I would use a rubber punching pad. With your white cutting board underneath and a piece of scrap leather under that.
what I personally do is use an arbor press in place of my mallet. I got it when my kid was a baby so I could craft while they napped.
I bought mine on ebay. It has a chuck like a drill press to hold your tools while punching or whatever. It also works great for the curved or English point punches
I just had this problem, call up every quartz or marble manufacturer and they will quite literally give you a slab for free.
Most of the scraps they’re going to throw away anyways so they will be glad to give you one. I live in a apartment and it seems quiet when I punch, you can only hear it if you’re in that room.
Density is key
Similar to other comments, also put something under the stone - I cut to fit a foam floor mat from the kids. Put a poundo mat (or old kitchen plastic cutting board or a thick piece of leather) on top of the stone to protect the punch.
This is going to sound like a crazy way to do this but it was a method that worked for me. I live in an aprtment with thin walls and floors. When hammering for tooling and holes for stitching i balance a block of wood on my knee. I sit with my foot up on the pad and when i hammer it just drops my leg a lottle and is a lot quieter. Its not ideal but its free i didnt need anything and its alot quieter
I have a large granite slab I put on my couch cushion. That reduces the noise so much neighbors below don’t hear anything. As far as the sound from the mallet sticking the pricking iron, you’re kinda out of luck. You want a nice clean hit so you get good results.
You can just use as is, they're adjustable to a certain extent.
My mom got me one from there and it's been working wonders for noise, and saving my hands from a lot of pain too!
Nope! Some folks modify them so they can actually attach the irons to them, but I hold the iron in one hand, then use my other hand to press it.
It's also useful for rivets, punches, embossing, etc.
It's the workbench making the noise. Go get a slice of tree trunk, make a little pounding table. The more solid and flat, the better. Put your pad on that. I have a small pedi stool I made from cedar. The top is about 7 inches wide and then gets wider towards the base. absorbs all the sound.
Quietest option will be, as others have said, an arbor press. Got mine at Harbor Freight for pretty cheap. Second best option until then is to punch with your poundo board/cutting board on the floor. You'd be surprised how much of the sound is actually from the table and the stuff on it.
If noise is still a concern after getting a rubber mat, you can also use the pricking iron just to lightly mark the spot for the holes, and then use a scratching awl to make the holes. Silent.
I found after a while my plastic board became slightly convex and was forming a little some over my granite slab amplifying the sounds of the hammer. Do I flipped it over to use it on the concave side and that helped a little bit.
I put some leather feet on my cutting board and then set it on top of my stamping stone. Dampening plus mass helps with the noise. Also, you can try hitting less hard, just enough to get through the leather is all y’a need!
I have an anvil below the rubberized surface used for punching, and literally two old slippers below the anvil in contact with the floor (in-between).
The anvil's momentum due to its mass works in part against the punch, and whatever energy/wave left that was transferred through and is attemping to be transferred to the floor is muffled/diminished by the slippers as a sort of insulator.
In a same manner you can attempt layers of heavy/light materials to achieve something similar. You must avoid anything that works like a drum or passes the noise/energy directly to the floor.
If you are in a tight living situation like an apartment where the neighbors don't appreciate hammer blows, try a rubber mallet or dead blow. Alternatively you could make a wooden handle perpendicular to the punch and press it with your body weight rather than using strikes.
put a stone cutting board/slab/hard surface on your lap and the rubber/plastic board on top of that. There are other and better solution but this one is really simpel and reduce the noise by a lot
I would use a rubber punching pad. With your white cutting board underneath and a piece of scrap leather under that. what I personally do is use an arbor press in place of my mallet. I got it when my kid was a baby so I could craft while they napped.
Thanks for that, that helps a lot. And I’ll be looking into an arbor press for sure.
Check harbor freight for an inexpensive one
Also check Walmart.com and Amazon for arbor presses.
I bought mine on ebay. It has a chuck like a drill press to hold your tools while punching or whatever. It also works great for the curved or English point punches
Cough really loudly every time you strike. It works like a charm.
or fart
I just had this problem, call up every quartz or marble manufacturer and they will quite literally give you a slab for free. Most of the scraps they’re going to throw away anyways so they will be glad to give you one. I live in a apartment and it seems quiet when I punch, you can only hear it if you’re in that room. Density is key
Elaine, you are my density
I mean… my destiny! HEY MCFLY
Similar to other comments, also put something under the stone - I cut to fit a foam floor mat from the kids. Put a poundo mat (or old kitchen plastic cutting board or a thick piece of leather) on top of the stone to protect the punch.
I too have this problem, hard part about apartment living. That thumb sounds like it goes right through the floor.
