Using silhouette dies in the hydraulic press

[Orchid]

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can help me with this question.

I have a 2 inch silhouette die which I would like to use in my
hydraulic press but I only have a 3 inch container, urethane and
pusher. Can I use this container which is a bit bigger than the die
effectively or do I have to use a 2 inch container, urethane and
pusher to match the size of the die?

Thanks for your help.
Velta

[spatania]

Use the three inch container. The container is used to build
pressure so a larger than optimum container may take a bit longer to
build the desired pressure it will still do it. The time difference
between the pressure building between a 2 inch and a 3 inch would be
negligible. Sam Patania, Tucson

[sheltech1]

You’re not going to hurt your 2" die by putting it in a 3"
containerand using your 3" urethane on it. What can happen is you’ll
over-stressthe urethane where it has to squish down over the corner
of the 2" die to fill up the extra space at the bottom of the 3"
container. That sharp 90degree corner could tear you urethane. You’ll
also lose some ‘ooomph’ because the force won’t be as concentrated
where you want it, having to move all that extra material down around
the outsides of the 2" die. I mighttry finding a (smaller diameter)
substitute pusher that could focus it’s force in the center of the
work, or I might try using a urethane pad with no container,
Not-using containers isn’t recommended but for what I do most of the
time it’s fine, that being embossing with one-step pancake dies that
go onto urethane pads from 1/16" thick up to 1/2" thick, or plastic
blocks 1/2" to 1" thick. The silhouette dies I use are simple blocks
that I just lay a urethane pad onto, and the pad is usually big
enough to overlap the die and be forced down over it as pressure is
applied, just like would happen in a 3" container with a 2" die.

Dar
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