A great transfer of a print taken from a Master Die. Please note the detail.



I’ve made the case back too, and am joining them with integral hinges and catch.

Gary

Howdy all
Gary that looks like a great pressing for sure . I love the acorns especially the way they bunch up in there .
I’m sure something not many really appreciate is the actual shape of the case itself. Beyond trying to do the fancy carving of the die itself and THEN transfer it to a separate piece … I truly admire the shaping of the case itself .

Do you press the picture / etching in before the actual shaping of the case ? I kinda doubt you do it all in one fell swoop . The progressive type dies would have more uses but like you said earlier the clocking of a witness mark is really important to line up the previous pressing.

I used to run a whole bank / die room full of presses . Most were flat for shearing and holes then parts were sent to the press brakes after . However one die would punch, shear and shape all in one cycle . The pieces were warm and smoking from all the molecules moving ! The part was no bigger than your expedition cases !
I would actually get strips about 4-6 foot long and feed them into the die processing numerous parts .

It really makes me appreciate all the effort nobody sees to craft one little part !

Thanks for sharing and have a great Labor Day

Thanks
Kurt

Thk you Kurt,

That’s kind to an old man. I’m glad somebody with experience can appreciate the work. I can’t help but think it is a bit rare for the one set of hands and one mind to design the process, tooling, machines, and make all of the above. I often realize that if people didn’t have a clue how the game of Football was played (and it’s rules); it would be difficult to appreciate how well the players were performing. I try not to make my posts sound like a huge applause for myself ... but much of what I do is unique. You didn’t just see another group of handmade Cases, Roller Engraving, Die Stamping, etc.

Some of my Die Sets Do multiple operations Kurt. Those are more limited in usage, yes. Because technically ... I should be able to separate out individual steps and perform them on similar designs. Though, in reality ... I seldom do. I have some beautiful Dies from the 80’s that were pressed a time or two. A shame. I do worry a bit who will understand and/or use them later. I hope they are used. I must make an effort to do so. You know, I always had in the back of my mind that these Dies May find a place in my Retirement. There’s a Sub-Species of Barnes men that are long lived. Rumor is some of the first are still with us ... haha. Maybe I can use these Dies a bit more. If I quit wearing out. Haha.

Pop

Hi Kurt,

I realized I missed responding to some points.

Sounds like you had interesting work with commercial presses. It’s humorous ... I didn’t have an opportunity like that. I genuinely “invented” the transfer of an Engraving on a Tool Steel plate, to a blank sheet of metal. Then made the powerful rolling mill to do it. Finally realizing, as I studied books at 2 am ... I had reinvented “Roller Engraving” ... a hundred year old process. If I’d keep studying, I’d probably find it is a thousand year old process. Haha. “Nothing new under the sun.” Then I moved thru bending Dies, shearing, pinching, raising Dies. And thus I invented the Automotive Industry ... ah ... imagine my surprise when I learned I wasn’t the first! Haha. I should come out if the shop more often. See what’s out there!

I did use my 50 ton press in the process of printing the panel you see. And, in your comments, I hear a suggestion that plain cases would feature the work that gets overshadowed when the metal is augmented with relief engraving. And yes, the metal is copied from the Master Die before shaping into 3-d parts.

Always enjoy your comments. Would like to extend the invitation for others to join in.

Best,
Gary

The image transfer is impressive. Takes a lot of tonnage to move that much metal. Did you use the 50 ton jack?

Will be nice to see the cases complete. The integral hinges and the snap lock.

I hope you find a use for the punches you made long ago. So many unique punches you have made, was rather in awe when I saw them in person.

Thanks for posting the progress.

Pedro