes, but that will tell you that your leather might not be as firm as you should have.
Hope that is clear and helps you guys and gals with the 3D embossing method I'm starting to use from today on.
G2
Edited to add:
a tip on C clamps though, a small one you can EASILY bend the rod if you over tighten, but the larger C clamps are a bit more rugged, but again, I'll stress don't try to be superman when you go to tightening down the C clamp for two reasons;
1. you might end up shifting the entire embossing stamp by your attempt to over power it
2. you might end up cutting through your leather and harming your embossing stamp and of course, tossing your hard work down the tube !
I think the C clamp is probably the way to go, as most vices you have to screw around holding things in place while you try to tighten it down, with the C clamp the work can rest on the cutting board allowing you some measure of control.
Same method would work on folded sheaths too, you'll just need to open your work up and insert the metal block so you can clamp down the embossing stamp, just be careful before you open the work up, I would dampen the sheath, then by hand press the embossing stamp where you want it to be, because when you open up a folded sheath, you can lose track of where it should go, the light pressure will leave a mark to help guide you. Also, DO NOT put the metal block on top of the back side of the sheath, otherwise you could mess up the other side of the sheath, so just be sure the metal block is resting on the cutting board and the leather on top of the block.
G2