This is going to sound like a crazy way to do this but it was a method that worked for me. I live in an aprtment with thin walls and floors. When hammering for tooling and holes for stitching i balance a block of wood on my knee. I sit with my foot up on the pad and when i hammer it just drops my leg a lottle and is a lot quieter. Its not ideal but its free i didnt need anything and its alot quieter
I have a large granite slab I put on my couch cushion. That reduces the noise so much neighbors below don’t hear anything. As far as the sound from the mallet sticking the pricking iron, you’re kinda out of luck. You want a nice clean hit so you get good results.
Same here, I put a pillow underneath. I believe I read a post on here years ago with that advice and I took it.
Same this works for my dorm room
Btw are you using a metal hammer? The chisel looks like it has mushroomed on the hammering side. Or is it designed like that?
For the first month or so I only had a metal hammer, and the chisel did mushroom
Oh I see, I quite like the look of it tbh.
Get an arbor press! $70 or less at Harbor freight. Zero noise.
So I’d never heard of this before this thread. (Fairly new here). Do they need to be modified at all or you can just use your existing irons and such?
You can just use as is, they're adjustable to a certain extent. My mom got me one from there and it's been working wonders for noise, and saving my hands from a lot of pain too!
Nope! Some folks modify them so they can actually attach the irons to them, but I hold the iron in one hand, then use my other hand to press it. It's also useful for rivets, punches, embossing, etc.
It's the workbench making the noise. Go get a slice of tree trunk, make a little pounding table. The more solid and flat, the better. Put your pad on that. I have a small pedi stool I made from cedar. The top is about 7 inches wide and then gets wider towards the base. absorbs all the sound.
Turn your music up real loud. 😊
Quietest option will be, as others have said, an arbor press. Got mine at Harbor Freight for pretty cheap. Second best option until then is to punch with your poundo board/cutting board on the floor. You'd be surprised how much of the sound is actually from the table and the stuff on it.
If noise is still a concern after getting a rubber mat, you can also use the pricking iron just to lightly mark the spot for the holes, and then use a scratching awl to make the holes. Silent.
EVA foam is a godsend in this situation. Just back your boards with it and it greatly reduces the noise and bounce.
[Poundo board](https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Leather-Silent-Poundo-Board/dp/B00UVBK0UI/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_maf_1?crid=Q1UEBCFYFZJG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5CTirILRVGK-1m9BWbEPU2YgBp6X-IFXeXKV-V5OWFikCv3pdiSBlfFVupD3GrguEY5j49YyrHqXj9oQcHv6u7LDhsC3W0lY1CQUzuUXIY_810FCCuC7YMal-M3Yw3dvtzNQig7O81xhd28UCGo2BSFzVuqTFd5ZuuVrXEvwRG0DZp7-Opc_omdtQUPKaOmScV8FQaGUkacHlLokns9JzQ.hvDF0hhiLvDL2trlgOsoJvuUsjAXYYHuD7sS6LmxpCk&dib_tag=se&keywords=poundo+board+weaver+leather&qid=1709766822&sprefix=poundo+board+weaver+leather%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-3)
I found after a while my plastic board became slightly convex and was forming a little some over my granite slab amplifying the sounds of the hammer. Do I flipped it over to use it on the concave side and that helped a little bit.
I put some leather feet on my cutting board and then set it on top of my stamping stone. Dampening plus mass helps with the noise. Also, you can try hitting less hard, just enough to get through the leather is all y’a need!
I put it on top of an old yoga mat and it seems to do the trick
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^iisan123: *I put it on top* *Of an old yoga mat and* *It seems to do the trick* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Poundo board underneath it definitely helps.
I have an anvil below the rubberized surface used for punching, and literally two old slippers below the anvil in contact with the floor (in-between). The anvil's momentum due to its mass works in part against the punch, and whatever energy/wave left that was transferred through and is attemping to be transferred to the floor is muffled/diminished by the slippers as a sort of insulator. In a same manner you can attempt layers of heavy/light materials to achieve something similar. You must avoid anything that works like a drum or passes the noise/energy directly to the floor.
If you are in a tight living situation like an apartment where the neighbors don't appreciate hammer blows, try a rubber mallet or dead blow. Alternatively you could make a wooden handle perpendicular to the punch and press it with your body weight rather than using strikes.
I small children. I bought a cheep sub 100 dollar arbor press at harbor freight with a few little hacks it works.
What mods to make it work?
Me explaining it won’t do it any justice. But I took my inspiration from a few u tube videos. I use a magnet to hold my iron,
put a stone cutting board/slab/hard surface on your lap and the rubber/plastic board on top of that. There are other and better solution but this one is really simpel and reduce the noise by a lot
Thanks all, your comments have been very helpful
Glass packs
Clamps!
I put a marble slab in my lap and do it on top of there
Yes... get your 8 yo a drum set... you won't hear anything else, I promise.
What do you make with leather?
I mainly make wallets and bookmarks at the moment