Making your own dies

[toxo]

53 minutes ago, dikman said:

Haven't used it yet. I've been trying to find where to buy the steel rule to make my own dies, no success yet. All the searches point me to either the US or China (alibaba), neither of which is feasible. I've found someone selling hoop (banding) steel pretty cheap so might give that a try. It's the same size as 2pt steel rule so it's worth a try. I also have to make a device for bending/shaping the stuff.

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

I assume the UK is too dear also? I did a post a while back about this where I posted a link to  Partwell.

Usually sold in packs of 60/100 so heavy. Better off looking for die makers  who might sell you some. 

Edited Tuesday at 09:48 AM by toxo

[dikman]

12 hours ago, toxo said:

I assume the UK is too dear also? I did a post a while back about this where I posted a link to  Partwell.

Usually sold in packs of 60/100 so heavy. Better off looking for die makers  who might sell you some. 

Even that is proving problematic, Australia is a strange market......I'll try the banding steel, it may not have enough carbon in it to get a hardened edge but should still hold an edge adequate for cutting leather. It's cheap enough ($5 a roll) to experiment with.

[toxo]

14 hours ago, dikman said:

Even that is proving problematic, Australia is a strange market......I'll try the banding steel, it may not have enough carbon in it to get a hardened edge but should still hold an edge adequate for cutting leather. It's cheap enough ($5 a roll) to experiment with.

Another factor with postage is they come in 1 meter lengths. Shame you weren't nearer I would've sorted you out a few lengths. I've even got an almost full pack of 3 point somewhere that my cheapo bending gear won't handle.

If that banding gear is a bit springy you might have trouble with straight lines. (unless you're putting it around a wooden block and then fixing it might be a problem cos you have to leave enough sticking out to cut the leather.)

 

Toxo, that is very thoughtful of you.  I just went for a drive and bought some steel banding. It's 0.7mm thick by 30mm wide and the rolls are between 20 - 30 metres long. They are leftovers from the manufacturing process, they get huge rolls of the stuff, approx. 1 metre wide, and slit it to 30mm  and these are the bits left after coiling it to measured lengths. The stuff is used for building steel-framed houses, is very good quality and is high-tensile.

It's going to be interesting to see what I can do with it. I'll probably try making wooden shapes to attach it to, but the first thing is to build some sort of jig for bending it.

 

6 hours ago, dikman said:

Toxo, that is very thoughtful of you.  I just went for a drive and bought some steel banding. It's 0.7mm thick by 30mm wide and the rolls are between 20 - 30 metres long. They are leftovers from the manufacturing process, they get huge rolls of the stuff, approx. 1 metre wide, and slit it to 30mm  and these are the bits left after coiling it to measured lengths. The stuff is used for building steel-framed houses, is very good quality and is high-tensile.

It's going to be interesting to see what I can do with it. I'll probably try making wooden shapes to attach it to, but the first thing is to build some sort of jig for bending it.

That sounds like it's gonna work. Rule steel is only 0.7 also but likely to be harder. If you go with a precise wooden core and a softish board I'd say you have a good chance. This is very handy for the holes if you go with wood. I've seen them cheaper than I paid.

When I started it was with a large vice, 2 six inch nails and a hammer. Worked well for simple shapes.

This is a mini rolling mill that was really cheap, very heavy and won't do very small circles but good for circular handbag styles. Can't remember where I got it.

[Northmount]

Split this batch of posts off of Clicker Dies, No Clicker Press? as these posts are about making dies.

[dikman]

I played around with a piece of the banding and it looks promising. It's pretty tough and springy but can be hammered into a right angle without snapping. Heating it to anneal it makes no difference, as does heating and quenching. It can be filed to give a sharp edge but obviously won't be quite as hard as the proper steel rule. I also have a hand tool that is used to punch/crimp the banding to the steel house framing (I had no idea what to do with it but for $5 at the time it just looked useful ), it punches a rectangular hole but I should be able to make a new pin and anvil to punch a small round hole.

My biggest challenge though is to make a bending jig/machine to shape the stuff. It won't be difficult, just a matter of digging through all my "stores" to see what can be re-purposed.

[1hp]

these work pretty well.

https://durston.com/product/ring-shank-bender/

[toxo]

55 minutes ago, 1hp said:

these work pretty well.

https://durston.com/product/ring-shank-bender/

That's the one I've got. Handles 2pt but not 3pt. Should be good on your banding dikman. I use a longer piece of tubing over mine.