Thread: Hinge Holes

Tight then loose usually means a bent pin. The pin is usually bent because it is too longWhat I have is a peening block with 1/16“ hole just deep enough for the pin to have a little to snip of when the top is peened. I put the pin in it then stack up everything then take a pair of side cutters and cut it off as close as it will get then peen that. Once it is peened down I flip it then clip it off as close as you can get it. I then peen that with the already peened side in a divot drilled in the block. This should give you just enough.

Also be patient. Pounding it will not only bend the pin but possibly crack the scales.

A couple of quick thoughts.

I agree is sounds like your starting pin was to long.

How sloppy was the pin in the hole in the tang?

Since this is your practice piece I would remove this pin and try again.

My sympathy with dropping the washers. The archery shop that I hang around has a carpet that hides dirt good but also small pieces dropped on it.

Steve, look through this thread. Some things I do to avoid collar loss as well as other tips.
Supposed to be a workshop sticky, but as in most things, I seem to be invisible.
Might help? https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...-halves-2.html

Give it to him, Tom. !!

Steve....when I started into restoration, Tom always rode me about my nut n bolt, pins.

So I started playing around with pinning piece's of paint sticks, and scraps, before doing razors. Still botch one every now n then, but that's the good part about it...just unpin and start over, before things go wrong.

Knowing the..before things go wrong, is learned thru the experience of pinning lots of razor's. Once I was confident in my pinning, then I moved to collarless peening. The final test was to peen ivory.



I use several of the tips, Tom has given you in those posts, as well as from others, here.

Just burn up a few meters of rod, you should have it down by then, along with a few tricks of your own.

No kiddin... I've gone thru over 5 meters of brass rod, and nearly as much silver/nickle.

Originally Posted by 32t

A couple of quick thoughts.

I agree is sounds like your starting pin was to long.

How sloppy was the pin in the hole in the tang?

Since this is your practice piece I would remove this pin and try again.

My sympathy with dropping the washers. The archery shop that I hang around has a carpet that hides dirt good but also small pieces dropped on it.

The hole in the tang was certainly more than 1/16 but not ridiculously big.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Tight then loose usually means a bent pin. The pin is usually bent because it is too longWhat I have is a peening block with 1/16“ hole just deep enough for the pin to have a little to snip of when the top is peened. I put the pin in it then stack up everything then take a pair of side cutters and cut it off as close as it will get then peen that. Once it is peened down I flip it then clip it off as close as you can get it. I then peen that with the already peened side in a divot drilled in the block. This should give you just enough.

Also be patient. Pounding it will not only bend the pin but possibly crack the scales.

Just so I am sure I understand Paul, cut the pin off just about as flush as I can with my flush cutters after the colar is on?

The tiny fraction that is impossible to cut flush is all I need to peen?

I am sure my pin was much too long, that's why I couldn't peen it tight probably and resorted to my 8oz claw hammer.

The pin is almost certainly bent, or at the very least bulged. It goes tight enough but when I open it and close it again it goes all loose - even though it's still tight when open straight to hone or completely open to shave, just loose when closed, like really loose, I can even move the blade side to side a little.

On the upside, at least because it's not completely peened tight I can get my flush cutters under the collars easily enough.

I assume it was because the pin is too long but I did gentle tap tap with the 1oz ball for almost a minute (30 seconds) non stop and the pin didn't start to mushroom, in fact the collar fell off and I lost it (lucky I had enough for 10 razors eh?

I have silver pins etc because they look nice but is brass easier to work with and is there an alternative to those microscopic collars that still look nice. I don't really want to resort to nuts and bolts because the idea is to learn to peen.

I will probably pull it apart on Saturday and try again, these are only $10 plastic premade scales that just need to be pinned at the hinge (moulded at the widge end).

Just to give me an idea, how long does it take to peen with little 10z ball taps?

Yes, brass is easier. That's why annealing the ends of the pins on nickle/silver, can be important for some types of peening. Like collarless.

I cut my pins as close as possible, then file it down till its almost flush with the collars, then start peening. If it doesn't tighten up, file the pin down to the collar again, and peen some more. Alternate each side to work evenly.

Originally Posted by STF

Just so I am sure I understand Paul, cut the pin off just about as flush as I can with my flush cutters after the colar is on?

The tiny fraction that is impossible to cut flush is all I need to peen?

Yes, as close as you can get with a pair of side cutters. This seems like it is too close but it is just right. Often I file the top of the pin after the cut as Mike said but mainly to start flat. That way the first few taps start to mushroom the pin. Some start with a previously mushroomed pin but I quit doing that after a try or two because I think the way I described earlier in the thread works better. By the way I got that method (hole in the block to start the peening) I got from a video taken from the Dovo factory.

The biggest thing with peening is not to think about how long. Instead look at the pin and concentrate on how it looks. It's like Tom Selleck in the first season of Magnum PI when he is picking a lock and the dog is coming down the hall towards him. He says to himself, "Forget about the dog. Concentrate on working the lock." It sounds trite but it's true. Forget about how long or what it is taking. Just trust the process and keep lightly tapping until it is right. Oh, and if you don't tap too hard the collar should stay put. It's too much vibration that makes it bounce off.

Keep with it. You'll get it.

So I understand complety, are we talking about cutting the pin as flush as possible before peening with ordinary pliers or flush cutters?

I just don't want the pin too long again, or too short to peen.