Thread: Learning to Peen

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

I really need to learn some peening. The first scales I made just had a flat top on the pins, no fancy dome. Maybe I will try with a spoon. But I feel bad making all that noise in my apartment.

I know what you mean. I've got a couple that I'm working on restoring (one to go into a shadow box in honor of my (late) great-grandfather who had been a barber. I figure if nothing else I can just crank up some OBITUARY (death-metal) so that all the tapping doesn't annoy the neighbors.

This is in reference to the peening post by - The Baron.

Most of you aren't old enough to remember the old U S Navy. Sailors in the old days had some time on their hands and one of the ways we had to pass the time was to drill a finger hole in the center of a "silver half dollar" and then tap the outside edge of the half dollar with a tablespoon so as to spread the outside edge of the silver half dollar only as far as the stamped year of the half dollar. What we ended up with was a finger ring with the year on the inside cicumference of the ring and also "In God we trust". This was all done with the tablespoon as a hammer.

Hammering straight razor pins with a spoon is a perfectly sensible way to get the job done. It is more time consuming but the end result is better achieved with a spoon than with a hammer. Ask any sailor over 65 years of age.

JERRY
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Originally Posted by DPflaumer

I really need to learn some peening. The first scales I made just had a flat top on the pins, no fancy dome. Maybe I will try with a spoon. But I feel bad making all that noise in my apartment.

The only noisy part for me is peening a full rod enough so that the washer won't come off that end -- that process is probably 10 smacks with the hammer total.

Once I have the rod at a good length, I'll do my peening on top of a metal hammer with dimples drilled out (just like in Philadelph's video). I put a folded-over towel on my portable workbench and then place the dimpled hammer on top of that. I found that having the towel between my workbench and hammer really dampens the noise.

I tried this on the weekend and was pretty impressed with the results. I found the tablespoon much easier to work with. The lighter spoon forces you to go slower and the results are much more even. The best part was that the spoon I used did not show any sign of wear from the pinning. SWMBO would not appreciate me screwing up the cutlery.

I would highly suggest any person who is just starting out skip the peening hammer and just grab a tablespoon.

I'd sure like to see a photo of exactly how you hold the tablespoon when you do that! I don't have the best hand/eye coordination and am always afrain that I will miss the pin altogether and damage the scales.

Rich

“Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any” – Mark Twain

You guys must be using very different brass to me, it takes at least 100 taps to get the rod to hold the washer and at least another 100 to get it snug once the pin is in the scales.

I'm using K&S Engineering 1/16 rod and a 4 oz pein hammer. I have just read about annealing though, so I have yet to try that.

I'm using the same K&S brass rod and I'm using a 2oz hammer. I've been out there an hour and I can't get this thing to tighten up. the pins are in and the ends are rounded but the blade is loose and floppy.

Dunno what I'm doing wrong, but I had to stop for the night cause I was about to loose my patience.

Originally Posted by Hydaral

You guys must be using very different brass to me, it takes at least 100 taps to get the rod to hold the washer and at least another 100 to get it snug once the pin is in the scales.

I'm using K&S Engineering 1/16 rod and a 4 oz pein hammer. I have just read about annealing though, so I have yet to try that.

I use either a 4 or 8 oz hammer. A trick I use sometimes is, with a glove on, I hold the tip of the pin on the belt of my sander for a second or two. Not to long because the pin heats up quick and you can either bend the pin or launch it across the shop! The pin heating up seems to make it just soft enough to peen quicker allowing the washer to stay on.

Nice job Baron. When I was in the air force a fellow made rings out of quarters and 50 cent pieces using a chow hall spoon. To the younger members the coins were silver then. The next thing you have to make is a dimpling block and a punch to dome the washers.

I anneal the rod on the gas range. Heat the rod to the point that the rod and flame changes color quench in water. I dont bother to light the torch but a propane or welding is good.

Not sure of the problem. To me, pee'n just came naturally. (Sorry - couldn't resist)

I couldn't find a light hammer, so I use an 8 oz. I hold it up close to the head, lift it with my fingers about 1" off the pin and just let it fall to let the weight of the head do the work. I takes a a bunch of strikes, but it is very controlled. I use NiAg rod which I think is a little harder than brass. I certainly need more practice, but I am pretty happy with first two razors I repinned.