Thread: Pinning

Originally Posted by planeden

What is the diameter and depth of the divots that yall use?
Thanks

I have never actually measured mine. I have a couple and whichever the one the head fits in best is the one I use. After you go to the work of making it round you don't want to smash it flat again!

Originally Posted by planeden

What is the diameter and depth of the divots that yall use? I've seen several people that use a hammer as an anvil.
Thanks

I have several dimples in my pinning anvil. One is from before I used the drill chuck and it is very shallow and not much over 1/16”. It is to accommodate the little bit of pin sticking through the bottom. At that time I would assemble every thing ove the hole, as in pin with collar, scale, wedge, scale, collar, then trim the pin to the length needed for the one peen, tap the top peen to mostly set, flip the assembly, not using the hole any more, and adjust the length is need be and peen the second end. It took me two or three holes to get the length right. I have several dimple that are the perfect size and shape to have a collar sit in. They are mostly for setting the finish peen and collar in when I have done one end in the drill chuck, and just when I am starting the peen. Once I have it started and I am just finishing the peen, I go to the flat surface and flip it back and forth adjusting where the tip sits and the tightness of the pivot. They are not particularly precise or deep. They are mostly to hold stuff still and offer a small amount of protection from some ham fisted fellow from marking up the collars.

Sounds like we should pin a few Popsicle sticks to get a sense of depth first.

It takes very little pin above the collar to make a nice tight peen. Too much and you either have a bent pin or a giant peen. I would guess you are looking at 1/32 above the collar, maybe a little less. Experimenting before you jump onto scales is not a terrible plan. I have had to make several sets of scales from errors in pinning. There is some good chatting on the subject in the what are you working on thread and very good info in the sticky at the start of the workshop forum.

I'd say less than 1/32 for a good peen. But sometimes I like to dome them up higher. More rounded.

Originally Posted by planeden

Sounds like we should pin a few Popsicle sticks to get a sense of depth first.

That is a smart move.

I don't use a dimple in the pinning anvil. I use to but quit .

If the peen doesn't exactly match the dimple then you have a rim around the peen.

I put the pinned side down on flat steel and peen the other end. If the down peen needs a little fixing afterwards it just takes a second.

Getting a deformed peen out can take a bit of time.

YMMV

Hey, I don't really want to hear about how big or how deformed your peens are. TMI and a little personal.

Seriously though, I usually cut it off about as close a a pair of side cutters will cut it above the collar. For me I just had to waste a few pieces of pin to figure it out.

Thanks for all the good advice guys,

I will be using a chuck to pin the first side and will be getting a small vice.

I will attach the vice to a length of 2 x 8 because I am working on a metal table in my workshop for now and if my wife ever decides she wants to use it again and i have made holes in it, well say no more.

I only need to hold blanks while I use a coping saw, files and sandpaper, the vice also has a small flat anvil behind it. I will attach a bit of angle iron to the edge of the wood as Paul suggested and I will make various dimples in it too.

I can drill a hole in the wood for a chuck which will give me a handy little pinning workstation that I can just put on the table when I need to with some G clamps to hold it firm.

I can get a more permanent setup with some steel plate and a bigger vice later but a cheap temporary setup will be fine for a start in case I decide not to pursue rescaling etc.

Couple of questions as usual if you don't mind.

What weight ballpein hammer should i get and how short should I cut the handle?

I am going to get some files, what file/files do I need, how fine etc?

I can only find pin files which come as an assortment of shapes and most won't be needed by me for razors. I can get a bastard file but i think that will probably be serious overkill.

Do I even need files? I do have a Dremel.

Last question, does anyone want to buy a vintage beater with popsicle scales?

Files are good to have. They help in filing down the peen if its too long of a lin to start with. Tkes of burrs on the edges of the pin when you cut it. A set is more than you need as you said but cheep so why not get them. You can spend 4 times as much on one pin file of a quality name but I find the cheep ones working just fine for me.

The hammer. Dont cut the handle until you see what you prefer. Some like them long, others short. Its what you like. 3 or 4 once Chacing hammer is all you need. 10 - 15 bucks on amazon.