What is this and What do I do with it?

[Buzz J]

Custom tools are cool!

 

You know Davd, if you stretched some dental floss across that wrench, itta kinda be like a toothpick....

[danielfalgerho]

Congratulations, Ron. Very nice little wrench.

Do you still have any of your grandfather old nails? The steel was much better and tougher than what you get from Asia these days. Well, if case hardening is enough...

 

Actually Buzz, you have the right idea - take a common item and use it for a different purpose. Any of the things suggested would be appropriate.

 

Here are a couple of things that I made from nails. The top is a wrench, the bottom is a punch for oversize feeds. I've also used a finishing nail as a pellet pusher. They're ideal because they have a dimple in the end that holds the pellet in place while you seat the diaphragm.

 

http://www.mainstreetpens.com/pix/nailtool.jpg

 

 

What got me going was having to restore an Eversharp vacuum filler. Eversharp uses a hex nut to hold the piston rod onto the blind cap, where Sheaffer uses a nut that takes a spanner. I couldn't find anyone who sold a wrench small enough and that would do the job that I needed it to do.

 

So I made one, and while rummaging through the basement, I remembered my granfather showing me how to make a screwdriver out of a nail. I was in my early teens at the time, and thought that it was really cool - he heat treated and case hardened the thing too boot!

 

In this case I ground off the end of the nail, then heated it with a torch. I flattened the end on the anval of my vise, bent the end and squared it off. Then ground the notch with a bench mounted Dremel, smoothed things and case hardened it. After polishing it I mounted it in a handle made from acrylic rod stock. Purpose made, and about 20 minutes of work. The wrench fits down inside the blind cap, and grips the nut perfectly.

 

Here's the wrench on an Eversharp vacuum filler.

http://www.mainstreetpens.com/pix/nailtoolused.jpg

 

Maybe it's just a nail, or brake line, or who knows what else, but you may very well be able to modify it to make a tool that'll do exactly what you need to repair a pen. Like the steel crib rails I snagged years ago that have been turned into all kinds of things....

 

[jmkeuning]

You use a wrench for a toothpick?

 

Weird!

[Gerry]

How about grinding / filing a taper on one side, and then using it to adjust pocket clips to restore the tension (the taper allows different sized clips to be adjusted), the flat spot (suitably rounded edges) prevents damage to the plastic.

 

Another possibility is to square off the end, then cut a notch the width of a J-Bar into the squared off end - making a J-Bar insertion tool. While needle forceps work great - they are sort of hard to find, and tend to require force being applied to the end of the J-Bar - whereas this tool would push the farthest end of it, preventing any possibility of bending the J-Bar inadvertently.

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[Ron Z]

How about grinding / filing a taper on one side, and then using it to adjust pocket clips to restore the tension (the taper allows different sized clips to be adjusted), the flat spot (suitably rounded edges) prevents damage to the plastic.

 

Another possibility is to square off the end, then cut a notch the width of a J-Bar into the squared off end - making a J-Bar insertion tool. While needle forceps work great - they are sort of hard to find, and tend to require force being applied to the end of the J-Bar - whereas this tool would push the farthest end of it, preventing any possibility of bending the J-Bar inadvertently.

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

 

Funny that you should mention the J bar tool. I was thinking about that this morning. The nail is a little short for that though because you need the reach to fit into the big boys. I'd look for about 5"-6" below the handle. And you do need a handle to get the torque to turn the spring.

 

Daniel Kirchheimer appeared at the Philly show a couple of years ago with a J bar tool that came out of a repair shop. Hand made, it was ideal for the purpose. I just need to make one.

 

There are lots of ways to approach repairs, and ways to make tools - you just need to get into the habit of seeing materials differently! I know of someone who made a saw for cutting plugs to make Vac jewels from a dead lustraloy 51 cap.

[Romagno]

When restoring button-fillers, I press the removed button onto the end of a common nail like this. It makes a great handle when you want to use a Dremel to burnish the button to its shiny brass self before re-installation into the pen barrel.

Edited January 3, 2008 by Romagno

[girlieg33k]

I like this MacGyver'ing concept -- where one takes "common" items and turn them into tools. I was going to guess the nail was a poor-man's lathe, but I knew that was too far-fetched. I've used wooden chopsticks to remove springs from barrels, by twisting it into the barrel -- but that nail would likely crack the barrel.

Edited January 3, 2008 by girlieg33k

[Buzz J]

When restoring button-fillers, I press the removed button onto the end of a common nail like this. It makes a great handle when you want to use a Dremel to burnish the button to its shiny brass self before re-installation into the pen barrel.

 

I've been using a philips screw driver for this. It'll hold the button and spread the four "legs" at matching gaps.

 

John

[Buzz J]

How about grinding / filing a taper on one side, and then using it to adjust pocket clips to restore the tension (the taper allows different sized clips to be adjusted), the flat spot (suitably rounded edges) prevents damage to the plastic.

 

Another possibility is to square off the end, then cut a notch the width of a J-Bar into the squared off end - making a J-Bar insertion tool. While needle forceps work great - they are sort of hard to find, and tend to require force being applied to the end of the J-Bar - whereas this tool would push the farthest end of it, preventing any possibility of bending the J-Bar inadvertently.

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

 

Funny that you should mention the J bar tool. I was thinking about that this morning. The nail is a little short for that though because you need the reach to fit into the big boys. I'd look for about 5"-6" below the handle. And you do need a handle to get the torque to turn the spring.

 

Daniel Kirchheimer appeared at the Philly show a couple of years ago with a J bar tool that came out of a repair shop. Hand made, it was ideal for the purpose. I just need to make one.

