Pin Peining

[Chief RID]

Here are a couple pics of one of my 1st attempts. This is some scrap plastic, pinned together with brazing rod. I hope to pin some bone handles tomorrow. Wish me luck. I'll need it.

[trey]

Good luck, I've had no good results with my peining yet. You've done better than me already.

[caddyman1973]

Looks good Chief! I use 1/8" brazing rod for pins, I have access to lots of it. A small hammer, light taps and some patience and you'll do fine. Knowing when to stop is what took me a while to figure out. Good luck and have fun doing it!

[orvet]

Caddy is right, a small light weight hammer and light taps is the key to successful peening.

I use 1/16" brass rod from my local Ace Hardware store to attach the bone to the liners.
1/8" is pretty big for bone scales. Also the bone is more brittle than the plastic, so drill the pin holes a few thousands larger than the pin. Otherwise the pin will swell and crack the bone.

You work is looking good so far!

[Elvis]

Good advice given here already. I like the way you were able to mushroom the pin heads. That's what you need to cover the slightly larger hole as well as putting just enough pressure on to hold the knife together with no gaps. Those light taps also tend to heat the metal a bit, so once you start, the mushroom effect tends to get easier, but it also requires a lot of attention to detail so you don't over do it and crack the handle material. That practice wil pay-off!

[Chief RID]

I just went out to the tool shed and found this small ball pein head. (see wooden pointer and AA battery for id) I had been using the medium hammer. Now I have to make another trip to the hardware to get a new handle but at least I don't have to get a broken handle out of the head. It had already been removed, years ago. This smaller hammer is going to give me a lot better control. The small claw hammer has a flat face and would not be a very good idea. Peining this old pretty bone handle that is already brittle is going to be a real test. I have some board member supplied, supplies that are going to make this restoration possible. Just the nut behind the bolt, as us shooters say, is the limiting factor.

[orvet]

I think it is Ben Kelley in his book “The Complete Book of Pocketknife Repair” who says to polish the faces of your peening hammer and only use it for peening. Brass & nickel silver are softer than steel so they don’t cause dings & dents in the faces of the hammer, steel is harder & can cause dings & dents.

Dings & dents in the face of the hammer are transferred into what ever you are hammering, sort of like a stamp. So if you are having trouble getting a good smooth peen on your pins, check the face of your hammer, it may be the problem.

I have about three hammers I use for peening only, a 2 oz & a 4 oz ball peen hammers and a square-flat faced tack hammer, about 3 oz. Adrian Harris recommends you use a rotary tool and cut a cross hatch pattern into one face of the hammer for peening. I like smooth heads on my rivets so I don’t do that.
I have however found a square faced tack hammer useful in peening rivets near a bolster or to drive out a pin near a bolster so I can hit the pin flush without hitting the rivet.

If you start out with old hammers it may be necessary to sand the dings & dents out of the face & then polish them to get nice smooth peens, (a high polish is not necessary).

[jerryd6818]

Here's a little 2.5 oz cross peen hammer you might want to look at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/vtg-Small-cross ... 3cc78aaae8




Normal disclaimers.

[Chief RID]

Thanks guys. Excellent info.

[caddyman1973]

I use a 4oz. ball pein from Craftsman and a very small tack hammer I picked up at a yard sale. I have several small ball peins and tack hammers, but I only use the two because they are comfortable in hand, unlike the others. I dont like a big, thick handle on my peining hammer. A smaller handle makes me feel like I have more control. Find a hammer that "just feels right" in your hand and peining becomes a little moe enjoyable. I have a couple of these that I like really well too....http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-G-W-MOU ... 5d33eb75fd

[gringo]

hammers?

[Chief RID]

Sorry gringo. I can't see pics that big. I have a slow connections. What do you use if not hammers.

