All About Pocket Knives

Welcome, I am glad to see you here Tom and Tom Williams (CAMCO) also. You guys bring a lot of knowledge, which we can never have enough of. Tom aka tjlcutler

Diligence wrote:Tom - great to have you here....I'm so looking forward to hearing some tips and trick from a "real" cutler.

I made myself a pin spinner like the one that Orvet posted - it seems to not work very well. Still struggling with getting that technique down pat.....one of these days.

Anyway - welcome aboard Tom...

Jaye

The spinner that Orvet posted was from Camillus. That is if I saw the right one. They where made from carbide.
I have made some from tool steel. When useing any spinner in a drill press I will put grease on the pin and then spin it. Sometimes that helps. It also cuts down on the heat that you make. So it won't burn your covers
I also like to use a dead pin with a cup shaped hole in it on the table of the drill press. This will help hold the pin when spinning. Then you can just flip it over and do the other side.

TJ - after spinning, was the pin well "domed", or was additional buffing required to smooth it out?

On the spinners I have made, they all seem to make a bit of a "tent" to the dome on the pin, as the spinner was made from drilling with a conventional drill - therefore, flat sides to the bottom of the hole - if that's clear.

Could you provide the steps you used to build your spinners of tool steel? Might be a good addition to the info posted by Tom from Camco....

Thanks,
Jaye

PS - I have to say, the whole idea of learning how to be a culter really peeks my interest. I think it would be a very special occupation.

Jaye,
When I make a spinner I don't use a drill to make the hole, I use a carbide burr. That helps to minimize the "tenting."

I will try to post more later on how I make them. We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel & things are crazy around our house just now.
Dale

Diligence wrote:bump....

Dale - can you post a photo of one of the finished pins? curious to see how it compares to a factory job.

by the way - this was a great topic!

OK Jaye, here is the answer to your question.
I made a new Camillus style spinner tonight & spun a couple pins to hold the bone scales on a Camillus camper.

I started out with 1/16 inch pins (.0625 inches). The picture below shows the 1/16 inch pin stock in the middle and the pins I spun on either side. One came out at .096 inch and the other at .0975 inch. They are so small I had to scan them at 600 dpi to get any resolution.

I followed Tom’s tip & used oil on the spinner. I used UltraLube Super Premium metal cutting lube (from http://www.USAknifemaker.com). I think the lube had a lot to do with how nicely they came out. They spun up very quickly in about 15-20 seconds. I have to say these are some of the nicer pins I have made.

I don’t know that the brand of the lube I used has anything to do with my success, but I am sure that lubrication makes a BIG difference. These pins spun faster than any I have done & didn’t leave a bunch of brass stuck to the bottom of the spinner as normally happens for me. I think that is why these heads came out so nice.

I hope this helps,
Dale

ok Dale, cool post, what did you make the spinner from? I need to make up a few for backups. I always like having a fgew of each "just in caSE"

I made it from a set screw.

cool

Those look good Dale!

I made 4 spinners tonight and actually got one to spin a head to 0.105 inches. That is a pretty big head for a 1/16 inch pin.

Dale

Dale,
I received the spinner that you sent to me. I will try using it this weekend. I will let you know the results.

Tom Williams

Dale - thanks for posting that on the 22nd....I missed it completely. Been getting busy at work again...I guess I have to get one of those carbide cutters...

j

Well - gave the home made spinners a re-test. Managed to make one out of a set screw and could get pretty good domes on the 1/16" dia. HOWEVER, the 3/32" dia pins just will not spin for me. Either I'm making the spinner wrong, or the earth has more gravity pulling east in my town.

When I try to do the bigger pins, the spinner kicks the pin out of the way....almost like I've not centered the pin under the spinner, but I have...I've made the spinners to resemble the ones posted, but just not having any luck.

...just came in from the shop - frustrated and needing a break.

J

J-
Are you using some oil on the spinner when you are using it?
Use a heavier oil like 30wt motor oil or a cutting oil.
It makes a tremendous difference for me.

Let us know how it works.

Dale

thanks for the heavy oil tip Dale - I did use some very light gun oil....

tonight I'll try again....see if my shop smiles on me

Well - round 12 of the spinner saga....

used the 1/16" spinner on a knife tonight - worked just fine - domes are tented, but nothing that a quick touch with some sandpaper won't cure.

3/32" still giving problems. A very flat dome of small diameter results. Made another spinner and had same results, so I think it must be the size of the cup cut into the spinner. I found out why the spinner was kicking the pin out of the way. I was using scrap pins from old knives, and the hole I was using was too large so the pin could move around. I might just drill into my spinner to make tented pins...test that theory tomorrow.

j

orvet wrote:I made 4 spinners tonight and actually got one to spin a head to 0.105 inches. That is a pretty big head for a 1/16 inch pin.

Dale

This is a great thread but frustrating. In 5 pages not one person has said how big/wide the cup/bowl of the spinner should be for each size of pin. It seems to me to be impossible to nip and tuck a pin spinner until you hit on the correct size. If it will spin a 1/16 (.0625) pin to .105" then the bowl of the spinner must be at least that big? What if you are in a tight spot and need the pin to tighten the handle down at .090 without a gap under and without hitting the handle with the extra diameter of the spinner that you don't need?

It seems it doesn't matter (to some extent) how large the diameter of the dome of the pin is but that it is flat on the bottom, large enough to cover the hole and tight against the handle material. The outside of a spinner with a .105 bowl would hit the handle before the pin was spun down to the handle unless you wanted a .105 head on your pin. Or am I missing something?

Do you make a different spinner for each job? If not, what is the diameter of the hole in the spinner for a 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 pin? Does the spinner spin the head larger than the hole in the spinner?

I'm sorry asking crazy questions but the numbers just don't seem to add up. I've done machine work most of my life. I'm 50 and still not a machinist but it would be so much easier with numbers to go by.

Thanks,
Danny

Danny, PM inbound.

Dale, I was wondering about the actual dimensions also!

..... Joe

OK, I will have to do some measuring.
I have company this weekend.
If I don't get back to it this weekend Joe, feel free to PM me and remind me.

Thanks Dale! Enjoy the weekend

....... Joe