Using nails for pins

[pmaster]

I bought some nails last week to try and use as pins, since I couldn't find any at a local hobby shop, and I already have some brass pins on their way being shipped here.

However (as I feared) there was no way to use them for pinning, they seemed way too hard and wouldn't take shape.

Is there any one who ever used nails for pinning? I imagine its possible to find some brass nails? I need to check at the post office but I think I just received my Gold Dollars so it would be fun if I could play with them this weekend!

 

[Gamma]

brass nails exist.
peining steel is not fun, I had 1/16" SS rod that I just threw out because it was so hard to deal with.
Someone on the board used regular nails once I think - had a heck of a time working with them if I remember correctly.

 

[buca3152]

+1 The steel will be very hard to peen. And if you hit it too hard you will bend it like I did on my first pin job!

 

[pmaster]

Ah yes, I bent one actually!

Good to know I`m not the only one in this situation. I will go out on the look for small brass pins then in the meantime tomorrow, keeping in mind if I REALLY want to pin with SS it will be more work/patience.

 

[pmaster]

Well, good news an bad news. I got some pins, but no gold dollars! lol

I wasn't expecting them so soon, but I received the brass rods I had ordered. Now I still don't have any SS ones but I'll be ok for now.


I have 3 razors I was waiting to rescale, so it looks like my easter weekend is all planned up


So for anyone looking at this threat for info in the future: I haven't found any brass nails, but it appears some escutcheon pins are available at a few stores, although they seem rather frail.

 

[life2short1971]

If your steel is too hard then anneal it. Simply heat it til it glows and let it cool on it its own and it will be much softer. Including that stainless rod....

 

[pmaster]

If your steel is too hard then anneal it. Simply heat it til it glows and let it cool on it its own and it will be much softer. Including that stainless rod....

Thanks for the idea, i'll have to try it out.

 

[pmaster]

I found this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/KNIFE-FROM-A-NAIL/step3/Round-off-the-head/

Pretty cool!

 

[Gamma]

The hardness seemed to return with filing and peining, and even so it wasn't terribly softer after heating.
After heating, cutting it yielded a clean line, before it sort of left a jagged edge that looked like it snapped off.
Maybe I needed to get it redder, or use a better flame. Maybe a different alloy would respond better too?
I was able to pein it without heating, just took forever.
NiAg has the same look, way easier to work too.
The thought of using SS all around is intriguing.

 

[life2short1971]

I ordered some rod that should have been niag but must have been stainless because it would shoot across the room when I cut it and I had to heat it to peen it at all. My next order for niag I received something so soft any attempts to peen it resulted in bent pins when done... I don't know what they sent the second time.

 

[Firewalker]

I ordered some rod that should have been niag but must have been stainless because it would shoot across the room when I cut it and I had to heat it to peen it at all. My next order for niag I received something so soft any attempts to peen it resulted in bent pins when done... I don't know what they sent the second time.

Sounds like aluminum, was it really light in weight?

 

[life2short1971]

No I would have noticed if it was. It was of normal weight from just holding it. No scale used.

 

[Gamma]

Hmm. The NiAg I just bought seems just right - came from Jantz.
The last rods I had were harder but still quite usable - came from Heimdinger, which is where the SS rod I had came from too - but that wasn't a recent purchase.

 

[Firewalker]

Silver rod is even softer than aluminum, it could have been a bad batch. Was it discolored?

I anneal all my pins to make them easier to peen. This is an excerpt from a metallurgy book I have on the shelf:

"The brass should be clean and bright, otherwise oxides will form and become embedded in the surface on heat-up, and should be warmed up with a blow-lamp (a kitchen stove will do this at a push) generally rather than at a specific point, although brass tends to spread heat quickly through the metal.
Once a background heat is produced, when the brass starts to show a blackened color, then is the time to quench it quickly before cleaning it up.
Once this occurs quickly immerse the brass you are annealing into a water bath, and that’s it. Job done.
The easy test is to tap it with a screwdriver or something similar. If you hear a ringing sound, the brass is still hard and needs to be annealed again. If the sound is dull then you have annealed the brass properly.
Don’t delay the quenching too much otherwise you will not achieve the annealed brass you were aiming for."

Brass quickly work hardens while peening so you will get all of the strength back while you peen the mushroom. You can also hold the rod in a wet cloth leaving only the tip exposed and heat the end up and draw the cloth across the rod end when hot. This will leave the end soft for peening but leave the shaft hard so it is less likely to bend.

 

[tomjr]

as a reloader i have annealed brass cases for years especially obscure and hard to find brass. it is not hard 2 do. i have found some brass nails once at my Ace Hardware can't remember the nail size.

 

[Gamma]

I've annealed a few cases myself, Lapua and Norma brass is too expensive to toss after a few reloads.
I usually use one of those tank torch things, Bernzomatic I think.
But the brass and nickel rods Ive had so far were easy to pein, there was no need to consider annealing them.
I just picked up a 304 brass rod, supposedly it's a bit harder. Just wanted to test it.

 

[Firewalker]

Almost every good model shop will carry a good stock of 1/16 brass bar, but nickel silver 1/16 bar is also very easy and extremely cheap and found quite easily.

Jamie.

In the USA, I can only find it at online knife shops, 1/8" and above is available at metal wholesalers but not at hobby stores. If you stumbles on a place across the pond, please post it.

(*Annealing .223 military brass is a must due to neck splitting after reloading so I deprime and clean the range brass, set them in a tray of water just below the neck, shoot them with the Benzomatic till red and tip them over into the water. Fast and easy, a little spin on the trimmer after resizing and they look like new.)

 

[pmaster]

Well, I just won an auction on a razor which had metal pins, and I removed the scales, and will need to repin it in silver to fit with the style. So I will try to either anneal some of the small nails I have found (I don't even have a torch handy :-/), or I was thinking maybe some nickel welding rod could do the trick as well. Anyone tried that before?

I haven't been around the shops yet to search for nickel silver rods but I couldn't find any brass rods so I'm not keeping my hopes up for silver nickel rods either...

 

[Gamma]

Where are you located?

 

[pmaster]

Where are you located?

The Great White North (Sherbrooke, Qc, Canada).

I think I'll update my profile.