Making a Die?

[IanParkin]

The cutting rule is about .5mm thick
creasing rule is thicker
the rule is just pressed into place

dont underestimate the pressure you will need to cut even one sheet of paper with a form like this

presses to do such a thing are very heavy and exert mega pressure
and are precision things

one way of doing it is to place the form on a base board then place the board that you want to cut on top and then run a roller over the board
forms are made to 0.918" high
the roller needs to run at that height over the form
you place bits of foam rubber next to the blade to push the cut edges away from the blade

I think your idea of 2 boards with screws is possible for such a simple form but very slow...how many cuts do you want to make?

[Tenson]

The cutting rule is about .5mm thick
creasing rule is thicker
the rule is just pressed into place

dont underestimate the pressure you will need to cut even one sheet of paper with a form like this

presses to do such a thing are very heavy and exert mega pressure
and are precision things

one way of doing it is to place the form on a base board then place the board that you want to cut on top and then run a roller over the board
forms are made to 0.918" high
the roller needs to run at that height over the form
you place bits of foam rubber next to the blade to push the cut edges away from the blade

I think your idea of 2 boards with screws is possible for such a simple form but very slow...how many cuts do you want to make?

I need to cut about 100 pieces. I was thinking of putting 4 shapes on one press. Perhaps that is too ambitious if you say it needs loads of pressure. Still I can experiment. The roller is a good idea.

How do you usually cut the form with a slot only 0.5mm thick? Do you use a mill? When yo say the blade is pressed into place I guess you mean into a grove pre-cut to shape.

I was thinking of something like this press, which I use for veneering A4 size panels.

[IanParkin]

Commercially they are done with a laser but one off simple ones with a large fret saw
you will never get enough pressure with that press to cut 4 at once in the middle
you may do 1 if the bolts are close to the cutter

[Tenson]

Commercially they are done with a laser but one off simple ones with a large fret saw
you will never get enough pressure with that press to cut 4 at once in the middle
you may do 1 if the bolts are close to the cutter

It's starting to sound like I will get the job done faster by just sticking the sheet on my mill. Thanks for all your information!

[Musht]

Known as a steel rule die or knife.

Knw someone who uses them for leather , with a 17 ton clicker press...

[IanParkin]

I got these from a customer today
a piece of cutting rule
and a card shaped form
if you want them let me know and i'll put them in the post for you to experiment with

Ian