Jeff

What a typical day will look, depends on the specific project I am working on. We have a binder with pages of information and drawings for customers, about the parts that are to be machined for the project. I will cut off the materials needed and machine the blocks to create the finished product. Sometimes this can take weeks to months to complete the total project of machining and assembly. As a Tool and Die maker, each day is different. For big projects, you might be doing the same thing however for weeks at a time. For example, I might be working with a grinder for a couple of hours or couple of days.

All the equipment that I use is specialized, such as mills, lathes, surface grinders and more. The tools I use depend on the job at hand. Some projects might also require welding and/ or heat treating. On other jobs I might be using a drill press, or CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine. Often, I have to build a specialized tool that holds, bends or shapes a piece of metal during the build process.

Every project comes with its own challenges and problems to be solved. For example, sometimes the metal might not bend or form the way you need it to. You have to determine the correct tooling so that the parts form to the shape that is required. Sometimes, it can be a trial and error process, by creating different methods, continuing to make adjustments until it is just right.

The science of metallurgy is a large component of this skilled trade. Different types of steels react differently under heat, forming and blanking. There are different grades of metal, meaning that different metals have different compositions. Which can result in some metals not forming as easily as others where they could possibly crack. When you work with metal, you have to know the compositions and characteristics of those metals to be able to work with them.

Part of a Tool and Die makers job is not only creating new parts, but also completing repair work. Recently I was doing a repair job on a 4 inch think steel plate that had a corner broken off. This was a 3 foot by 3 foot plate of steel that weighed approximately 1100 pounds. In this repair, the corner had not fully broken off though. Sometimes, these types of repair jobs you can clamp and weld back together, but this one, the corner had to be taken right off to complete the repair properly. First, I had to remove the broken corner by using a press. Then, grind the broken surface edges to prepare it, to have the corner welded back into place.