Clicker dies, no clicker press?

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Hey all,

So I have a bit of a conundrum…

Is there a way to use clicker dies without dropping the money for a press? Possibly a deadblow mallet? I know the Vevor press is quite affordable, but it’s still $200 that I don’t have. 
My “shop” is just myself, my wife and daughter (so really just myself lol), so any time I save by skipping templates I can put into my forge. Or doing dishes. Depends if the wife is home or not…

Thanks for any thoughts/advice/commiseration,

AZR

[kgg]

39 minutes ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Is there a way to use clicker dies without dropping the money for a press?

Maybe a vise and a couple of boards.

kgg

[fredk]

Two boards and some C clamps

or

a solid surface, a mallet and a sacrificial piece of wood

Edited August 18 by fredk

[dikman]

I have a couple of small dies for cutting out key fobs so I thought my arbor press should work - it did, but not very well. So I tried a block of wood and a hammer, it also worked, sort of. Next was a bench vise and a couple of pieces of wood, that worked ok. Use a plastic chopping board under the leather as it will be better for the cutting edge.

One of those shop hydraulic presses should work well but will be a bit slow if you want to cut out a lot of stuff.

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Thank you for your input, guys. I think I’ll try the stud sandwich first (lumber, guys, lumber…) and start with a mallet and move up. Like I learned from my time framing, When in doubt, use a bigger hammer… 😁

Luckily, it’s really only for small pieces, keychains/coasters/bracelets and the like, but anything that will help my efficiency. 
 

AZR

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

43 minutes ago, dikman said:

I have a couple of small dies for cutting out key fobs so I thought my arbor press should work - it did, but not very well. So I tried a block of wood and a hammer, it also worked, sort of. Next was a bench vise and a couple of pieces of wood, that worked ok. Use a plastic chopping board under the leather as it will be better for the cutting edge.

One of those shop hydraulic presses should work well but will be a bit slow if you want to cut out a lot of stuff.

How’s that Vevor press working out for you?

[toxo]

Placing leather on an upturned die and tapping around with a soft plastic mallet is perfectly feasible but the leather will move around unless you can find a way to stabilise it. Perhaps spray gluing on to a soft cutting board or some MDF might hold it. As dikman says, an arbor press and a soft board will work for smaller dies.

[SUP]

8 hours ago, toxo said:

Placing leather on an upturned die and tapping around with a soft plastic mallet i

You get soft plastic mallets specifically for this, these days. 

Amazon.com: barenx Leather Craft Puzzle Mold Punch Stick Cylinder Rod Hammer DIY Handicraft

 

8 hours ago, toxo said:

but the leather will move around unless you can find a way to stabilise it.

Just holding it in place works for me because I can see where I need to hit the soft mallet and am not working blind like when the die is placed cutting side down. 

 

 

[dikman]

On 8/18/2025 at 5:37 PM, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

How’s that Vevor press working out for you?

Haven't used it yet.

But the Vevor is a nicely made tool, built like a tank!

Edited August 23 by Northmount
Removed paragraph about sourcing material for making dies as that off topic section was moved to a new thread.

[toxo]

1 hour ago, SUP said:

You get soft plastic mallets specifically for this, these days. 

Amazon.com: barenx Leather Craft Puzzle Mold Punch Stick Cylinder Rod Hammer DIY Handicraft

 

Just holding it in place works for me because I can see where I need to hit the soft mallet and am not working blind like when the die is placed cutting side down. 

 

 

I was thinking bag sized panels. A bonus if you have another pair of hands to hold it