Freestanding Leather Stamp Press (20mins & NO TOOLS)

So i do a little bit of leather crafting. Mainly small things like wallets and key-fobs, etc. I have a nice leather stamp that i had made but because i do most of my crafting in the evening i can't hit it with a hammer the way i would like.

With no tools and no money i wanted to make a freestanding clamp (arbour press like) so i could stamp leather. Importantly - i wanted to use stuff i had around the house - It did not need to pretty.

Step 1: Bits-and-Bobs

1 x G-clamp
1x shoelace (or string)
1x plastic bowl/container
Foil
1x 300ml injection resin (the stuff you use for securing raw plugs in walls)
a flat piece of plastic /metal (about the same size of the stamp)

Step 2: Choose Your Bowl

The bowl needs to hold about the same volume as the injection resin. I just used water to see how my 300ml fitted in the bowl i had. ideally you want the resin to cover the base of the clamp, this will make it freestanding when set.

Step 3: Hang the G-clamp

Hang the g-clamp form a hook or a cabinet handle as i did.

fiddle with this until the clamp hangs level in the bowl and barely touches the bottom.

Step 4: Cover the Bowl in Foil

I have no idea if the resin would stick to the bowl so i used foil to ensure it wouldn't - simple

Step 5: Fill Bowl With Resin

fill the bowl with the hanging clamp in it with resin.

IMPORTANT - spend a bit of time trying to smooth the resin down. i didn't do this and the end product looks really messy!!

NOTE: The chemical reaction of the resin will give off a bit of heat...don't panic, well i didn't...you can if you want but i doubt it will achieve anything.

Step 6: Remove and Level

Remove from bowl
Remove foil
Attach piece of plastic
- The only reason i had to do this was because i didn't level the top of the resin, if i re-made this i would spend more time doing that.