Copper Corby Bolts?

This is a bit off topic, but since Travis has been posting.... how about a piloted counter-bore for the corby bolts??? I have a 1/4" drill that has a 3/16" pilot ground into it, but I'd much rather use a counter-bore. I just haven't found any in that size.
 
Okay... I guess I just needed to look at the interchangeable counterbores on MSC. It seems like I'd only found counterbores for screws which are typically 0.2440 or 0.2600.... which obviously wouldn't work.

But in the interchangeable cb section of the catalog they have 1/4" cutters that can accept a 3/16" pilot. :cool: :)
 
Well the 5/16" diameter ones are done and we will be starting the 1/4" on Monday hope to have them all shipped to Tracy by end of next week. And they do look good. I was not sure on the copper idea at first but I like the way they look.

Travis,
 
precision plus said:
Well the 5/16" diameter ones are done and we will be starting the 1/4" on Monday hope to have them all shipped to Tracy by end of next week. And they do look good. I was not sure on the copper idea at first but I like the way they look.

Travis,
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My own opinion, so take this with a grain of salt.

The pins only need to look good on the surface that is showing. If you do not spend too much extra time on getting a beautiful finish on the hidden areas, you can keep your costs down.
 
Yes I am aware of that :D and actually they don't have to look great on the ends either as most of you grind the heads off but the only thing that don't get machined on these normally is the 5/16" dimension as it is usually stock but this stuff came in at .315 so I took a few thousandths of it to make sure it would fit in your standard 5/16" counter bores. And I was also referring more to the color of them but thanks for the feed back.

Travis,
 
precision plus said:
Well the 5/16" diameter ones are done and we will be starting the 1/4" on Monday hope to have them all shipped to Tracy by end of next week. And they do look good. I was not sure on the copper idea at first but I like the way they look.

Travis,
Click to expand...

WooHoo!! :thumbup::thumbup:
 
Hi Guys,

The good news: Looks like the copper corby bolts are rolling in at Tracy Mickley's USA Knife Maker Supplies.

The bad news: They aren't doing silicon bronze ones.

Looks like I'm back to the drawing board on this. Anyone else interested in getting some? I corresponded with Travis at Precision Plus some months back, but my couple of hundred dollars wouldn't get a run going at a reasonable price. Maybe if some of us coop'ed an order?

Thanks, Phil
 
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Phil Dwyer said:
Hi Guys,

The good news: Looks like the copper corby bolts are rolling in at Tracy Mickley's USA Knife Maker Supplies.

The bad news: They aren't doing silicon bronze ones.

Looks like I'm back to the drawing board on this. Anyone else interested in getting some? I corresponded with Travis at Precision Plus some months back, but my couple of hundred dollars wouldn't get a run going at a reasonable price. Maybe if some of us coop'ed an order?

Thanks, Phil
Click to expand...

that's too bad.
I see Silicon Bronze used on quite a few high end pieces.


What sizes did you want?
What were the prices?
What volume is required to hit a price break?
Maybe Stacy is still interested in organizing a run?
 
I was letting Tracy handle it. I think he will see how the copper rivets go before he commits to making a bronze run.
It takes a good size run to get a reasonable price.
If enough folks request them in bronze, maybe he will make a batch.

One reason folks who run a business don't jump on a request too fast is that lots of folks will say. "I'll buy $200 worth", but after they are in stock, the same folks don't order....or order one pair.
If you posted that you wanted the copper rivets, and bronze rivets, order the copper ones in a good size batch and send a request with the order for Tracy to get the bronze made up. Nothing gets a businessman moving faster than actual sales orders.
 
Hey Stacy,

Good point, although pledging an amount to pitch in toward a wholesale coop purchase doesn't necessarily translate to spending similar with a retailer.

Never-the-less, I appreciate a retailer sticking his neck out in an attempt to support a customer base to grow market share; for as a fledgling bladesmith I appreciate the convenience of being able to buy stocked items at retail as needed.

Perhaps its time for me to rethink wanting silicon bronze corbies. I've been casting my bronze pins along with the rest of the hardware. Works alright I guess.

All the best, Phil
 
Yes Stacy is correct and it has happened. But Tracy does like to have options its just hard to sit on an investment for 2-3 years(imagine making a knife and waiting 2 years to sell it). And we do like to give you guys what you need to do your job.... I will see if there is anything I can do here but no promises. But yes the 1/4" copper did ship out of here yesterday so they should be listed by week end and we are starting the 3/16 ones.

Travis,
 
If you folks are wanting onsey-twosey quantities, I may have found an alternative. Hopefully I'm not stepping on anybodies toes here, tell me if I am.

I just got off the phone with a real good friend of mine. He is a young (my age) partially disabled veteran who is now starting out as a machinist. He has worked under me for a few years and he is taking his last class at the local community college to get his machinist certificate. The shop he has been working in has slowed down and he is currently idle. He's going crazy with too much idle time, so I told him about us and our Corby bolts and he said he would love to make some just to have something to do.

He has his own manual lathe that he has set up for production (old school, yo).

I'm not trying to step into anybodies business here. But if Travis isn't real keen on making a short run of these right now I have found somebody who wants to make a few which might work out really well as a stop gap for everyone.

Any thoughts?
 
Well, I think he can sell several hundred bronze corby's if he wants to make them up. Phill and I would probably take 50-100 each. Have him figure up a price for 300 and get in touch with me by email.
 
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