Custom Where's George Stamp

Altering a rubber self-inking stamp to make it easier to line up.

Have you ever received a bill with a "wheresgeorge" stamp on it?
Have you ever wanted to make your own?
Well, it's pretty easy to order a stamp. I ordered mine from iPrint.com (Trodat printy 4911 with a font size of 8).
This particular stamp has a window in front so that you can see where your stamp will fall but for a single line of text in the middle of the stamper, it is a little tricky to place it exactly where you want it.

We're going to create a locating frame that will be visible through the front window. The frame will show you where your stamp will fall.

The first step is to get two pieces of tape. Any tape will do but I used scotch tape.
One piece will need to be longer than the width of the stamper assembly. The other piece needs to be the width of the inner cavity of the stamper (the shaft that the stamper travels).

Place the shorter piece of tape on the long piece of tape so that it is centered and back to back...or front to front... Sticky side to sticky side.

Next, stick your tape to the bottom of the stamp and stamp it lightly.
After you have a good stamp, peel the tape back off being careful not to smudge the fresh stamp.
The ink wont dry on the tape so watch your fingers.

The previous step was just to let you know where to cut your window. Take a sharp exacto knife and cut a rectangle around the text you just stamped.

My stamper has rubber feet on the bottom to prevent movement. I cut the edges off my piece of tape so that it would fit between the rubber feet.

Also, if you used clear tape like I did, you might want to use a Sharpie marker to color the tape to make it more visible. Color the tape on the side that will be on the inside of the stamper so that it doesn't wear off.

The tape is ready to be attached to your stamp.
Depress your stamp and hold in the two small side buttons. These will keep the stamp at the open end and allow you to see where your text is located on the stamp pad.
Line up the cutout in the tape with the text in your stamp, making sure it will be unobstructed. Secure the sticky ends of the tape to the edges of the stamper.

Place the stamp upright on a table and use the exacto knife to cut off the overhanging tape.

Now you are ready to easily place your stamp.

I stamped the bottom edge of a dollar bill, lining up the empty area you want to stamp with the frame visible through the window on the stamper.

Now the next recipient of this bill will know that it has an entry on wheresgeorge.com and can enter it to see it's progress.

I hope you enjoyed this instructable!