Thread: Help on making custom scales

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You REALLY need to look at this stuff, before you return to the scales..

Just to be clear, I haven't even attempted to pin my scales yet. Everything I have said that I tried was just on a 1" brass rod so I could practice my peening. I am in no rush and have no intentions of attempting this on my scales until I have successfully pinned a trial set.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You are way way off "Concrete"????? Really ???

Concrete was just one of the surfaces I tried, I quickly found out that it wasn't a good one. I wasn't suggesting that it was a good idea.

I tried following some of those "how to's" but I couldn't get anything going. Among those surfaces I tried was a steel dumbell but I couldn't get it to work either. I am wondering if I don't have the right ballpeen hammer for the job. I bought a small one from a model train shop. I'm estimating it to be around 4 oz (it wasn't marked on the package). I tried using different hammering forces and it just barely flattened out the head but would not really mushroom. The washer can still slide over it. How long does it typically take to finish one side of the rod?

How are you supporting the rod???

Honestly I use a 4oz ballbeen and use a bench vice to hold a new pin, about 10-20 taps and it will hold a washer, and that is all I need, I don't try and "Mushroom" the rod until the the pin is locked in place on the razor...

I really don't understand what you are actually trying, perhaps a better description so we can actually figure out what component is missing...

Yes, please take a picture of what you've attempted so far so that words don't confuse.

If you have a video camera on your phone then take a short video and post the Youtube link here. It would be easier to critique the work being done if we can see it being done.

I use a small anvil & vice grips covered in cloth to do my pinning, my hammer is a child's tool - maybe 4 ozs. I am no pro at pinning, but I find little problems in doing it. I cant speak too much on the types of brass - what I got came from a hobby store in 6ft length, and I am still working with that one piece and it is soft enough and works great. I have seen a dramatic difference in my pinning once I got the smaller hammer and started using light taps.