Problems using stainless steel lanyard tubing

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lonepine

Joined
May 7, 2010
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I bought some 5/32" (I think) stainless steel tubing to use in lanyard holes. Up to now all I've used is 1/4" OD copper tubing. I cut it with the copper tube cutter and being so soft it is relatively easy to flare the ends.

The stainless steel is a whole 'nother animal. I think I'm gonna have to make a special holder to put it in so that I don't flatten it in the vise when cutting it with a hack saw. What is a good way to cut the stuff?

Flaring the ends is another thing. I tried doing this and after a couple of wacks with a hammer the tubing slipped out of the knife handle like I had done nothing to it. Do I just have to use brute force (but not too much brute force) to accomplish this?


I made some flaring tools from O1 drill rod and an old ACE hardware screwdriver with a bad blade. (That's a whole story in itself.) What tools work good for flaring SS tubing?

- Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
I use a heavily tapered punch. Hardened steel for sure. I used an old lathe tail center for a while, but it was a little too soft.

There was a fella here a while back, saying he used drywall screw heads and a vise to flare with. I thought it sounded like something good to try, but haven't yet.

As for cutting, I use my bench portaband. If I didn't have that, I guess I'd use my angle grinder or dremel to abrasively cut it.
 
Paul, a couple of suggestions....
First, I never put tubing in a vise to cut for just that reason, it's very easily warped and then your fit is off. I use an angle grinder with a thin cutoff wheel to cut my tubes. I simply hold the length of tubing in my hand very firmly and hang it off the edge of a sawhorse and cut it into one inch lengths for using on my handles. Then I just clean up the burr from the cut on the grinder and I have nice unwarped tubes for my handles.

For flaring why don't you try either making or buying some flaring dies like Tracy has at USA Knife Maker Supply? You will be flaring both sides at the same time so you don't need to worry about pushing the tube out either side.
 
To make a holding jig for any round object;
Take a block of wood and drill a hole through it the size of the round stock.
Cut the block in half down the center of the hole.
Clamp the round stock in the block.For hand held tasks, use a C-clamp.
The cut removes just enough material to make the block hold tightly without deforming tubing.


This allows you to grind the ends, cut the tube/bar, etc., safely without it trying to rotate or flatten.

As far as flaring SS tubing, I just use the thick walled stuff and epoxy it into the hole. I rough up the sides well and after the epoxy is cured, I chamfer the tubing with a cone burr or round stone bit. SS doesn't flare easily. If flaring is desired, use the screw head trick.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

Salem
How did the guy use drywall screws and a vise to flare tubing? Maybe putting the cone part in both ends of the tube and closing it in the vise???

Quote: "To make a holding jig for any round object;
Take a block of wood and drill a hole through it the size of the round stock.
Cut the block in half down the center of the hole.
Clamp the round stock in the block.For hand held tasks, use a C-clamp.
The cut removes just enough material to make the block hold tightly without deforming tubing."

Stacy:
Something like this was what I had in mind. I knew that at some point I had to drill a hole the size of the material to be held. I was thinking of clamping two pieces of wood together and drilling between the two boards so that I wouldn't have to cut the piece in two.

I've read in the forum that there should be no epoxy in the hole when flaring tubing. Are you suggesting otherwise? I didn't have a burning need to flare tubing until my cousin sent me a bunch of exotic (and oily) wood. Now I'm peening pins and flaring tubing in case the epoxy fails.

Jonnymac44
When all else fails turn to the angle grinder. I probably don't use mine as much as I could.
I made some flaring tools with O1 drill rod. Looking at the flaring dies at USA Knifemaker tells me I didn't have enough angle on my tools.

Hmmm, I just had a brain storm (maybe). If I run a 5 degree taper reamer in the tubing it would make it thinner and easier to flare, in theory. If I can't get the reamer to do the reaming then the idea has a flaw.

My mind is churning all this information over and over. I am always surprised at the many different ways there are to do a particular task. I was looking for ball bearings because I saw a video of a guy using one inch ball bearings as flaring tools.

Thanks again.

- Paul Meske
 
lonepine said:
I was looking for ball bearings because I saw a video of a guy using one inch ball bearings as flaring tools.
Click to expand...

Was it Mike Morris by chance? I'm not sure but I think he uses N/S tubing. Nickel silver is easier to flare/peen than stainless and looks about the same when new. Eventually it will patina and look sort of coppery, though. I like the way old "tarnished" N/S looks, but not everyone agrees with me. (I've been noticing that a lot lately :D)
 
lonepine said:
Jonnymac44
When all else fails turn to the angle grinder. I probably don't use mine as much as I could.
I made some flaring tools with O1 drill rod. Looking at the flaring dies at USA Knifemaker tells me I didn't have enough angle on my tools.
Click to expand...

I don't use my angle grinder ALL the time, but certain things can be done so easily and efficiently with it. This is one of those things in my opinion. I can take a four foot length of SS tubing and have about fifty handle tubes cut and ready for de-burring in less than five minutes.
 
If using epoxy on rivets that you will be peening the heads, or on tubing you wish to flare, use a slow cure epoxy, and do the fitting before it cures.

A great trick is to pack the tubing with toilet paper before the epoxy work is done. The paper keeps the epoxy out of the tubing and will also keep polish and such from collecting in the hole during handle work. Once the handle is shaped, sanded, and buffed, just push out the remaining paper with a chop stick.

The screw head trick is done by taking a flat head stainless steel or a dry-wall screw and cutting off the head. Keep about an 1/8" of shaft on the head. Set one head on each side of the tube to be flared and place the handle in a vise. Slowly turn the handle and tighten the heads down into the tubing. The tapered head will flare the tubing rather nicely. As with all flaring, chamfer the wood first, and don't over flare the tubing or you can easily make a crack.

On oily woods, epoxy will work, but you have to remove the oil from the contact area first. Use acetone to clean the surface to be glued well. It may take a bit of work, but repeated wiping and changing the paper towel will remove enough from the surface to allow the epoxy to bond. In a hole, use a Q-tip to clean the oil from the hole. Some folks soak the scales in a jar of acetone for a while before gluing them up, but this can take away too much of the natural oils in my opinion. I guess it depends on how oily the wood is and how much you are still going to grind away after assembly.

If using good mechanical fasteners, like Corby or Loveless bolts, the thong tubing should be fine with just epoxy holding it in and no flaring.
 
1/4" and 3/8" SS tubing flared with the bearing balls. No problem. Cut it in the lathe. Don't forget to countersink the handle to make some space for the tubing to flare.
 
if you have a brake line flaring tool you can use the clamp to hold the tubing while you cut it without having to worry about mashing it.
 
I just got the flaring dies from USA knifemaker and I will let you know how the comedy unfolds when I start playing with them.
 
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BMK:
Nothing ever seems to go the way I plan it, at least the first time. I'm always up for some good comedy when I'm not living my own comedy show. ;-)

- Paul Meske
 
is that the Seinfeld theme song I hear in the background?? :D

I'm anxiously waiting to hear about the usa stuff also....................
 
I never developed a fondness for numbers and I know that the tubing size, percentages, ratios and countersink angles all come into play. Should be a good show!
 
I say try it on that special knife you've been working on for so long because you want everything to be "just right"! No guts, no glory! Reach for the gusto! Join the Pepsi generation! You don't need no stinking practice! How hard can it be? It's just little bitty pieces of tubing for crying out loud.

;-)

- Paul Meske
 
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