Another custom Gold Dollar, my pinning nemesis

Some time ago I finished http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...d-dollars.html. Now there's another one and this time I got a shot at photography (pardon the pun) with my new Canon EOS 400D.

I gave the GD a square point, removed the stabilisers, did a sloppy job with correcting the heel (may do this over), made one-piece scales out of mahony and had a terrible time pinning them. Seriously terrible, I had to try 5 times and it still looks like a 4-year-old's drawing of the sun on one side. I actually managed to crack the scale on one side during pinning. For some reason, I simply could not keep the pin straight, it would bend every single time.

Is there a savvy way to prevent the pin from bending, especially when it is pretty long in order to make washerless pins? I managed several times without this sort of trouble, maybe this razor simply did not want to be assembled.


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Thanks for watching and I'm looking forwards to your comments!

Nice scales, and mod.

I took a key-less chuck off a yard sale drill. To slip the rod stock through the chuck and tighten it down at a convenient height, and proceed to make the first head. Assemble the razor with the rod stock long and trim it slightly long, and file it down to about 0.5 mm, and pin the razor. Your pins are mostly just too long when you start the second head.

Assuming your hammer is in the 2 to 4 oz range, choke up on the hammer until you can pin razors with out damaging the scales.

Jonathan

That's a good idea! I'll see if I can do a better pinning job using a drill chuck first.

Looking back through the photos I noticed that both heads have cracks. You should try annealing the rod stock. It may be overly work hardened. As that could also be causing some of the difficulty.

Jonathan

I might, but I usually work with NiAg which doesn't have that problem. I used it because I have big brass washers to cover up some of the damage I did :P

How would I anneal them? Just put them in the fire and hope for the best?

From Wikipedia Annealing (metallurgy)

Quote:

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Copper, silver and brass can be cooled slowly in air, or quickly by quenching in water, unlike ferrous metals

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I would use a propane/map gas plumbing torch to heat the brass and quench in water.

When you next get pinning stock ask if it was hot formed or has been annealed. If you find both hot formed/annealed and cold formed. I would buy the hot formed/annealed even if it was slightly more expensive.

Jonathan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Datsots

From Wikipedia Annealing (metallurgy)




I would use a propane/map gas plumbing torch to heat the brass and quench in water.

When you next get pinning stock ask if it was hot formed or has been annealed. If you find both hot formed/annealed and cold formed. I would buy the hot formed/annealed even if it was slightly more expensive.

Jonathan

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Actually,to anneal brass you want it to cool slowley,quench in water it will harden brass

If the pins are bending and the way they are cracking instead of mushrooming nicely leads me to believe you are using too much force rather than simply taking your time and tapping. An old recommendation given to me is to imagine your thumb nail as the pin...if you tap it and it hurts then it's too much force being used for pinning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Datsots

From Wikipedia Annealing (metallurgy)

I would use a propane/map gas plumbing torch to heat the brass and quench in water.
When you next get pinning stock ask if it was hot formed or has been annealed. If you find both hot formed/annealed and cold formed. I would buy the hot formed/annealed even if it was slightly more expensive.
Jonathan

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I would get the opposite. half hard, like the brazing rod from a local welder or body shop.
A simple HF propane torch like a Brulé torch will do nicely and has a tiny pencil flame.
micro-torch
I have never found any non ferrous metal that hardened with quenching, but I may be wrong. I have been an art metal worker for 50+ years using brass and copper, silver and gold plus aluminum and worked all of them plus a few really off the wall other metals in industry.
~Richard

I like the scales, could you post a short how to post about how you made them, that one has to be aware of?

Thank you, guys! I'm looking forward to playing around with my girlfriend's creme brulee torch.

Miha, I'll see if I can make a photo series soon on how I make one-piece scales. You could take a look here for the (modified) tools I used: http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ling-poor.html. I used the mounted jig saw with and without the guide to cut the rough shape of the scales and saw away the inside.

thanks Laurens :)

I just made the small how-to you requested, over here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...rated-how.html ;)

great, thanks :) !

I was also having and occasionally still have trouble pinning but one thing that helps is filing the end of the pin so the cut is square. I tried pinning some rod i cut with wire cutters and the jagged end left by the cutters made the dome horrible. I have much better luck on a filed straight end. Good luck. Razor looks great , scales too !!

I USE THIS HAMMER: Watchmaker's Hammer with 6 Heads
Pretty hard to bend the pins unless I SMACK them... LOL

How I was shown was to use a big tablespoon with a little wad of epoxy putty hardened in it, for just a little bit of weight. Sounds goof but it really works great. You want lots of light but sharp taps, because you want to deform the end into a head, not compress the pin. Tiny hammers tend to miss the target when you are really wailing on it. Also try putting electrical tape on the scales to help protect against dents and scratches.