Pinning, Polishing Mother of Pearl (MOP)

[RzrDoc]

Gents,

Working on two restore projects for myself. One is a Joseph Allen with MOP and the other is a Henckels with MOP.
Ive unpinned them (MUCH trickier than ivory in my opinion), polished the metal liners, and re-glued the pivot side liner to MOP with some 330 epoxy.

Now its time to pin em' back. The exit holes on the MOP sid measure about 5/64" and the hole in the liner is 1/16". Any tips on how how to go about this besides- "carefully"?

Whats the best way to polish these bad boys up and keep them in good shape?

MUCH appreciated!!!​

 

[RzrDoc]

 

[RzrDoc]

View attachment 319652View attachment 319654View attachment 319655


Gents,

Here are some pics. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! (im working with nickel silver pins btw)

 

[mycarver]

I have those same scales on my new W&B. Very nice aren't they?
There is a reason there is a difference in the holes. If you think about it, you don't want a washer or pin to exert any force on the MOP. It's too fragile ( sort of) and a washer would just ruin the look . When you drilled out the pins you might have found a small collar around the pin. Sometimes they just disintegrate.
Anyway, the collar is what takes the pinning force and transfers it directly to the liner instead of the surface of the scale thereby holding it all together with the MOP just sitting there without stress.
The solution is simple. Make a collar that slips into the scale and lands on the liner. Go to most any hobby store and get some brass tubing with a 1/16 inner diameter. They are just over the 5/32 so turn it down until it just slips into the scale. Cut off a section that is the same length as the thickness of the MOP so it sits flush with the surface. Then pin as usual with the head just barely above the surface and the "mushrooming" of the pin will cover the tubing effectively.
For an accurate look don't leave the pin domed. Peen it, then file it flat so it looks like the rest of them and matches the wedge end.
To cut tubing like this without collapsing it is also easy. Just slide some rod into it and use an Xacto type knife to roll over it while pressing down. It'll score it and cut it off nicely to any length you like.

MOP responds well to most any of the typical polishes. It's harder than you think. I've used it many times for inlays where sanding then polishing removes any scratches and achieves a beautiful gloss. Much more forgiving than Ivory which is more delicate and fragile. Those shells are hard. Try carving it sometime. Ivory on the other hand can be Scrimshawed with a pin.

 

[mycarver]

Here is a quick example. I made this one 1/8th inch long but you'll make it whatever length the thickness of your MOP is. Instead of turning down the tubing you could always drill out the MOP to get the tubing to fit as well. Peen over the end and it will cover the tube and at the same time put the pressure on the lining.

I used my pocket knife to cut the tubing. Acts just like a tubing cutter for doing copper pipe. Just don't use a diagonal cutters.That just makes a mess of things and isn't accurate.
If you need to sand them to get a better length, keep the collar on the rod and you can control it much better.

 

[coolbus18]

Great advice imo. Hobby shops are a great resource. You might also check out knife making suppliers for mini hardware,pinning material and lots more.

p.s.--- this is another reason I dig your work ,Mycarver, it shows!

 

[mycarver]

Great advice imo. Hobby shops are a great resource. You might also check out knife making suppliers for mini hardware,pinning material and lots more.

p.s.--- this is another reason I dig your work ,Mycarver, it shows!

Ha,, here is a case where it shouldn't show!
Thanks. I appreciate it.

 

[RzrDoc]

Holy Cow! Thanks for the advice! Sounds like a plan to me. The thing is that I dont remember seeing a collar. May have disintegrated like you said. I know I've seen small tubing at the hobby shop- but the problem is that I dont have a lathe. Any suggestions for turning it?

Thanks again mycarver!
(Any way to officially thank you on the forum?)

 

[mycarver]

You just did thank me by saying "Holy Cow". Other than that I accept paypal, cashiers checks, Western Union,,,LOL!

You don't need a lathe for doing this. Hopefully you have at least a hand drill or drill press. Cut maybe a 2 inch piece of tube. Chuck the tubing in the drill, turn it on and let either a file or some sand paper do the work. It's not much you have to take off. Just stop occasionally to check the fit. Or as I suggested just slightly enlarge the hole in the MOP. Same thing only different.

 

[RzrDoc]

So i dont know if this was apparent on the pics but the MOP is flush with the brass liner to the inner diameter of the pin hole.
What are your thoughts on filling with 330 epoxy and pinning traditionally? I like the collar idea but am hesitant to remove more MOP.
Would your suggestion be to drill it out so that some brass is there to collar to? The top picture is what the current situation is. Should I make it look like the bottom picture?

 

[mycarver]

I'm assuming the MOP isn't free and glued to the liner at this point. If that's the case then drilling it may present a challenge where one slip and the bit would go through the liner negating everything. One way to do it , even now, would be to use a Dremel type tool with a small grinder and you could gently radius the hole to allow the brass tube to slip into.
For some reason I lean towards using the tube but I'm quite certain the epoxy will work also. Do you plan on using washers or just depend on the mushroomed pin against the epoxy/MOP to do the trick?

 

[RzrDoc]

Yeah, unfortunately I glued them down to it just prior to this step. I was hoping to do this washerless. If I can figure out a way to get the tube in there then I will, otherwise I will just go with epoxy. You think 330 will do the trick or should I go with something else?

Thanks again mycarver!

 

[mycarver]

I thought I tried every epoxy out there but I'm not familiar with using the 330. Is it a typical type epoxy or something more along the lines of a PC7 where it's more 'putty' like?
PC7 dries gray and is like a rock. Most of the others I am familiar with are the clear ( or off color) liquid types.
My all time favorite is Devcon. I've used it for years now ( 25+) I get it in the 9 oz. tubes I use so much of it.

 

[RzrDoc]

330 is a typical 2 part epoxy, dries crystal clear. I found it searching the forums- works great for adhering shell (abalone, MOP) to metal liners.
I love me some Devcon too. Have had great results with their plastic epoxy!