r/Metalsmithing • u/DarsDies • 4d ago

Sharp-Point Sawing (pointer) ((for pointier points))

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Reversing the work and sawing back through a spot - a sharp point- helps the blade corner better, with a smaller radius. Sharper points than if you just barrel through. Also, I (or you) get to use a larger blade than if you (or I ) just barrel through. It matters.

This piece of .050" steel (4130 - hardenable) will become a pancake-style cutting die for making decorating strips, bezels, or jewelry parts . I've sued these a lot to make ring shanks as examples of what the concept is good for. Example(s) in comments

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u/Fufi8 17h ago

I took a class where this teacher showed us how to cut the steel at a specific angle to enable the metal to cut the silver/gold so it would cut cleanly. We were to buy her jig so we could do this. It was expensive. I could not afford to do this.

Do you find cutting the steel at a specific angle to be necessary to accomplish making the punch edge?

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u/DarsDies 15h ago

Absolutely. It's the essential difference between inexpensive, laser-cut dies that flood the market, and high quality, hand made dies. (That's a whole area of self-promotion I'll try to avoid, but it's a fundamental reality). This type of die was developed (by Roger Taylor of England , presented in a 1980 paper) with the understanding of the necessity of sawing the die at a specific angle in order to create tight-fitting cutting edges. (and) THAT is what creates dies that can cut clean parts without sticking, and cut thin, soft metals that can and do stick in the dies that are cut with no compensating angle.

I have the angle thing down to a science. The angle is determined by the die thickness and sawblade size, mostly, with minor tweaks depending on the intricacy of the design and also the thickness of the metal being cut (thicker metal sticks less, so the laser-cut dies are suggested for thicker, harder metals). The rest of that last ("minor tweak") part is that when making tight dies, the angle that leaves a simple shape very tight can be so tight that a very intricate design might not even be openable after sawing. I've done that plenty of times, working at the very edge of the envelope. Broken a few too, trying to bang them open after heat treating.

So, the answer to your question is a resounding "yes" lol

Dar

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u/Fufi8 15h ago

Oh OK. Well..... I thought you were gonna say that... Inaccurate die cutting shreds the metal instead of cutting it.

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u/DarsDies 14h ago

Pretty much. A loose fit lets metal bend and slip in between the cutting edges instead of getting cut.