Casting Steel Dies?

Peter Atwood

Peter Atwood

Joined
Oct 26, 2000
Messages
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I'm wondering if anyone can point me to a manufacturer or cast steel dies. I want to make a die for texturing and I want it larger than a name stamp, probably in the 6 inch long range by 4 inches wide.
 
Peter, Ive never seen them for sale but have seen some bolsters with a pressed in pattern. Looked really cool. They made their own and heat-treated them so they wouldnt wear out so fast. They wernt any set pattern but more of a random conglamoration of welds and grinds.
 
Peter, wondered how you were going to use the dies, hand or power?

Some of the guys around here are making dies for their power hammers out of 4140, which seems to hold up pretty well.
 
Well, I was envisioning either pressing the pattern into the metal with a hydraulic press or wailing on it with a sledge. Either way may work or it may not. I'm talking titanium here! :) Doing it cold would be better if it will transfer the pattern but you CAN forge titanium so hot could work also. The problem with hot is then you have scale and cleanup to deal with.

I'm going to be experimenting with cast bronze next but still wanted to see about transferring a pattern onto steel via either casting or machining.....Rob Frink seems to think maybe machining is the way to go. We''ll see.
 
Peter, I've made a few for transferring builder information to aluminum, by shaping the Die( Steel)and using etch resist to give me the pattern after etching in Muratic acid. You don't get crisp lines but it works pretty well.
 
Hmmm, Peter what is the procedure? Do you paint the resist on and then scratch through it? Can it be printed or silkscreened? WHat is the consistency of the resist?
 
The resist I use is just my wifes nail polish. Ask her for an old one or you will be sleeping in the shop. For small details I scratch it with an awl. For letters and images I use Bruce E's trick and use a sticker but you want to paint the sticker because you want the image to be a positive. For texture I would just scratch it but use something larger so the texture really stands out. Remember you want to do the reverse of knife making. You wnat the transfer detail to be raised. Harden the steel first and temper it on the hard side. Make sure you coat the non textured parts (Back, sides, etc)or it will reduce in size when you etch. I press it in a vice. I put a lead sheet on one jaw and the die I made on the other and squish it. Works fine for aluminum but you may want to use a press for harder stuff.
Look for the stronger acid. If I remember correctly I used 20%.
 
can ti be die pressed in such detail ? im not sure what
your doing exactly..but if its detail pressing..id check with a
metalurigst first to see if ti will actually allow die pressing
for detail..i tried to rollerpress texture into ti once on my
gold/silver roller mill..the ti cracked ... good luck..dm
 
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