Steel rule die fabrication table

[Ozarksleathersmith]

Serious buyer.looking for a steel rule bending table. Would appreciate any leads. 

[Ihavenoidea]

china die maker bending machine for bending rule die steel making cutting dies in shoes industry (machineto.com) 

I just found this on the internet myself and made an inquiry. They are located in china, and they appear to be the manufacturer. I requested information on possibly purchasing their product from a dealer in the United States, but the one place I had found that had an old advertisement for this product showed it as discontinued. There is no telling how many they want me to buy, or if they already had another distributor in the United States. I hope this helps.

[Ozarksleathersmith]

Thank you for taking the time to you answer the inquiry. I would appreciate any other information you run across including the correct descriptive name of the table.There's one out there available somewhere. If I don't find one in a timely manner or I'll just build my own. I reached out to BAD&G leather, they have YouTube videos of him showcasing his die making skills with this table.They would not return my inquiry or phone calls........                                             In the meantime I have purchased a large Selection of Helmold steel rule bending equipment and dies like the ones I show in my other post on this website. I'll make dies with this equipment for now.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ozarksleathersmith
added information

[Ihavenoidea]

I did not hear back from the "China source" for the table, yet, but I did hear back from Mike Kientzle at AmeriKen and he offered to sell, "Clicker Rule (Rule Die Steel)", and stated that , "...most leather workers use hydraulic benders...", and that , "The benders we sell are made for Steel Rule and are not strong enough (for Clicker Rule)". Like you, I have watched the videos from BAD&G leather and it did not appear that he was using a hydraulic bender to me. From what Mike at AmeriKen said it would appear that the steel that you and I are both looking at using to make dies out of is too light a gauge , but that doesn't seem to have slowed down that fella on Youtube any, lol. I think the gauge of the steel rule would affect the service life of the die for sure, but I don't have any idea if a die made of "Steel Rule" would simply not work at all. I can't imagine it, though. I do know that finding information about all of this is like pulling teeth. It is hard to pin people down to get the information. Good Luck, and share what you find out. I will share as well. 

[Ferg]

I have dealt with AmeriKen, very nice people. I bought my "Manual" bender off eBay, it will help build muscles in your arms.

I own several dies for the bender, they are expensive and you do not need a complete set of them to do what most of us intend for leather craft.

I use the lightest weight steel rule since it is very difficult to bend the heavy material manually. You need one more very important piece of equipment, a small wire feed welder.

Another expensive piece that will save you time and stress? A cutter made for cutting the rule.

I have a modified hydraulic press with a composite plastic about one inch in thickness when new, for under the leather you are cutting.

You will have no problem cutting leather that isn't above 5 or 6 oz. Obviously leather that is thinnner is easiest. When cutting thicker pieces temper the leather as you would for carving. Chrome tanned is tough and doesn't absorb water quickly. Wet the backside first then the front. Allow the leather to dry until it looks almost as it did without wetting.

Baltic Birch plywood 3/4" (it is actually about 16mm or 17 mm). You will need a router setup to cut the grooves for the steel rule. Very important to have the correct size groove or the die will fall out of the cheater board. I buy special bits that are made for using with steel rule. I have a very large commercial CNC router for making  my grooves.

I am going to stop at this point of explanations since most folks begin looking at how much this set up will end up costing and say forget it.

Any pieces I hope to die cut many of, I buy a shop made die. They are heavy steel, will cut thousands of pieces before sharpening, and are economical.

Ferg

[toxo]

On 5/1/2021 at 1:35 PM, Ozarksleathersmith said:

Serious buyer.looking for a steel rule bending table. Would appreciate any leads. 

I know you're looking volume But I thought I'd throw this in here In case someone can make use of it. I'm a hobbyist rhat likes to challenge myself with different projects thinking one day I might be able to get some of this money back. And I use a modified Arbor press though I'm thinking about making a manual clicker press.

