"Abrasha" wrote in message
...
I can't help asking if you considered or tried making those gold bearing
retainers by presswork rather than the washer and dome method.

No, I never considered that. And since you did, I still would not use
that method. I would not be able to achieve the same precision, that I
want. I am not saying, that it is not possible to achieve the same
precision, just that i could not do it. Besides, I would have to make the
tooling for it first.

I don't think you'd have trouble achieving the precision you require. I
would assume that in a cosmetic field like jewelery, if you can make the
part, you can make the tool (as long as you're not _too_ fussy). Naturally
the repeatability is excellent...

I believe it would be possible to make a system (standard die shoes, punch
retainers, die buttons, etc.) where you could actually produce a short run
of parts more quickly using the die than making each part by hand (building
the tooling included). However, for the most part, the effort probably would
still not be worth it given the quantities and variety of work you do.

Interesting to consider. There's quite a bit of money in making short run
tooling inexpensively...

Regards,

Robin