peening

[Grumpy]

Just wondered if any one had any advice about peening 2.5mm brass rod, i have a 4oz p/hammer but keep bending bar or not getting head right!!!!!!!


Thanks

[AimlessWanderer]

Cutting it too long? You should only have about 1mm upstand before peening, maybe that's the issue 

Failing that maybe you need a BIGGER hammer ... 4lb sledge, a proper slapping bat, take three or four steps back, whirl your arm round like Popeye about to throw a punch, grit your teeth or make Wookie noises whichever is more comfortable, charge in ... WALLOP!!! Then swear like you've never sworn before for about 15 minutes, 20 minutes with your head in your hands wishing you'd taken up a less expensive hobby, then pay an experienced mod to do it for you instead 


 

[Outback in Idaho]

  Use a punch with a concaved end.
  Work the edges, tap tap tap, not bang bang bang. 

[jrp316]

The first question I would have for you is: what kind of anvil/backing surface are you using? A good heavy anvil type surface is essential to peen against. Otherwise, the force of your hammer hits would simply go through the rod and out the other end, giving you very little if any peening effect. A 4oz hammer is good for most peening operations on SAK pins; for a 2.5mm to 3mm pin, the highest I might go would be 8oz.

[Taxi Dad]

Cutting it too long? You should only have about 1mm upstand before peening, maybe that's the issue 

Failing that maybe you need a BIGGER hammer ... 4lb sledge, a proper slapping bat, take three or four steps back, whirl your arm round like Popeye about to throw a punch, grit your teeth or make Wookie noises whichever is more comfortable, charge in ... WALLOP!!! Then swear like you've never sworn before for about 15 minutes, 20 minutes with your head in your hands wishing you'd taken up a less expensive hobby, then pay an experienced mod to do it for you instead 


 

i must agree with that plan  but would like to add ~ G clamp the SAK securely to your dinning room table before wacking !

I must admit i did  read the title to this thread wrong at first, thought it said "peeping and wondered how you'd mixed up MT.O with your other favourite 'gentlemans site' Barry 

[Grumpy]

I like Al's Sledgehammer idea at the moment!!  And I've tried cutting it to 1mm and tap! tap! Maybe A couple of bangs when it wouldn't peen over i'm actually using a 12mm steel girder!!! as an anvil!!! (i Wonder why i ever stopped fishing now!!! )

[Sparky415]

   

I did a small amount, If you can do one end first in a vice it might help

Theres a few pictures here but I’m not sure if they help 

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,28303.msg492039.html#msg492039

But I might have misunderstoof, second glass of red 

[Grumpy]

Ssshh Michael i want people to think i'm an upstanding person!!!

[Grumpy]

That's good Trev anybody wanna buy some sak bits 

[Outback in Idaho]

  Could open the tools out, and slide in a pipe/tube grabber. Plumbers and HVAC folks used them when brazing pipes, forgets the name they are called.

  Pair of pliers with a curved feature in the jaws, plastic liner so as to not scratch the surfaces. Use that to reinforce the pin when pinging maybe? You probably could modify a small pair of vice grips for that, and use Shoe Goo if nothing else for the grip and side protection.

  Have used similar for pinging purposes when younger.

[Syph007]

If the pin is bending on you you are either hitting it too hard, or the peening hammer is too heavy.  To form a nice head a good couple of hundred taps is about right. 

[Grumpy]

Couple of Hundred!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now someone tells me!!!! i did it about 5/6 times now i feel a proper smurf!!!

[kirk13]

 

[Grumpy]

Oh you think it's funny do?? just be vert careful with the snuff i sent you

[Outback in Idaho]

  From what my father had told me, start with a light peening hammer. If it bounces or glances, use a little heavier one and just tap it. Yeah, I whacked dents into the anvil.
  Luckily I was saved from my father's wrath one year. Buddy & I found these cut up railroad ties. Suckers were heavy, a 1 foot pieces weighed about 40 pounds. Got home, proclaimed my victory, and dad claimed it for the dented anvil. It has been the best anvil we've had. You cannot put dents into that stuff.

  Gawd that would make for some great knife steel, if it could be shaped and sharpened!

  He showed me using concave punches how to get a more even pinging started, working the edges with the center of the punch. Then once had some material working out could use the ball peen end. Tap tap tap.

[Grumpy]

Thanks think i'm going to have to get one of those concave punch's

[Gareth]

Tricky to explain this but I'll have a go; instead of trying to mash the end of the pin down with direct hits, you first want to draw the edges out to make the end more resemble a nail head.  To do this you need to make your strikes with a slight pulling action, kinda like you are slapping the edge.  Only when you've created a head diameter that will fill the bushing do you need to start thinking about direct strikes to take out any blade play. 

Don't go to hard or fast and check often, if you still have some brass sticking proud after everything is tight then you can gently file away the excess.

Others might do it differently but this method works for me.

[Grumpy]

Thanks Gareth good instructions as always, will give it a go tomorrow a small suggestion, and i know most people are very busy! but some instructional videos on the forum would be very helpful and appreciated

[Outback in Idaho]

  Found this one on a Google search. Strange how searching for peening drops the first 'n' on results. 

[Sparky415]

One other thing Mr G

I don’t know how others do theirs but I do most of mine with the flat end of the hammer and only move on to using the ball at the end

Good luck with it today 

[Grumpy]

Great video Xelkos Thanks Trev if this one doesn't work i may need to borrow one of your axes!!!!!

[Gareth]

One other thing Mr G

I don’t know how others do theirs but I do most of mine with the flat end of the hammer and only move on to using the ball at the end

Good luck with it today 

Same here, in fact I didn't necessarily use the ball at all.  When doing a cellidor SAK pin you are not trying to make a mushroom head, but more of an inverted cone with a flat top, hence using the flat of the hammer most of the time. 

Again, I know others have gone about it differently so see what works for you.

[Outback in Idaho]

Great video Xelkos Thanks Trev if this one doesn't work i may need to borrow one of your axes!!!!!

  Glue/epoxy works.      Good luck sir!

[Sparky415]

Axes are a lot more forgiving to work with than little tiny bits of brass

Trev out 

 

[AimlessWanderer]