This first link is for a roller that will bend steel rule circles in no time and it won't break the bank. I made this circle bag using a die I made with it. I should add that I don't weld them, I cut the shape I want out of ply and fix the rule steel around the outside. This is happy with 3 point R/S.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018JH0S4I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This next link is for a bending jig set.  it's ok with 2point R/S but struggles with 3point. It comes with a basic set of formers (or moulds)

https://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Durston-Metal-Bending-Set-prcode-999-7162

[Ozarksleathersmith]

Thank you Mr.ihavenoidea, and Mr. Ferg for joining the conversation. It's very exciting to share ideas with other leatherworkers and I think that is what brought this website together. OK so on the steal rule Conversation , I just bought out a steel rule die fabrication shop. Steel rule benders that will handle any Point gauge thick up to 1 inch tall. I also bought A commercial still rule cutting shear, and a notcher and nicker for making alignment marks in the die it's self that was show when the leather is cut. I also purchased a large assortment of dies  to go in the bender. And of course boxes of steel rule. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars buying dies from other sources, and so this is why I made this purchase so that I can make exactly what I need exactly when I want it. Thin or thick dies that will work on 12 ounce leather if I so desire. The want of a manual table what is for smaller and thinner dies but with this purchase of the supplies I can do it all especially with the TIG welder I have any other equipment

[Ozarksleathersmith]

3 minutes ago, toxo said:

I know you're looking volume But I thought I'd throw this in here In case someone can make use of it. I'm a hobbyist rhat likes to challenge myself with different projects thinking one day I might be able to get some of this money back. And I use a modified Arbor press though I'm thinking about making a manual clicker press.

This first link is for a roller that will bend steel rule circles in no time and it won't break the bank. I made this circle bag using a die I made with it. I should add that I don't weld them, I cut the shape I want out of ply and fix the rule steel around the outside. This is happy with 3 point R/S.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018JH0S4I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This next link is for a bending jig set.  it's ok with 2point R/S but struggles with 3point. It comes with a basic set of formers (or moulds)

https://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Durston-Metal-Bending-Set-prcode-999-7162

Very nice. Variety is the spice of life. I think we are all enjoying the conversation of steel rule, as some of us want to make our own and some of us do not. Either way I think we all enjoy most anything that has to do with leather! Your circle bag shows your talent, and your work is very nice.

[George1520]

On 5/3/2021 at 1:03 PM, Ferg said:

I have dealt with AmeriKen, very nice people. I bought my "Manual" bender off eBay, it will help build muscles in your arms.

I own several dies for the bender, they are expensive and you do not need a complete set of them to do what most of us intend for leather craft.

I use the lightest weight steel rule since it is very difficult to bend the heavy material manually. You need one more very important piece of equipment, a small wire feed welder.

Another expensive piece that will save you time and stress? A cutter made for cutting the rule.

I have a modified hydraulic press with a composite plastic about one inch in thickness when new, for under the leather you are cutting.

You will have no problem cutting leather that isn't above 5 or 6 oz. Obviously leather that is thinnner is easiest. When cutting thicker pieces temper the leather as you would for carving. Chrome tanned is tough and doesn't absorb water quickly. Wet the backside first then the front. Allow the leather to dry until it looks almost as it did without wetting.

Baltic Birch plywood 3/4" (it is actually about 16mm or 17 mm). You will need a router setup to cut the grooves for the steel rule. Very important to have the correct size groove or the die will fall out of the cheater board. I buy special bits that are made for using with steel rule. I have a very large commercial CNC router for making  my grooves.

I am going to stop at this point of explanations since most folks begin looking at how much this set up will end up costing and say forget it.

Any pieces I hope to die cut many of, I buy a shop made die. They are heavy steel, will cut thousands of pieces before sharpening, and are economical.

Ferg

I got some stuff from Ameriken before, they are nice

 What rule size do you use and what bit for the cnc? 

I've been using 2pt rule with 2pt scroll saw blades. 

The other think to consider in choosing a bender is that if you use 6pt rule, you will need the bender that is foot operated. The hand bender is for 2pt rule that is used in printing and you will need be supported by the plywood like in the photo above. It will be really difficult to bend rule thicker than 3 pt with it. The 2 pt rule is sharper, cuts better and it is easier to work with. 

It took me a while to find a my bendender. They are not cheap and not many around. It will be cheaper to get the dies made. 

[sbrownn]

I had this idea to make a 3D printed die and then leave a slot in the bottom of it where a thin gauge rule could be hand bent and inserted.  The 3D printed part of the rule would take most of the stress and the rule would be there only to cut.  The problem I ran into was that the rule I purchased was too heavy of a gauge to hand bend to fit the die I had printed; the curves were just too tight.  Nevertheless, if you had some thin gauge rule and a light weight bender it would probably work.  The advantage is that you can make a CAD drawing of the shape you want and when you print it it is going to be exact.  I have purchased a number of dies that were made by various manufacturers from CAD drawings I sent and I have yet to get one back that was completely accurate.  I totally understand why that would be the case.