Thread: I give up! how?!?!

I am trying to re-pin my modded double arrow, and for the life of me, I cannot get the pin to mushroom out enough to lock the washer in place.

It will either slip out of the vise, scratching it up, or bend over, or both.
It is only 1/16th brass rod, it shouldn't be that difficult.

I have tried loading it up into my dremel, to put a blunt point on it, in hopes that that will start the process, but once it hits the full thickness, it stops.



Help me.

A very small ball-peen hammer. This is the job they were born to do...

Originally Posted by mparker762

A very small ball-peen hammer. This is the job they were born to do...

Yeah, but it isn't working.

did you mushroom one end first? the easy way is to take a piece of wood with a pin hole through it that is nearly as thick as the pin is long and the place it over a divot you drill into a piece of steel and tap away the divot will cause the head to mushroom

I can't get the first side to mushroom.


About to toss all the stuff, and just go with some micro fasteners.

Anneal the rod. Heat to cherry red and air cool. It should be softer.

One last shot before bed, Thanks for the Annealing tip!


Edit: It WORKED!

Sweet tip. I haven't had that problem but it's nice to know.

You're going to scratch it in the vice (maybe even flatten the surface a tiny bit where the vice contacts it). It's unavoidable but it doesn't show when it's in the razor. Naturally you don't want to flatten it out of round significantly. I clamp mine in a smooth jawed vice. It's a very fine adjustment between too tight where it doesn't move and you can tap away to peen it (but the pin gets noticeably flattened), and too lose where 2 or 3 taps drives the pin down flush with the top of the vice jaws. I usually get about 10 taps in before I have to re-grip and re-position the pin in the vice. It only takes about 20 light taps to flare the pin end to where it won't go through the washer.

Are you filing the pin end flat (after cutting it with a side cutter) before you begin tapping? That would help. You only need to flare it slightly enough so the washer doesn't fall off the end by itself when assembling the razor. Then that end goes into the dimple in your anvil or big hammer while you do the other side before getting back to it to properly peen it.

Originally Posted by Sticky

Anneal the rod. Heat to cherry red and air cool. It should be softer.

quenching works too- save the wait time and helps shock off any scale