Here's a few things I've learned on the way:
1. Make doubly sure that you get a good punch mark in the center of the pin before you drill. That way the drill will have something to bite into and not wander around. That also gives you the best chance to save bushings.
2. It doesn't take a lot of drilling to pop the head off of the pin. The brass is a soft metal and drills fairly quickly.
3. Punching out the pins SMURFS. Get a good punch (1/16" can be used universally). This stage of disassembly is probably the most laborious. If you can, drive the pins out evenly so you can peel off each layer and keep them in order.
4. The CT layer has special springs and liners. Don't lose them.
5. It's not the end of the world if you lose a bushing or two, it'll just delay you a bit. Try not to lose them. If you drive out the pin with a 1/16" punch, the first bushing should be caught by the punch. The second one can stay on the other end of the pin until you're ready.
6. Assembly is pretty fun. Setting the springs, once you understand how to do it, is pretty easy.
7. It doesn't take nearly as much peening as you might think. Start with a flat pin surface and work it around until there's no more side play left in the tool. Once you're there, you're done. A 4 oz ball pein will do the job nicely, the highest I might personally go is 8 oz. Mileage may vary.
8. It doesn't take nearly as much pin material as you might think to properly start peening. A general rule of thumb here is 1mm above the surface and that's a pretty good rule. I believe jewelers go with a rule of "half the diameter of the pin material". In our case, that's generally ~1mm anyway.
9. Get a proper anvil surface. It doesn't have to be an anvil per se, but think heavy, dense and metal. A bench block is good as is an anvil on a vise. A sledge hammer head is really good too. It'll make your peening efforts so much easier.
Donations
Community Links
