Cutting repetitive shapes from sterling sheet

[Goldsmith]

Emma, May I ask a couple of questions, what type of shapes are you needing to cut multiples of and how many would you need at any one time?

[emroyjewels]

Shaun - that's exactly who I had found to make the dies, which led me on a long search for a way to cut them/ use them. I'm amazed there isn't a simple, affordable solution.

I'm afraid anything dangerous is out - too much of a scaredy cat for a fly press me-thinks. Will have to think again about whether to sub them out our buy a relatively cheap hydraulic press since the arbor press looks like it might not be powerful enough.

I am however now in love with the Bonny Doon after watching the videos on rio grande. Carole - what have you done to me!!!

[emroyjewels]

Sorry Goldsmith - we must have posted at the same time! (takes me ages to write). At the moment nothing fancy - some rounded corner squares and hearts in 30s-40s. But, that's just the immediate requirement, so I am looking for a tool that will let me grow as I learn new things, rather than just a way to get those components. (I currently buy them in from the States, but am trying to be more self-sufficient!)

[Goldsmith]

Emma, I only bought my flypress because I was making items of 500 of the same shape. If you are only wanting 30s or 40s, I would advise getting some experience in using a piercing saw. At a guess it would only take me about an hour to pierce out 40 hearts from 0.8mm. silver. As for the squares I would invest in a bench shear, cut out the squares and just round off the corners with a file, or just use a piercing saw for cutting them, as before 40 would be less than an hour's work. You would have to want to cut out many hundreds to warrant the cost of a press set up.
As you will probably guess, I am in favour of promoting hand work at the bench, I have an album on this site if you have not already seen my work.
Cheers, Jim (goldsmith)

[emroyjewels]

Thanks Jim. I agree - sawing is probably something I should learn but at the moment the time required to learn (based on my apalling skills!) is not viable.

Apologies if it looks like a silly question - as I said the immediate requirement is for about 30- but over a year I'd expect to use 150+ of them. So any investment in kit would be for the long term and it's money I'm happy to spend if it means I don't have to sit sawing manically. My time is better used elsewhere, since whenever I saw I just end up topping up my scrap pot. (V fine line between artistically handmade and the rubbish my sawing churns out!)

I buy the shapes from the states at the moment, but was hoping there was an easy way to create them myself. Pancake dies looked like the way to go, and I was just looking for a tool to use them in. I'm surprised to learn it's not that simple, buy hey-ho I'll keep looking.

Love the gallery by the way - inspirational!

[caroleallen]

Shaun - that's exactly who I had found to make the dies, which led me on a long search for a way to cut them/ use them. I'm amazed there isn't a simple, affordable solution.

I'm afraid anything dangerous is out - too much of a scaredy cat for a fly press me-thinks. Will have to think again about whether to sub them out our buy a relatively cheap hydraulic press since the arbor press looks like it might not be powerful enough.

I am however now in love with the Bonny Doon after watching the videos on rio grande. Carole - what have you done to me!!!

The Bonny Doon is the most amazing piece of kit but, as you know, you'll still need pancake dies to cut them out. You could always try getting your pieces etched out, which is what I do now. Good luck with it all Emma. Let us know what you decide to do.

[Shaun750]

I'd agree with Goldsmith to a certain extent,I went into an experiment with stamping dies,just cos I needed to make 25 repeatable shapes.Waste of time really,but it's just a thing I do,I start a job and have to invent something while I'm at it.

If you put your mind to it and just got stuck in, the shapes would be cut in a day,you wouldn't have spent all the money on buying and time learning to use the equipment,and you'd be a much better at cutting.There is no course can teach you that,just hours of following a line.
It's all down to price,maybe if you work out what you will save if you make them yourself,it will give you incentive to cut them with a smile on your face,or think.That's a waste of time and be happy to buy them.
Hate paying for anything!

[mizgeorge]

I have to agree with Jim. The setup costs for stamping your own are really high for the numbers you're talking about, so it would take a long time to get a return on that investment. Cutting them yourself is far easier than you think -get yourself a Knew Concept saw (which Palmer Metals are now stocking) and you'd be surprised how quickly you'll get the hang of it. Even in my dreams, I'm so far from being in Jim's league that I can't even imagine it, but I'd have no trouble cutting those sorts of numbers in a day. And with a bit of careful layout, you'll find you have a lot less scrap left than you would if you stamped them.

[daisychain]

I do agree with Jim and George that improving your sawing and piercing skills will help you no end - it doesn't take long to pick up speed and still be neat and accurate with a bit of practice. The trick with sawing is to take your time and don't put pressure on the blade - let the blade do the work for you.
Having said that, Dar at Sheltech has made some dies for me for some of the more complicated shapes I use a lot in my made-to-order jewellery, and I love them. I cut them out with a bench press that I got cheaply through ebay. Dar is great to work with, and there is actually very little waste using the dies, no more than if I was cutting them out by hand, now that I've got confident with the system. I did look into buying the RT blanking system myself but decided to use Dar's expertise instead. It has definitely been worth my while money-wise.
By the way, I also use the bench press to make some 3D shapes using press forming blanks I have cut myself.

[Shaun750]

I do agree with Jim and George that improving your sawing and piercing skills will help you no end - it doesn't take long to pick up speed and still be neat and accurate with a bit of practice. The trick with sawing is to take your time and don't put pressure on the blade - let the blade do the work for you.
Having said that, Dar at Sheltech has made some dies for me for some of the more complicated shapes I use a lot in my made-to-order jewellery, and I love them. I cut them out with a bench press that I got cheaply through ebay. Dar is great to work with, and there is actually very little waste using the dies, no more than if I was cutting them out by hand, now that I've got confident with the system. I did look into buying the RT blanking system myself but decided to use Dar's expertise instead. It has definitely been worth my while money-wise.
By the way, I also use the bench press to make some 3D shapes using press forming blanks I have cut myself.

That's good to know that you actually use dies,and think they are worth while. I'll go back to experimenting with them again one day.