Abstract: A method and apparatus for making can lid shells in die presses, with the addition of a forming ring within the die set. The forming ring is placed between the draw pad and die center, and is used to apply a force on the material during the shell lid forming process. Use of this apparatus reduces the amount of force that must be applied on the draw pad to hold the material between the die core ring and the draw pad during the forming process. By lessening the force needed to hold the material during the forming process, the probability of wrinkling or cracking of the material during the forming process is greatly reduced.