Originally Posted by leathersmith  Thanks for the feedback so far.
I'm not exactly sure I understood the process of bolting rule to wood patterns in the previous post and how this would simplify making home made dies.
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I'm wondering, therefore, if there is any reasonable way to successfully bend patterns in steel rule without spending thousands of dollars on Helmold benders. Should I perhaps limit my home made dies to simple squares and the like? Would I be able to figure out a way to bend rule with a home made jig or am I just wasting my time? |
Leathersmith: Think about the process of die cutting leather. It is expensive stuff and it has flawed areas in it that you need to cut around. Most leather is cut with clicker dies. If you want to get maximum yield from a hide, you have to be able to see exactly how to place the die. If the rule is mounted in a large die board, that can be hard to do. By bolting the rule to the wood form, you get a die that is exactly the same size as the piece being cut.
As I mentioned earlier, most clickers dies cut on a hard plastic surface and the base itself is glued to a heavy wood die board or other wood base. By cutting on plastic, it isn't such a big deal if the press goes a little too deep. Do that on steel and your die is ruined. Also, if the die is pressed too far into the plastic and gets stuck, a few light hammer taps will free it. The wood base under the plastic is necessary because the cutting surface will eventually be filled with small cuts and this will cause the plastic cutting pad to bow away from the supporting surface if it is not firmly adhered to it.
The screw attached rule die was described so you could order the right type of die for practical cutting should you wish to go with the company I mentioned previously. You can also make this type die, but you would probably want to punch the holes in the rule rather than drill them. The screws are anchored by placing holes for the square nuts along the perimeter of the die, set back about 3/4 inch from the edge. Drill a clearance hole through the edge of the die board into the hole for the nut, put your screw through the rule into the clearance hole and drop the square nut into the anchor hole. Engage the nut with the screw, tighten, and go on to the next. Tedious but it can be done. The rule is normally brazed on this type of die instead of butted. The pros are set to do all this accurately and quickly. It isn't so much skill as having the right equipment.
As far as making your own dies. start simple and gain experience-best way to go. Let the pros do the hard stuff until you gain experience. Look at what the pros are doing and try to copy it. At least, that's my 2 cents.