Kate BachmanThe Venerable Tool- and Diemaker
November 21, 2024Comments
In conducting research to compose the MetalForming Tool & Die ebook (to be distributed this month), I had the pleasure of speaking and corresponding with several tool- and diemakers … and often, their management. In one chapter of the ebook, “Faces of Toolmakers,” we feature actual, standout tool- and diemakers and see them at work.
I had the opportunity to read the nominations submitted for that chapter. Clearly, the diemakers are held in high regard for the many contributions they make. They were described as “exceptional,” “professional,” “patient,” even “visionary.” “Irreplaceable” and “invaluable” came up a lot. A journeyman tool- and die- maker is certified only after a program of education, training and apprenticeship, which can last as long as 5 yr.
Equally clearly, the toolmakers love their work and feel good about what they do.
You would think that a role as integral and honored as a tool- and diemaker would attract many to its craft. The high demand for diemakers and void of available talent speaks volumes to the opposite. Why?
“No one outside of this industry knows or understands what I do,” lamented one toolmaker. “If I meet someone in a bar who asks what I do, and I tell them I’m a diemaker, I get a blank stare.”
Chicago Journeymen. Orange County Diemakers. Diestone
Maybe a dramatic, action-packed network television or streamed series would help:
Scene: A die crashes, breaking the sound barrier and halting production of a complex part just 300 short of the number desperately needed by a high-value customer. Everyone in the plant gasps. A wizened, older tool- and diemaker moves in with a crash cart and resuscitates the die, bringing it back to life just in time to stamp the last 300 parts.
Scene: A young tool- and diemaker apprentice steps into her new role; a fish out of water. No one expects her to contribute much at first until she assesses the core source of a recurring die problem and develops an imaginative approach. She earns the respect of her new peers who see her in a new light.
