Weaver Hot Foil Stamping Machine

What can I say? I’ve always wanted a to be able to stamp with hot foil. It’s one thing to be able to stamp lettering into leather. And it’s another thing entirely when you can make those letters pop with foil! This Weaver Hot Foil Stamping Machine is in the shop and ready to stamp!

Let’s start with some initial impressions. This machine feels solid and well built, and getting it set up was fairly simple. The arms that hold the foil rolls are a little wonky and it’s hard to get them positioned correctly, but they work just fine. The bracket for the foil arms that bolts to the machine itself leans a little which weirdly makes the foil sit at an angle. It’s not a problem, but it looks a bit strange. I have both sets of letters that are available (two sizes) and they’re easily the nicest brass letters I’ve ever seen. The finishing on each letter is seriously impressive. There’s not a sharp edge to be found, and they feel really nice all around. I have a complete letter set from another vendor, and the letters are all hand-finished to remove burrs and sharp edges, but they’re not nearly as nice as these Weaver letters. The sets of letters seem pretty nicely stocked so far with everything I need, however I haven’t done much beyond a few monograms, so I really haven’t stretched the legs of the letter sets yet. They come in only one font which is kind of a bummer but it’s fine for what they are. They fit into proprietary solid brass trays with black plastic handles that slide nicely into the machine. One complaint that I have about the trays and the letters is how the letters fit into the tray itself. The letters slide into place pretty well, but the tolerance isn’t very precise so there’s a tiny bit of wiggling that happens. And I find that I have to really push the letters together tightly when I torque down the anchor blocks on the end of the letter slot to make sure the letters firmly in place and not angled. Even after doing this, the letters often aren’t completely straight or tight. Perhaps the extra space and loose tolerance is to allow for expansion when the letters heat up, but I don’t like the inconsistency that I see with the letter placement. One last thing that’s a little annoying about the letter trays is that the letters don’t necessarily slide in and out smoothly. I think it goes back to the tolerances and precision with which the trays and letters were made. All of these things are minor in the grand scheme of things, and I’m being nitpicky for the sake of an honest review.

Once you get everything lined up the way you want it and start stamping, it’s really fantastic. I’ve done some reading about hot foil machines, and lots of people agree that 130F is the optimal temperature for hot foil stamping, but I’m still experimenting. The 120F recommended by the manufacturer seems a little low, but I’m sure I’ll find a sweet spot that works for me. So far, I’ve been able to stamp gorgeous gold lettering on many different types of leather. The stamps come out really clean and they really pop!

All of my maker’s mark stamps are brass, and it would be really nice if I could use them with this machine, but it’s not possible with the included accessories. Luckily, a friend pointed me in the direction of an adapter from Leather Stamp Maker, and I bought one immediately. I happen to think that my logo would look pretty cool in gold! I haven't tried the adapter yet, but when I do I’ll update my review. This feels like it could be a game changer!

The working surface of the machine is generously sized, and it slides back and forth, but I haven’t figured out what the purpose is quite yet. There are grid lines on the work surface that help with alignment, but they seem pretty arbitrary because there are too many variables that can affect the position of the letters and the leather that’s being stamped, and I found the grid lines to be fairly useless, but maybe it’s operator error. I’ve looked at other hot foil machines, and they have fixed alignment tools on the work surface which help with consistent leather placement. That’s a pretty badly needed feature for this machine and I’ll have to come up with some sort of jig to make it work consistently in the future. Without some sort of alignment tool, I can’t trust that the stamp will go exactly where I want it to go, and therefore I can’t depend on the machine to stamp on a finished pattern piece. One workaround that I’ve ended up using is stamping on the leather first, and cutting the pattern piece after to make sure the stamp is exactly where I want it to be. It’s a little counterintuitive, but it gets the job done.

Overall, I’m very pleased with this machine and the fact that I can do hot foil lettering on my products. It’s a really nice touch, and looks extremely professional and neat. I definitely recommend buying one if hot foil lettering is something that would make an impact in your workshop. This machine is a little difficult to work with at first and has some limitations that might be frustrating if you’re not prepared for them. And please don’t mistake my honesty in this review as being displeased with the machine. It’s a great tool to have in my shop, and I’m glad to have it!