[gringo]

sorry, i have a hammer fetish...i posted a few of my favorite...and less liked...

the one i use now is solid brass, around two ounces...short handle...
the brass hammer spreads pin heads better than any other tool i have used...

on the topic of dressing a hammer head...all impact tools should have a regular maintence to prevent cracks, mushrooming to turn into deadly shrapnel...
plus it does make the pins smoother with less touchup required...

[Chief RID]

Good info again gringo. I can tell I will have to go smaller than I have at present to get the results I want. And I thought those small hammers were for babies.

[glennbad]

Good info again gringo. I can tell I will have to go smaller than I have at present to get the results I want. And I thought those small hammers were for babies.

What you said. I got a 4oz. ball pein that I use, and it's tough to not just wail away on those pins, thinking that you have to strike harder because of the lightness of the hammer.

Glenn

[Chief RID]

Here is the handle repair on the 6292 Texas Jack, pretty bone, ten dot 1970. The top is as it came off the knife. Much pocket wear and pretty bone indeed. The bottom side plate is my work. I still have some crack repair to do on the handle. The peining went OK with the handleless hammer head and my steel chisel for an anvil. I can't wait to get the better blades in and do the peining for the hinge and bolsters. One day, maybe it will take me a week to do this as it takes a knife mechanic minutes. I am sure thankful to have the teachers on this site for help. I am having a great time.

[muskrat man]

that looks preety good

[ea42]

Say Chief, any idea what those circular marks on the liners that are a bit larger than the blade pin hole come from?

Eric

[Chief RID]

ea42. I sure have no experience. I just assumed they were a sign of some restoration in the past.

[muskrat man]

the small ones are the bolster pins, the large ones are wear from the blade pivoting all these years, must have developed a burr or something, lack of lube will do that too

[Elvis]

Say Chief, any idea what those circular marks on the liners that are a bit larger than the blade pin hole come from?

Eric

Those are actually the spot welds Case uses to attach their bolsters to the liners. While it does look like a pivot effect, even the one next to the backspring for the main blade has it and there isn't anything to pivot there. The spot weld is just very close to center.

[muskrat man]

Say Chief, any idea what those circular marks on the liners that are a bit larger than the blade pin hole come from?

Eric

Those are actually the spot welds Case uses to attach their bolsters to the liners. While it does look like a pivot effect, even the one next to the backspring for the main blade has it and there isn't anything to pivot there. The spot weld is just very close to center.

modern cases are spot welded, but that is an older one with the integral bolster pins. the large ring at the blade end is pivot wear

[ea42]

Is the pin hole in the blade that much bigger than the pin? (not at all familiar with Case parts) I would assume that the burr would form at the edge of the hole if anywhere, but then again anything can happen. At first I thought it might have been pin shear which would have pulled some material wide of the pin, but you don't normally see that on both sides of the blade, just seems a little unusual to me, especially when it's on every liner. Maybe that's where the tommy on pin from the bolster is located? Speaking of spot welding, we're starting that up at the shop as well very soon for the bolsters. I'll keep y'all posted when we get some examples.

Eric

[whitebuffalo58]

Nice progress, Chief!
It looks to me like a burr formed at the very top edge of the blade stop notch. Right where it meets the backspring. It probably mushroomed a bit over the years from repeated heavy downward preasure on the cutting edge. Or possibly from the blade being allowed to "slap" into the open position. It's always a good idea to check for burrs before reassembling a knife. I learned that one the hard way!

WB

[muskrat man]

Nice progress, Chief!
It looks to me like a burr formed at the very top edge of the blade stop notch. Right where it meets the backspring. It probably mushroomed a bit over the years from repeated heavy downward pressure on the cutting edge. Or possibly from the blade being allowed to "slap" into the open position. It's always a good idea to check for burrs before reassembling a knife. I learned that one the hard way!

WB

too right. lack of lube will in some cases cause burrs from where the spring exerts pressure on the tang, when the tang starts to wear down; burrs form on the sides of the tang, scraping the liners. Just grit caught between the tang and liner can do it too.