DIY security pins!

[MatrixBlackRock]

Leftmost and center-top are the two attempts I made at your design, the others are attempts at (from L to R) barrel, spool, spool, mushroom, and mushroom, with three different serrated designs. These were all made from old .230" Yale CUP-2 driver pins out of an old HPC pin kit (#YPA-115).

How do you go about machining something that small?

Wayne

[Legion303]

I can't believe I missed this AND Ray's posts on the same topic, but nice work, both of you.

Squelch, Lab probably spins a long piece of brass rod, mills out the shapes, and then cuts it into individual pins. I'm basing this on seeing lots of similar processes on How It's Made.

[Squelchtone]

I can't believe I missed this AND Ray's posts on the same topic, but nice work, both of you.

Squelch, Lab probably spins a long piece of brass rod, mills out the shapes, and then cuts it into individual pins. I'm basing this on seeing lots of similar processes on How It's Made.

Hi Legion,
I seem to recall the process starts with a spool of wire, which is fed into a machine that then forms and cuts the pins. As for spool pins, I don't know how their machine holds them or rotates them, but they are located in Bristol CT, (which is where ESPN happens to be as well), and it is less than an hour my house. I think I'll reach out to them and see if I can get a factory tour and an interview for the forum.

Here's some info and some small photos of their production space.
http://www.lab-lockpins.com/labtechprod_pins.html

Squelchtone

[MatrixBlackRock]

I seem to recall the process starts with a spool of wire, which is fed into a machine that then forms and cuts the pins. As for spool pins, I don't know how their machine holds them or rotates them, but they are located in Bristol CT, (which is where ESPN happens to be as well), and it is less than an hour my house.Here's some info and some small photos of their production space.
http://www.lab-lockpins.com/labtechprod_pins.html

Squelchtone

Those machines look like screw machines and if they are, they could easily be used for making pins, the way they operate is, the feedstock is pulled off of rolls at one end of the machine and is straightened out by roller dies, it is then fed into the center of the machines jaws which hold/lock it in place, while the rotary cutters shape, mill and cut off the pins.

The only movement of the feedstock is when it is fed into the jaws just after each pin is cut off, the rest of the machining is done depending on the shape desired with either a rotary head or a fixed head with rotary cutters mounted to it.

Make sense?

Wayne

[jeffmoss26]

Yeah, they are Swiss screw machines.

[MatrixBlackRock]

Yeah, they are Swiss screw machines.

Then they would work just fine for making pins, expensive but very accurate.

Wayne

[BSG_314159]

I can't believe I missed this AND Ray's posts on the same topic, but nice work, both of you.

Squelch, Lab probably spins a long piece of brass rod, mills out the shapes, and then cuts it into individual pins. I'm basing this on seeing lots of similar processes on How It's Made.

Thanks!!!

You know what that was my bad for not doing my research prior but I was having a creative day. I was searching for mushroom american lock padlock pins and decided making them would be the easier way to get them.


Wish I had the equipment to make them from brass rods....

[nite0wl]

Leftmost and center-top are the two attempts I made at your design, the others are attempts at (from L to R) barrel, spool, spool, mushroom, and mushroom, with three different serrated designs. These were all made from old .230" Yale CUP-2 driver pins out of an old HPC pin kit (#YPA-115).

How do you go about machining something that small?

Wayne

Very carefully. I use a power drill and a set of very small 'precision' files (the kind that are sold in hobby shops for scale modeling). It does usually mean that one end of the pin needs to remain unmodified (at least for the ~.06" or so necessary for the drill to get sufficient grip on the pin), unless you keep flipping the pin every time your cut goes too close to the chuck.

[MatrixBlackRock]

Very carefully. I use a power drill and a set of very small 'precision' files (the kind that are sold in hobby shops for scale modeling). It does usually mean that one end of the pin needs to remain unmodified (at least for the ~.06" or so necessary for the drill to get sufficient grip on the pin), unless you keep flipping the pin every time your cut goes too close to the chuck.

Good info, thanks.

Wayne

[tomasfuk]

I use the same technology. For hardened steel, stainless steel and carbide I use diamond files with different grit.

[BSG_314159]

Very carefully. I use a power drill and a set of very small 'precision' files (the kind that are sold in hobby shops for scale modeling). It does usually mean that one end of the pin needs to remain unmodified (at least for the ~.06" or so necessary for the drill to get sufficient grip on the pin), unless you keep flipping the pin every time your cut goes too close to the chuck.

I second this.

I usually use one of the bigger pins that come out of my American locks/master locks. Sizes 7/8 I believe. Like nit0wl said you want it to be able to have sufficient grip in the drill.