How to Make a Silhouette Die
A silhouette die is critical for making die formed jewelry using a hydraulic press. While there are many good commercial silhouette dies available on the market, you can make more interesting jewelry if you make your own unique silhouette die. This tutorial will explain how to make a silhouette die for die formed jewelry using a hydraulic press or forging hammers.
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Things You'll Need
- tool grade steel sheet or 18 gauge brass sheet metal
- plexiglass or acrylite
- jewelry saw
- spiral saw blades
- file
- 18 gauge brass wire
- riveting hammer
Instructions
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1
Sketch the design you want to create.
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Cut two 4x4 inch pieces of tool grade steel sheet or 18 gauge brass sheet metal using a jewelry saw, hacksaw or bench shear. Glue the two pieces together.
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3
Cut two 4x4 pieces of plexiglass or acrylic sheet. Glue the two pieces together.
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Draw your design on the glued tool grade steel sheet or 18 gauge brass sheet metal and saw out the design using a jewelry saw. File the edges smooth. Burnish the edges until they are highly polished. Dissolve the glue so you have two identical pieces.
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5
Draw your design on the glued plexiglass or acrylic sheet and saw out the design using a jewelry saw and spiral saw blades. File the edges smooth.
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6
Place the two pieces of tool grade steel sheet or 18 gauge brass sheet metal on either side of the glued plexiglass or acrylic sheet. Drill holes in each of the four corners and rivet the four pieces with the 18 gauge wire to create one two sided silhouette die.
The die will have two sides with mirror images. You can use either side but be sure all edges are quite smooth.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Copyright GeltDesigns. All rights reserved.
