Skewed pivot pin

[Robust2]

Hi all,

I'm currently busy doing my first rescale, and have just finished the final shaping on one of the scales. I decided to put a pin in the pivot hole to see how it would look, and saw that sadly my pivot pin hole isn't drilled perpendicular. This is because my drill press won't take drills that small, so I drilled it by hand, with the help of my dad to see if the drill was in the right position, but apparently we kinda messed up.
Now I was wondering if this is a big problem? The pivot pin hole in the razor is a bit oversize, so there's some room for error there. Or I could try to fill up the holy with epoxy and redrill it, but I might make the same miistake as I can't use my drill press.

I'm really really bummed out by it, everything was going so good up until now

 

[rambus007]

Hi Bruno. I recall one of the online vendors sold 3/16" fasteners for hole that got drilled to big. Perhaps you can use your drill press assuming it will take a 3/16 bit but you will need to get a new pin and washers. I believe it's $3 US for the set from www.superiorshave.com. Hopefully the extra diameter will make up for the misalignment. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

 

[Freedom]

It depends how bad the skew is and also how much room for error is in the actual blade hole.

Most blade holes are so big that a slight skew won't effect it, the blades I have made are aligned not by the pin but by the blade/washers that rub against the scale.

The problem you will find if the skew is large is that the scales will not line up straight when you pin them, as in at the pivot end of the scales they will not line up, for this there isn't a cure, however if your holes have a bit of give like you mentioned, you can probably push them into place okay.

This is where the microfastners you have are worth there money, you can test if it will line up and pin okay or if there is enough give to get away with it. Have they arrived yet?

 

[Robust2]

Yeah they arrived perfect on monday or something, I wasn't even expecting them that soon. I hadn't thought of using them to see how bad the problim is, thanks!

I haven't drilled the wedge hole, and the wedge isn't fully shaped yet, so I'll continue with that first, and then test fit the scales.

 

[Robust2]

Ok after some thinking we found an alternative to the drill press, so I drilled a decent wedge hole and made a test fitting.
The problem isn't as bad as I thought, it looked far worse when only the pin was inserted (and not the razor). Only effect I can see, is that the blade doesn't center perfectly. I attached a picture, but it looks worse than it is IRL. Is there anything I can do about this, or is this just the cost I must pay for the skew?

BTW: The tang hits the scales at a certain point atm, I guess the solution for this is to taper the wedge more? Although the final fitting is going to be with thinner washers between the razor and the scales, and the insides of the scales still need a tiny bit of sanding.

 

[Pumpkin]

Ok after some thinking we found an alternative to the drill press, so I drilled a decent wedge hole and made a test fitting.
The problem isn't as bad as I thought, it looked far worse when only the pin was inserted (and not the razor). Only effect I can see, is that the blade doesn't center perfectly. I attached a picture, but it looks worse than it is IRL. Is there anything I can do about this, or is this just the cost I must pay for the skew?

BTW: The tang hits the scales at a certain point atm, I guess the solution for this is to taper the wedge more? Although the final fitting is going to be with thinner washers between the razor and the scales, and the insides of the scales still need a tiny bit of sanding.

I had a similar problem on my second re-scale. It improved (slightly) by adding an extra washer on the side that the blade was hitting. Mine was caused by an asymmetric tang (flat on one side, tapered on the other). I think I might have to start again with that particular blade and probably adjust the design of the scales and wedge slightly.

 

[Robust2]

I'm thinking about re-doing the wedge, especially if I could solve the centering issue with it. How does one adjust a wedge to solve this problem?

Edit: Checked the tang on a flat surface, and it seems to be assymetric! So my pin is not the cause of the issue! I'ld still like to solve it though.

 

[Freedom]

Most blades are like that it's to be expected, a good way to find out how easy the fitting will be on a razor is to lie it flat on a table and then push down on the piviot hole with your finger, do this and then flip it over and do the same. You want to check how much the tip comes off the table (if they are about the same height great if there different it means adjustment) also more importantly if the angle between the spine and the edge is the same on both sides (A lob sided blade is a lot more hassle).

There are three ways I know of to use

Adjustment washers - this is what I use you just add a washer to one side sand it down if need be etc etc.

