…and some hand sawing, because why make a die for one or two pieces?
I start with a flower mandala image snagged off the web, make a hardened plate, roll a few pieces from a thin silver ingot, then roll those on the plates, then do some sawing, then make a ring shank pancake die (which I was going to do anyway for something else) buy some ruby balls, do some more fiddling, and take some pictures and shoot a quick video (not uploadable, or too long). 
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Really cool!! I gotta start using my hydraulic press
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Love what you did! Where did you get that fabulous ring shank pancake die? The impression die is amazing too! Thanks for sharing.
Dee
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Dar makes really amazing pancake dies and has for years. Imagine trying to cut those shapes out of hard steel plate with a 3/0 - 7/0 blade. It is a real chore. I do it once in a while with very simple shapes. I can’t imagine doing it every day…Rob
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I make pancake dies for a living 
I’ve been doing it since the 80’s. I just got into etching plates a couple of years ago, and am having fun combining the two techniques. 
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I can’t imagine sawing them in hard steel with 3/0 -7/0 blades, either 
No, really ! my favorite blades only go down to 4/0, and I hated using other blades that small and smaller. Plus, the steel isn’t that hard …but maybe I’m used to it 
Dar
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Thank you for showing us what can be done with pancake dies! I’ve tried using ones made by someone else, but half the time the metal gets stuck in the die.
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Hi, I hear that a lot. Long story short: I make them the way they were originally “invented”, by sawing through the die plate at a specific angle to compensate for the width of the cut. “The other” dies are cut with lasers with no compensation. This leaves loose-fitting dies that invite metal to get suck and/or leave nasty burs. My obsession when I started making them was to perfect the angle combinations and heat treating. At the time I was working on production jewelry and it was important to make parts that were clean, and make lots of them fast. That, or course, meant working out all the bugs of the die process. Having to cut 30 ga. sticky, bendy metals for parts in the hundreds or thousands forced me to figure it all out.
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What gauges can be used with a die cut with your method? Does the metal have to be pre-hardened? Is there some place I can purchase them?
Thanks!
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Hi, My dies are different from the mass-produced laser-cut dies that have (in my not very humble opinion) overpopulated the realm. They can cut thin, soft metal cleanly, even 30 ga. fine silver for bezels. I hand make each one, and it’s just me (a slob in a garage) so I don’t carry stock. Mostly I do custom die and parts cutting orders BUT I do have a group on Facebook where I show all kinds of things (dies) and I do have extras for sale sometimes. It’s here, and there are some up now Private group, but you’re welcome to join (1) Dar Shelton’s Pancake Die Paradise | Facebook
Dar
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Oh, the rest of the answer is : I make dies out of different thicknesses of steel for cutting different thicknesses of metal. A die generally will cut up to about 75-80% of it’s own thickness comfortably, but I like to give them more headroom. The ga. of steel I use most often is 1/16" (.063" or about 1.5 mm) for cutting 18 ga. and thinner, but it will cut 16 ga. Since I saw dies manually, I don’t like to go thicker than I have to.
Dar
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Thank you, I find you on FB!
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What blades do you use? Fantastic work!
Found the answer here I think!
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