Blanking Dies and Pattern Development
Self-registering one-piece blanking dies allow you to easily cut out precise duplicate shapes from silver, gold, and other non-ferrous sheet metals, affording you time to get lost in the design process and experiment with forming and assembling. Jayne Redman has been using this method for her own jewelry for more than 25 years and has developed ways of creating dies and blanking multiples that dramatically speed up production.
This virtual workshop will teach students how to properly develop patterns that will result in successful blanking dies and introduce them to many of the engineering concepts that Jayne works with in her jewelry. Jayne will take you through the design process from initial drawings to final prototypes, and finished pieces.
You will be amazed at how quickly you can go from original idea to duplicated shape as you make and use your own dies during class. Students will receive a detailed step by step handout.
This course will consist of three sessions. Each session will consist of the following:
- Demonstrations and work time 11:00AM to 1:30PM
- Off-camera break or independent work time 1:30PM to 3:30PM
- Demonstrations and work time 3:30PM to 6:00PM
For more information about virtual courses, visit our Virtual Course FAQ page.
Please read the Materials & Tools tab!
Meet the instructor
Nature provides an endless reference for imagination and invention. The linear quality of stems and the fullness of flower buds inspire my jewelry. I enjoy integrating mechanics with design, allowing each piece to function in a visually intriguing way. I work with multiples of the same shape engineering them to fit precisely giving an abstract impression of their botanical origin. Many years of metalsmithing have taught me the power of simplicity. My forms begin as flat metal shapes and arrive as small sculptures. Their complexity is in their conception as curving planes of origami.
Jayne Redman earned her B.F.A. in Jewelry and Silversmithing from Maine College of Art in 1977. She began her jewelry career in the fashion jewelry industry in New York as a design and production assistant. She started her own company, Jayne Redman Jewelry, in 1982. She has exhibited at numerous fine functional art shows and is represented by fine jewelry galleries and craft stores across the country. Her tools for Making Multiples are available on her website, www.jayneredmanjewelry.com. Jayne is a former faculty member of the Maine College of Art Department of Jewelry and Metals. She teaches workshops nationally and at her studio in Falmouth, Maine.
Materials & Tools
A $110 partial supply kit (shipping cost included) will be sent to the shipping address you have listed on your Metalwerx account. Kits will be mailed out by November 9th. If you register after this date, a kit can still be mailed to you, but may not arrive by the workshop start date. Please inform us if you reside outside of the US, as your shipping cost will differ and may need to be expedited. Kit fee includes the following items:
- step by Step handouts/syllabus
- circular protractor
- super pike and pike platinum 3/0 sawblades - 2 dozen
- skip tooth saw blades
- 36g aluminum foil
- tool steel - 1/32" and 3/64" thick
- cast acrylic
- shipping cost
- party favors
Students will also need to have a rotational bench pin system and an angle finding protractor in order to make blanking dies. They may buy them from the instructor directly at a student discount if they don’t have them. They will be shipped with the kit. Contact [email protected] to order.
- Dovetail Rotational Base with Aluminum Work Surface - $130
- Dovetail Faceplate - $18 (not needed if student has a GRS faceplate)
- Protractor - $12
Students will need a hydraulic press or large bench vise for blanking the dies, as well as numerous other tools! Click here to view a full list of tools that will be needed/used during this workshop.