Adjust the scales - you can shave off material near the pin hole or where the tang rubs against the scales, I do this in extreme cases but I don't like to since the scales are no longer even.

Fill and redrill - you fill the blades hole and then redrill a hole which can correct the problem with the scales, I've never done this as my previous post mentions I don't like to use the pin to align the blade, I prefer the scales doing it.

Just a note though I don't have a wealth of knowledge there might be a better way of doing it this is just what I have picked up or heard about from doing a few.

 

[Robust2]

If I push down on the last bit of the tang, just before the blade starts, both side are equal. If I push down on the pivot hole however, there is definitely some difference!

As I'm still busy shaping the scales, I can easily alter them a bit so the blade centers. Although I'm going to try a test fitting with the thicker washer I used now on one side, and the thinner one on the other side.

Btw Freedom, as you can see, I'm already using the Acrylic I really like tho contrast between the orange and the ebony scales.

 

[Freedom]

good to hear orange and black for some reason it just goes, I have no idea why

 

[Pumpkin]

I'm thinking about re-doing the wedge, especially if I could solve the centering issue with it. How does one adjust a wedge to solve this problem?

Edit: Checked the tang on a flat surface, and it seems to be assymetric! So my pin is not the cause of the issue! I'ld still like to solve it though.

Is your "wedge" actually a wedge? Or is it flat? You can sand it down to create a true wedge that should open up the scales a bit more when it's glued and pinned.

 

[Robust2]

It really is a true wedge, the picture is quite misleading.

 

[Neil Miller]

If it was me, I wouldn't add more washers. Adding more washers is the same as removing material from the inner surface of the scales. In your picture, one end of the tang is hard against the scale, pushing it over. If you removed some materail there so it didn't rub, you wouldn't get the tang pushed over to one side. That, together with a washer either side of the pivot hole might just give you enough clearance. If it doesn't, flex the scales to see what way they should move - adding a third pin a bit further along one scale than the other will skew the scales in the right direction.

Even if you dont want to skew them, a third pin could give you enough leeway - providing you use the right size plug between the scales. When you drill, take out the wedge, use the microfasteners to hold both scales tightly together, and drill through the first scale but not all the way through the second scale - just enough to show you where the hole is. You then have a guide and a chance to even-up the drill hole on the second scale.

Regards,
Neil

 

[BillEllis]

This may be too late to help this time. Always work on scales as a pair, not individually. Make sure the insides are flat flat flat, use double-sided tape to hold them together and finish shaping. You can also drill the pivot hole for both scales at the same time before separating them.

Go to Amazon, and do a search for "Mini Keyless Hand Chuck". That will accept the smallest drill bits you will ever need for any restoration work. You can then use the biggest drill press in the country.

If the pivot holes align properly, and are merely over sized because of an inability to "eyeball" the bit for a 90 degree angle, re drill using a 3/32 bit and find some 1/16th inch tubing. Install, glue, and sand flush on both sides of each individual scale.


Sometimes it's just easier to just make a new set...

 

[Robust2]

This may be too late to help this time. Always work on scales as a pair, not individually. Make sure the insides are flat flat flat, use double-sided tape to hold them together and finish shaping. You can also drill the pivot hole for both scales at the same time before separating them.

Go to Amazon, and do a search for "Mini Keyless Hand Chuck". That will accept the smallest drill bits you will ever need for any restoration work. You can then use the biggest drill press in the country.

If the pivot holes align properly, and are merely over sized because of an inability to "eyeball" the bit for a 90 degree angle, re drill using a 3/32 bit and find some 1/16th inch tubing. Install, glue, and sand flush on both sides of each individual scale.


Sometimes it's just easier to just make a new set...

Thanks for the input BIll, good to hear some tips from one of the razor making "guru's" around herre

The scales were drilled when taped together, I just did a bad job drilling them. The mini hand chuck is exactly what I needed, I'll have to pick one of those up. As it's my first set, making these already took quite a lot of time, not sure if I'm capable of just binning them and starting over
I finished shaping the wedge and scales just a few minutes ago, so I'll do a final test fitting later this evening. If the fit is OK, I'm just going to keep them the way they are, otherwise I'll try installing some tubing.