Thanks  Chis,  Would you use the end grain or side.  We have plenty of scrap popular wood here which might work well.  I had also thought of using chasing pitch, maybe the red stuff that looks more rosin less tar.  Only I thought that some of the pitch might stick to the foil causing problems.

Have a nice day,  Marty

Hi all,  I am wondering if anyone has an alternative method for stamping out foil shapes.  Traditionally a steel stamp and lead sheet is used.  The foil is laid on the lead, then the steel stamp is set on top of the foil and then hit with a hammer.  The lead acts as a female die and cuts the foil as the stamp pushes the foil down into the lead.

I would like to avoid using lead.  Is there something else that works without contaminating the foil?  Thanks  Marty