So people know the difference, and understand their options as far as
pancake dies, I’ll chime in for a minute. Kevin’s dies are generally
for thicker metal because they are cut by a laser, which only cuts
well perpedicular to the metal surface. This not the "correct " way
to cut pancake dies because it leaves a loose tole= rance between the
male & female cutting edges of the die. However, it does create dies
that work on 20ga. and thicker metal, as stated. His dies are made
from cold rolled steel, which is not a high-carbon, hardenable tool
steel. He’s told me that some surface hardening occurs as via the
heat of the laser cutting, but this is superficial, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, CR steel is still hard enough to cut most non-ferrous
metals well, and these are good dies for many applications.The one
advantage of Kevin’s dies over mine is price.
Mine cost more because I use tool steel, which is somewhat
expensive, and mine are hardened and tempered throughout after the
dies are cut, creating tools which are very much more durable,
especially with intricate designs. I also cut each die myself,
manually, at a specific angle to the surface, according to steel
thickness and sawblade size. This allows me to control the tolerance
very precisely, and make dies that are tight enough to cut thin
metals down to 30 ga. and even thinner. Pancake dies cut as thick as
you want them to, using the right thickness of steel, the thickest
I’ve used being 1/4", which can cut 3/16" material, even cold rolled
steel itself.
Another main difference is that I specialize in custom dies, with
the jeweler or artist providing their designs for me to make the
dies for, and I offer parts punching service for folks who don’t
want to invest or bother with a press. It is highly not recommended
to use hammers on my dies. I also have developed an array of
elaborations on the pancake die concept, including ‘donut’ dies, and
several forming techniques. Here are some examples:
So, between the two of us, one or the other can provide the jeweler
or artist with stock-shapes dies, priced economically for certain
metals in short to medium runs, or (from me) more expensive, but
still very affordable,custom designs, for almost any metal or
thickness you desire. Potter has presses, pricing, and forming
products.
Sheltech has selection, specialization, and punchout service, (and
chihuahuas (not for sale ! ), (belated) Happy Holidays, everyone !
Dar Shelton
PS : I like the idea of sticking discs in the rolling mill to make ovals