Feeler Guage Ideas

[johnpsmith84]

I been wanting to do this for a long time with the feeler guage picks. i was hoping someone could give some tips, techinuques, or anything, even pictures of your own feeler guage picks. any thing would help and it might give me some ideas, thanks.

[JackNco]

have a look through the homebrew hall of fame, theres a few in there i believe.

[johnpsmith84]

thanks for the suggestion, but is there any tips on how to use the feeler guages when cutting them. should i take each gauge out individually or what. i need a guide. well any help would be great. thanks

[raimundo]

Go to a machinests supply jobber, or look for "prescison" or "Starrett" on the web and you can get 12 inch feeler gauges in specific thicknesses that you need for picks, usually anywhere from .020" to .030" and you can make several picks from each blade. the steel is very good, you can score and snap these if you use a carbide scribe and then support the metal in a vise with the score just at the edge of the jaw, bend it slightly back and forth a few times on the score. do not bend it sharply as that will cause a rolled end. this will cut it to length. After that you will want to use a grinder for the mass wasting, but keep dipping it in cold water don't let it get blue from heat. (wear safty glasses)

[johnpsmith84]

cool idea, thanks, but any tips on techniques?

[CVScam]

I made a set from feeler guages. I used a dremmel tool but I let one of them get too hot while I was grinding and it later broke. I stuck with basic shapes and used the different thickness of the blades to make some very thin picks. I don't need a .015 inch thick 1/2 diamond pick very often but it has come in handy before. I keep it in my pocket so I have something to use but the feedback is not great. Here is a picture:

http://s130.photobucket.com/albums/p272 ... t=Tool.jpg

[freakparade3]

cool idea, thanks, but any tips on techniques?

What exactly are you looking for? You have been given advice by a master pickmaker (Raimundo) and told exactly what to look for to make picks. There are several great pickmaking guides available on the site.

[muskratt]

one thing raimundo forgot to say was to be careful with the types of gauges because the sometimes tend to rust. & remember to sand