RT blanking system

Michaela: I used the RT system for years but haven’t in recent times
because of style changes in my work. First plan on going thru a lot
of blades Next cutting the steel is fairly time consuming. If you
decide to do it as I recall there are two thickness of the steel.
Always go with the thicker, the thin will wear out faster and even
bend. I would say 100 pieces may be about the max you can get from a
die. 22 gage is about the thickest you can cut. A good alternative is
David Shelton at Shel-tec, I think he is in Alburquerque. Perhaps
someone here has info on him. He will cut out the designs for you,his
prices were about 50.00 but that was at least 10 years ago so they
may be more now if he indeed is still in operation.

Good luck. Dave Owen

I have thought alot about cutting my own pancake dies but I feel it
is an area I will stay out of. I cannot do everything and I need to
concentrate on design and production of my jewelry, not tools. Dar
of Sheltech is the pancake die master and he has made 50 plus
pancakes for me over the years. I have dies of Dar’s that will cut
16 gauge sterling. They are heat hardened and will last for a long
time. Dar has a website, www.sheltech.net where he has contact info
and examples of his work.

Sam Patania, Tucson