by raimundo » 14 May 2008 8:27
You can file the shapes, since filing is about wasting out material in relatively small amounts, its best if you start with not so much to be wasted, this is one of the advantages of using sweeper bristle to make picks, it requires very little mass wasting.
filing is the most effective way to cut the shapes, so if you grind and do not harden the metal while doing it, files are the choise to cut to the final shape,
Actually, filing may be slow for beginners, but slow is relative, don't be in a hurry, filing should be deliberate relatively slow, and each stroke planned to achieve the next step. Beginners, may try mad uncoordinated sweat inducing manic filing, but that only leads to dissapointment, because with a file as with the more agressive grinding methods, a quick cut too deep can ruin the project. I intend to make a video on pickmaking
(ive intended to do that for several years now) and it will show that with a sharp new file you can cut the pick out of a sweeper bristle in very few strokes, with a new file the shaft can be thinned in 30 strokes, with about a five second interval between strokes, the interval is for brushing the filings away from the workspace, examining the cut to see where the next stroke should concentrate cutting and reading for the next stroke.
Do not make three or four strokes of the file without examination of the workpiece, its just bad technique, and will not have a good outcome.
I believe that I could make picks my way much faster than the people who grind it out of material that needs a lot of mass wasting. Some day I'll find the right forum to show this.
Wake up and smell the Kafka!!!
All you need is salt in water, a stainless steel plate for electrode, a DC power source and some pick materials and paint and paint remover.
