Inserting tips.

Mark Barone

Mark Barone

Well-Known Member
I'm talking about pins. Beginner problem . I am trying to combine drillbit sizes with pin sizes and want to have a system. It seems that having a 1/4 inch drill bit for a 1/4 inch pin is not always the case. Right now I am just doing practice runs on scrap wood and seem to waste a bunch of time and buy useless bits. Im thinking the same size bit may wobble a hair and make the hole too big. But then trying to find a bit a hair smaller seems difficult. Yesterday I bought a 27/64 and 1/2 millicentimeterinch bit.
 
I'll check that out. I also need to get a caliper. I have two mosaic pins. One said it was 10 mm the other is 8 mm. I put them up against each other and they are the same size. Should I stay away from metric pins. I can't seem to find metric bits.
 
When I comes to pins, you generally want to use a drill bit slightly larger. For example the 1/4" pin you spoke of is .250" diameter.... if you drill a 1/4" hole for that pin, the hole will be .250" diameter too.....that means the pin and the hole are the exact same diameter...... the pin won't fit inside the hole.
Personally, I don't use 1/4" pins, but If I did, I'd use a letter "F" as mentioned above....... here's a list of pin/drill bit sizes I use....
1/16" pin................. #52 drill bit
3/32" pin.................#41 drill bit
1/8" pin...................#30 drill bit
 
Always leave some slack on each side for epoxy. For example, if you have a 3/16” pin, you could use a number 12. This would leave .0075” on each side of the pin.

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I do it with exact same drill bit as pin sizes, so 1/8 pin has an 1/8 bit and the 3/32 pin has a 3/32 bit with a 1/4 in bit making the perfect size hole for the 1/4 in lanyard tube. I lightly taper one end of the pin and tube and and with some epoxy on the pin for lubrication I get some mechanical hold as well with this tight fit rather than just shear resistance so the handle scale is not relying just on the epoxy to keep it in place. I have only had to replace a couple of handle sets due to splitting of the wood at the pin due to grain type and direction at that point. Not a bad loss rate at about 1%
 
Another option, is to drill the hole undersized and use a reamer to enlarge it to fit. Pin stock can vary in size, and depending on the sharpness of your drill, and the compression of the material, as drilled hole size can change. HSS reamers aren’t crazy expensive, and they come in every size imaginable. I keep a set of 5 in .001 increments for most of the common pin sizes.
 
Lots of different techniques. My last one I had to hit softly with a small wooden mallet and I felt good about that. I will probably rough up the middle section of the pin a little next time making sure I leave the part that meets the surface smooth for aesthetics. I did however cheat on the hole in the steel and made that a little bigger. I think I will have to chose a couple of pin sizes and stick with them. The 1/4 pins do seem a little too much. I also plan on making some neck knifes right now anyway until I get a big boy grinder someday.
 
I use 1 metre lengths of brass rod as pins, roughed up and and cut to lenghth to suit any hole as I have 100s and 100s of drill bits to choose from.
I sand some brass diameter pins down with a electric drill and sand paper if I ever get stuch..
 
One thing to consider is your handle material. Natural materials swell and contract. Different materials also drill differently.

I used to drill exact holes and it required a mallet to drift the pin in. If there was the tiniest bit of misalignment it required more than a gentle drift. Careful you don’t crack the handle.

The more accurate your alignment and holes themselves are, the more you can successfully use the same bit size as pin size. But a perfect fit will not have much if any epoxy between the pin and the side of the hole.

Everything is a tradeoff.

I would suggest using an F size drill for 1/4” pins until you feel that’s too big.

I use an F. In some materials the hole feels perfect and in other materials the pin will freefall through the hole.
 
John Wilson said:
One thing to consider is your handle material. Natural materials swell and contract. Different materials also drill differently.

I used to drill exact holes and it required a mallet to drift the pin in. If there was the tiniest bit of misalignment it required more than a gentle drift. Careful you don’t crack the handle.

The more accurate your alignment and holes themselves are, the more you can successfully use the same bit size as pin size. But a perfect fit will not have much if any epoxy between the pin and the side of the hole.

Everything is a tradeoff.

I would suggest using an F size drill for 1/4” pins until you feel that’s too big.

I use an F. In some materials the hole feels perfect and in other materials the pin will freefall through the hole.
Click to expand...

So yes it sounds like I should have an F bit on hand. I have a system to keep the holes aligned . I don't think it's as efficient as what I have seen on you tube, but the same premise.
 
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