Where can I buy a pin press???

LARRYZ10

LARRYZ10

Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
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I have seen pin presses built from auto hydralic jacks and they seem simple to construct but I do not weld and do not have access to a lathe to machine the pin "sqeezers". Is there someone who builds these for sale or is there a supplier with a reasonble factory unit for sale? I have beat stainless steel pins mercilessly and still can see them faintly after I polish a guard or bolster. Help!! Larry Lehman
 
The pin press won't necessarily get rid of this problem for you. Do you use the same type of stainless for both pin and bolster?

You can use a cheap arbor press as a pin press without any welding required.
 
I don't know for sure if my stainless for pins is the same steel as my bolster. I was wondering if I used nickle silver instead of stainless if it would peen and hide better than stainless. What do you recommend? Thanks for replying. Larry Lehman PS do you recommend a supplier for the arbor press you mentioned? LL
 
Harbor Freight, Grizzly or Enco will all do. I like Enco stuff if all of them are priced the same. Should be like 20 bucks for a 1/2 ton job. You can also modify it so you can do your kydex eyelets on it and all sorts of other odd uses around the shop.

I don't use nickel silver, for the most part so I can't say other than speculating that it would be easier to blend because it's softer. Some stainless fittings are harder to blend than others and if they aren't the same series (303, 410, 416 etc) then they can be even harder to match. Over time, they can also oxidize slightly differently and show your pins.
 
As mentioned already, the pins have to be the same material as the bolsters and it also helps to anneal the pin stock. I havent had any luck with a pin press and just use a small ball peen hammer.
 
I use a hammer too, never tried a pin press but with some practice I get good results if using pins/bolsters of the same alloy.

I also like to sand my pins clean right before hammering them in. I think it improves results.

IMO, the pin presses I've seen for sale seem really overpriced for what they are. But that's just my impression.
 
I have a pin press and still do most of my pins with a hammer.

Before you insert your pin, use a tapered nail set and hammer to swell or flare out the pin hole. This was something I learned from Steve Johnson's video. Seems to work better than a tapered reamer.

If you still want a pin press I purchased mine from http://www.knifeandgun.com

Here's the direct link. http://www.knifeandgun.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=pin+press

Take care

Charles
 
Also to help hide pins is clean,clean,clean.sand and buff the pins,clean out the holes in the bolster,use a toothpick and sand paper then wash in hot soapy water.Alot of times what you are seeing is a ring of dirt around the pin.
Stan
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I am going to try annealing stainless pins next time before peening. They were so hard and I beat them into little mushrooms before grinding them off. I will try all these suggestions until somethings works well for me. The problem pins were 3/16" and hardened and the bolster was hardened also. Maybe a pin press would have been little help in this case. Thanks to all for the ideas. Larry
 
I use a pin press i made. I would not do it any other way. I can get 100% of the pins to hide in a fixed blade. The secret is use a tapered pin reamer. I think mcs sells them. It only tapers a few degree per inch. I go down maybe
.100 in a 1/4 bolster
 
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