Thread: My Great Grandfather's Kropp

Ok,to put it like this:

I have:
A razor.
The 3M equivalent of micro mesh Micro Mesh.
Rubbing compounds.

I need:
A jewellers anvil.
Brass Pins.
Hones.
Scale Material(preferably polyester slabs)

I can get:
A hammer and polish it.
A Dremel(but I won't, they are to damn expensive)
Scale Material(like wood and bone, and some carbon fibre slabs)

I can make:
A jewellers hammer(as stated above)
My own hones(using glass, and diamond powder, whic I get from my father).

So the things in the "I need" list is thing I will more than likely have to import, and they are only pertaining to this particular hobby.

Ok, let me put it like this. My longest running hobby is chain mailing, I have been doing it for 7 years. 2 years after I started and make a few things, I learnt about anodized aluminium jump rings. I searched thoughout SA for them for another 2 years, no success, atfer which I consulted my trusted source, namely Steward from Dragon glass which has been doing chain mailing for 30+ years, and he said, you'd spend less timr opening up your own anodising plant and making them yourself than you would searching for them. There is 1 (one) company that does aluminium anodising in south africa, and they do copper plating and UV proofing. So finally I gave up, got fed up, and ordered from theringlord.com. Then after recieving them and marring the hell out of the first two jump rings with my pliers, it hit me that I will need some protective pliers. A further year passes searching for them in SA, found one company that sells flat nose nylon jaw pliers, but I need chain nose pliers, and their suppliers cant help me out, so I made several attempts at making my own by gluing shaped pieces of nylon to needle nose pliers using q-bond, and yesterday I gave up and ordered two pairs of BeadSmith chain nose pliers for the UK...see what I mean? A month from now I will be able to go on with something I that grabbed my attention 3 years ago, and not one thing was obtained in South Africa.

Wow. That sounds pretty rough... necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. I'm not sure what you need the jewelers anvil for, but if you're willing to spend time polishing it, get your hands on a small piece of railroad track. If you're anywhere near a rail station it shouldn't be too hard or too expensive. For the brass pins; have you looked for brass rod? Or small brass nails or tacks? You'll have to do some work so the head isn't too large but you may be able to find something, at least...

Indeed, my grandfather has a workshop underneath his house, and he has an old(very old) laithe(or however you spell it (the fitting and turning cutting thing, and I considered making brass pins from that. It might work very well)).

I looked for picture pins (the stuff that you use to hang the photo frames off a wall with), but yet again, they are brass plated(however, they are the perfect shape), and I dont want to take any chances on an heirloom.

As for the jewellers anvil, I would like having it, because micro abrasives are so scarce in SA, I dont want to mess them up by having to polish a piece of railroad. But the thought has crossed my mind.

Fang,

What's the brass plating covering up on those picture pins?
Also, and I know availability is low in your area, but try searching for 1/16 brass rod. It's easily found over here at knife maker supply shops as well as some hardware stores.

Hey hey, i had a look nd found, brass, SS and Titanium. However, the thinnest they have is 2mm, and 1/16inch = 1.6mm, so it'll be a tad thick.

Can an expert eye look at this for me please?

A 6/8

I am correct. So I go to 3M, and the guy hands me sanding paper, like he's doing me a massive favour...