Pick making materials

by **pinsetter** » 14 Apr 2006 23:24

Almost all of my picks that I use now are made from feeler gauges. I just left them loose and use them individually. I have a nice little aluminum box I carry them in along with my tension wrenches. Two of my tension wrenches are made from those little pocket clip screwdrivers like you can pick up at the counter of auto parts stores, and two are made form cheap stainless steel steak knives. I also have a rake pick and a pick I modeled off of the peterson reach pick that are made from wooden handled steak knives.
I'll borrow a camera and post a pic tomorrow.

by **maxxed** » 15 Apr 2006 22:06

One should always look at materials and various products with an eye for "what can I do with it" :?:

I just made a set of mini bogatta's from stainless steel fish tape. These work very well , the snap pick I made from the same material doesn't.
Feeler guages seem like a good idea, I think I will give thenm a try.

by **pinsetter** » 16 Apr 2006 20:17

I can't figure out how to get my photo on here? Can they not be uploaded?

by **illusion** » 16 Apr 2006 20:52

1. Go to: http://www.photobucket.com

2. Create a free account.

3. Upload your photo.

4. Copy the URL to your photo into a post.

5. Highlight the URL

6. Click the **Img** button.

7. Click 'Submit'

8. Breathe a sigh of relief that somebody was prepared to spoon-feed you, but start worrying that you'll need to find somebody to breathe for you from now on.

by **pinsetter** » 16 Apr 2006 21:01

thanks illusion for the help.
I didn't know such places existed that just hosted photos for free.
I had signed up for a geocities account and was preparing to handwrite the HTML to get a pic of my tools on here.

I'm sure my self inherent life support will kick in now that I've been "kick" started......if you know what I mean. :wink:

by **pinsetter** » 16 Apr 2006 21:23

OK, here is the pic of the tools I've made from feeler gauges, glasses frames, and steak knives. They may be crude looking, but they do work wonderfully!

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g47/p ... kpicks.jpg

by **maxxed** » 17 Apr 2006 0:28

Thanks Illusion I was wondering how to post pics as well

by **raimundo** » 17 Apr 2006 11:04

when you decide what thickness you like in feeler gauge material, remember, you can go to a machinists supply store and order the feeler gauges individually, in lenghs of one foot and half an inch wide. this way you can buy all the same thickness. I prefer anything from .022 to .028. I actually make 4 or more picks from a foot long feeler gauge. if you have a carbide tipped scribe, you can score a line, and rescore it and perhaps do the other side, then the feeler gauge will snap on the line like a soda cracker. if you are trying to break on with a single score line, do not make a sever angle of bend between the two pliers you are useing to snap it, just center the bend on the score, and tweak it about 15 degrees, then back and forth in the smallest wiggle, and it will break without causeing a lot of curl on the brokenedges.

by **pinsetter** » 17 Apr 2006 11:47

I just made a couple of tension wrenches from wiper blade inserts. They work really good! Thanks to whoever posted that info!

My question:

Do the wiper blade inserts make good picks? Is the material suitable for picks or is it too soft/ hard, etc...?

So far I have to say that my favorite pick material is the stainless steel steak/kitchen knives. They seem to be very durable!

by **krept** » 17 Apr 2006 14:08

awesome job on those picks and thanks for the info, Raimundo.

I have found that... at least with the ones I use... the wiper inserts are a little too soft. I was able to bend them 180 degrees without breaking or even visibly cracking. The temper on the gauges that Raimundo describes sounds optimal.

I recently bought some thin plumbing snake (flat kind, harder to find but available at ACE Hardware) that seems pretty good. Will update on how that works.

I still think Raimundo's Bogota concept from street sweeper bristles is perfect for everyday carry.

by **pinsetter** » 18 Apr 2006 20:15

Here are a couple of picks I've started making from wiper blade inserts.
I used a paint stirring paddle to make the handles for the one that has handles, and I'm going to make an entire handled set like this.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g47/p ... picks2.jpg

I used epoxy to attach the handles, and it seems to work good.

Let me know what you think!

by **Blink** » 18 Apr 2006 20:29

Could anyone tell me how thick their wiper blade inserts are? Also, if anyone has some street sweeper bristles, I'd like to know how thick they are as well.

Thanks!

Blink

by **Blink** » 18 Apr 2006 20:30

Blink wrote:Could anyone tell me how thick their wiper blade inserts are? Also, if anyone has some street sweeper bristles, I'd like to know how thick they are as well.

By the way pinsetter, those picks look great!

Thanks!

Blink

by **Blink** » 18 Apr 2006 20:32

To clear up what the hell I just did, I'll explain:

Usually, on these tpyes of forums, there is an "Edit" button in the right corner, so I just clicked and assumed it was edit, didn't realize I was quotting myself, sorry. :oops:

by **pinsetter** » 18 Apr 2006 20:47

I'm using Anco wiper blade inserts, and they are .030 thick

Pick making materials

feeler gauges,

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