this invention is directed to a bi - metallic die construction in which one of the die components includes a plastic flow channel formed essentially entirely in a face layer of metal which has been deposited by submerged arc welding techniques upon a base block of a metal having dissimilar characteristics therefrom . generally the face layer metal is a hard , abrasion resistant and difficult to machine and accordingly relatively expensive metal such as stainless steel while the base component metal is formed of a more easily machineable less expensive metal such as hot rolled steel . the resultant die structure combines the benefits of lowered cost and heightened flexibility in the selection of various face materials for specific die use purposes .