oversized pin material

T

Tuck

Joined
Jun 29, 2003
Messages
29
The last 1/8" Nickel rod I recieved from Texas Knifemakers Supply seems to be oversized. It does fit in an 1/8" drill gauge but not even close to fitting in a reamed 1/8" hole. Tried sanding but that takes forever and I doubt that the pins are very round by the time they will fit. Any slick tricks or should I try another source? Tuck
 
Tuck, the only suggestion I can think of is, if you are stuck with the stock, use one of those plastic bit gauges to see what the exact size of the pin stock is, then get the exact size bit. Those standing bit holders with the size by each hole work good, too. You will have quite a time trying to sand thd stock to size and keep it round unless you put a just overlength piece of the stock in a drill press and sand that way. It should not take much to get it to fit.
 
Hi A set of "number drills" is what you could use.
A #30 drill measures 0.1285" and might be just what you are looking for. Most any tool catalog has drill size charts.
Good luck
 
When this happens to me I spin the stock in my drill press and sand with 400 paper until it fits. You have to be careful to sand evenly along the pin's length though. It works and doesn't take too long.

The #30 bit is what I use for pin holes too.
 
Sometimes the obvious has a way of avoiding me! Thanks for the help. Tuck
 
Actually, most Nickle-silver 1/8" rods come as .128" .I have purchased individual bits just for this purpose.Dave :)
 
I use my dremal , the stock fits into the collet just right
and run it up onto my belt grinder with a say 30 micron belt.,
it can be toooo fast if you know what I mean :)
 
Most pin stock is oversized. Probably a good idea to mike all of it.
But it really makes no difference even if the stuff is right on the money, because when you drill your handle material it stretches a bit, and shrinks back as the drill bit is withdrawn. Knowing that, here's what most makers use.

1/16" = #52
3/32" = #41
1/8" = # 30
5/32" = #21, or 22
3/16" = #10
1/4" = #"F", or metric 6.4mm
:eek:
 
Good info Mike. Yep, mic everything and choose the next size number drill. An inexpensive dial caliper is a must. Ebay always has number drills at fair prices. Be carfull on the shipping costs though. I almost bought a chop saw for $19.99 but the shipping was $49.99! It was a cheap saw and retailed for less on the sidewalk tool sale.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top