Thread: Help with smoothing pin heads and centering the blade please

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

All good info above,many ways to polish pins but with carefull peening alone you can get close to a near perfect end result.
My method is to use use two layers of masking tape,than use micromesh to polish.
Attachment 190831

I use this very same method fool proof in my opinion and you get a super finish without touching the scales, also you may want to try just taping the blade firmly into the scales when closed then heating the entire scales up with your Wife or Girlfriends hairdryer then cool them quickly this can sometimes make a nice little correction and hopefully put the blade in the right place.

Originally Posted by UKRob

Going back to the OPs question on wedges - it's useful to explain why a wdge is considered necessary, as opposed to just a spacer.

If you take a look at traditional razor design, you see that the tang tapers towards the tail - therefore, peening at the pivot pin gets the scales tight but they then have to accommodate the tang at a wider point. This is where the wedge comes in - by designing the wedge so that the angle is about the same as the taper at the tang end, you will create a bow in the scales that should accommodate the blade at it's widest part without rubbing the scales.

Most restorers pin the wedge end before the pivot - it's always a good idea to test the whole set up with small screws beforehand.

Incidentally, a lot of custom makers do use screws instead of peened rod - they overcome the loosening problem by using products like Loctite Blue. The reason screws are not used so much on old blades is because the pivot hole needs to be re-drilled to accommodate the screw - this is not always easy on tempered steel - re-pinning is a much easier solution.

What type of screws are used and where do you get them? Do these screws cut threads in the holes or is it a screw/pin deal? That would be smaller than any I've seen. I tried lining everything up on this handle using the 1/16" pin rods. But since I used a 5/64" drill bit there was still some play. This play is eliminated after peening. Then there seems to be some adjustment possible by peening. I think I'll use my wire gauge bits next time. I can get the hole size much more accurate with them. OTOH, if I use kirinite again that stuff is soft enough to force the 1/16" pin through the 1/16" hole without reaming. But, if things aren't perfect that might make adjustment by peening harder or impossible.

Thanks for the explanation on why to use a wedge instead of a spacer with parallel sides. Explaining the "why" of things like this is good for newbies like me. Less trial and error for me.

Jack

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I made a little sketch here showing the pin method. The idea is to tap the pins on one side to drive the blade the direction you want. If your pinning is not all that perfect then this may be your problem. You just tapped too much on 1 side. If you bend the pin then you will have to do it again. It will move back and forth when you open the blade all the way and then close it.

Attachment 190824

Both tap locations marked in blue are to get the blade moved in the direction indicated.
Tap the other sides to move the blade the other way.

I used this picture and instruction on a razor I'm playing with for training and practice. The edge would hit the scale when I close the razor. So far I have been able to get the blade closing without the edge touching the scale. Even though that is not good enough for a finished razor (still needs work) there is progress and it indicates the theory is accurate. This razor may be one that the problem is caused by something peening can't fully correct. One issue caused by the peening fix is it's obvious I've peened a lot more on one side of the pin than the other. One question I have is do you change the direction of the hammer movement when hitting on one side? So far I've been hitting straight down counting on the curvature of the hammer head to peen the sides of the pin. But when trying to adjust for blade centering should I hit the pin at a hammer motion angle other than straight down? I hope I'm making sense.

Jack

Originally Posted by Jack0458

What type of screws are used and where do you get them? Do these screws cut threads in the holes or is it a screw/pin deal? That would be smaller than any I've seen. I tried lining everything up on this handle using the 1/16" pin rods. But since I used a 5/64" drill bit there was still some play. This play is eliminated after peening. Then there seems to be some adjustment possible by peening. I think I'll use my wire gauge bits next time. I can get the hole size much more accurate with them. OTOH, if I use kirinite again that stuff is soft enough to force the 1/16" pin through the 1/16" hole without reaming. But, if things aren't perfect that might make adjustment by peening harder or impossible.

Thanks for the explanation on why to use a wedge instead of a spacer with parallel sides. Explaining the "why" of things like this is good for newbies like me. Less trial and error for me.

Jack

They are micro bolts and nuts available from Microfasteners. There are details on the restoration sticky How, what where etc.

The idea is to peen in a circular motion moving the hammer 360degs around the pin to achieve a slight dome.
In your orig pics they seem to be to flat.

Here's a good video of Charlie Lewis (spozola) pinning one of his razors and smoothing the peen. Pretty informative. He has others if you search him on youtube.

Also gssixgun has some good pinning videos on youtube.

Howard

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0mzIKuWkMaw