 

 

If you've got some square brass tubing, it would provide a provide a visual of the j-bar orientation. Hmmm, you might could have a slot that the long end feeds into for precise rotational(radial?) control. This probably doesn't make sense.

[Gerry]

Makes very good sense Buzz. With the right dia, one gets the sides to straddle the J-Bar, you cut back on the top and bottom to provide the depth needed, and heh, heh, Bob's yer Uncle...

 

Whether one uses a long square tube, or a short one coupled with a rod, dowell, or whatever to provide the handle - it stands to be quite a easy to make tool.

 

I'll be offering the beta version soon - what cut do you want for the square tube idea Buzz?

 

Another possibility is to find a long screwdriver with a blade wide enough to be cut to hold the J-Bar, but that's using a commercial tool for part of the McGyver solution - is that acceptable?

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[Buzz J]

Makes very good sense Buzz. With the right dia, one gets the sides to straddle the J-Bar, you cut back on the top and bottom to provide the depth needed, and heh, heh, Bob's yer Uncle... Ahhh, good ol' uncle Bob. You know it was a day and a half after that last exchange before I realized my brother in law is a Bob. This is going to come in handy.

Whether one uses a long square tube, or a short one coupled with a rod, dowell, or whatever to provide the handle - it stands to be quite a easy to make tool.

 

I'll be offering the beta version soon - what cut do you want for the square tube idea Buzz? Based on time expended, current billing rate, consultations, expenses, etc $1.98 ought to cover it!

 

Another possibility is to find a long screwdriver with a blade wide enough to be cut to hold the J-Bar, but that's using a commercial tool for part of the McGyver solution - is that acceptable? I think the less commercial the effort, the better.

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

 

John

 

[GBM]

Do you still have any of your grandfather old nails? The steel was much better and tougher than what you get from Asia these days. Well, if case hardening is enough...

 

Nails usually have pretty good steel in them.. A different technique with regards to heating, working while soft, reheating and quenching and tempering ( slight heating stopping at proper color ) should fix any problems.

 

However, if that is not the cause of the problem.... use a concrete nail for your next project.... they have to be of exceptional steel...

Greg

Edited January 6, 2008 by Gerry
Fixed quote

[Gerry]

Nails usually have pretty good steel in them.. A different technique with regards to heating, working while soft, reheating and quenching and tempering ( slight heating stopping at proper color ) should fix any problems.

 

However, if that is not the cause of the problem.... use a concrete nail for your next project.... they have to be of exceptional steel...

Greg

 

I hope I'm not being confrontational Greg, but here, the nails generally aren't as you describe. I've tried working with the ordinary kind, and they are either no carbon or very low carbon content. As temperability depends largely on the carbon content of the steel, other than case hardening, as Ron has mentioned, I have never succeeded in hardening (tempering) common nails.

 

Like yourself, I then thought that the superhard concrete nails would be great for some applications I had in mind, and I attempted to anneal them to work on them with the intention to temper them after working. I was quite surprised to find them very difficult to anneal, as they retained most of their hardness and usually broke when bent. So not all steel is created equal in that department, and you just have to try and see what works best.

 

I will say I have had great success with 'drill rod', a high carbon steel often available in some hardware stores at a reasonable price. It's usualy available in many diameters from 1/8 inch to well over 1/2" (not that we'd need stuff that big often..). Anyway, it works well and holds a pretty good edge when tempered. It can also be hardened to be less brittle than an edge might require, say for a wrench. The beauty of the case hardening Ron was talking about is that it hardens a thin outside layer, giving a great deal of toughness to the tool, but the less brittle center part helps prevent it breaking suddenly under use.

 

Trouble is, case hardening does require more knowledge usually, but since we're just talking nails here and not expensive items, one could experiment with different techniques and materials. I'm aware of things from slow heating while encased in raw carbon, to commercial coatings and heating.

 

I'd be interested in knowing what technique you used Ron - care to share?

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[Ron Z]

The stuff I use is no big secret. It's called Kasenet, and I bought it from Brownells, which is a gun smith supply company. (lots of stuff that can be adapeted for pen repair BTW!)

 

After shaping the material, grinding or whatever, you heat the metal to a cherry red or orange. Immediately dip and stir in the Kasenet. Heat again, dip again, and heat a third time, then quench in cold water. The carbon from the Kasenet penetrates the metal a bit, providing case hardening. You'll have to clean off the surface and polish, it a bit, but the resulting surface is very hard indeed. I used it the steel burnishing tools that I've made with excellent results (very hard surfaces) and also on the wrenches I've made for the nuts on Sheaffer vacuum fillers and the Eversharp vacuum fillers.

[eckiethump]

I've enjoyed reading through this thread again, the learning never stops, even at times as a reminder of what can be done with simple every day objects, that we can make useful tools from 👍

Eric

[Ron Z]

Thanks Eric.  I was looking at them again a week or two ago myself, and have been thinking about reviving these.  There are a few tools that I've added in the interval that could be fun.  But 13 years later, the tool in this thread is still in the tool box, and gets used with every Wahl Plunger filler that I make.

[es9]

Please do!!!  I read these old threads all the time and sometimes worry those of us who are new to trying repair work missed out on a golden age of discourse.  

[eckiethump]

The information available on FPN in pen repair, as well as in less common pens is vast. When I joined, I went through every single thread and still return to many of them. I repair pens full time, but never stop, building my knowledge, through this medium, from past and present contributors.

Eric

[Larry Barrieau]

You could flatten the pointed end with a hammer and an anvil, cut a slit in it and use it as a fountain pen.  It wouldn't have any flex and would probably write like a ...