Help with homebrew pick handles please

[Olson Burry]

'Lo.

Ive made some pretty good picks out of hacksaw blades to complement my 40+ commercial picks that i've picked up over the years, however I'm finding the handles a little too thin to be really comfy even though I've rounded the edges off nicely.

I should like to have handles more like the ones on my SouthOrd sets, which looking at them are about 3 hacksaw blades wide.

So today i made another pick and two "handles" to go either side but I'm struggling with how to attach them to the pick itself. I see the SO ones are riveted - I dont have a rivet gun and feel doubtful i could punch holes successfully in the blades anyway.

The pick goes all the way along the handle and extends out the front just like the SO ones.

I would really appreciate some suggestions on how to accomplish a rock hard bond between the handle and pick - short of shrink wrapping the whole thing - i really like the shiny metal finish.

I was thinking "glue" but the epoxy im trying at the moment doesn't really want to stick - is it possible and what if any glue could i buy this weekend to try out.

Apologies for the waffle, thanks for reading - I feel inspired by looking at Kaotics awesome creations.

[freakparade3]

Try using a product called "Gorilla Glue". Heck, if it sticks monkeys together it should be OK for a pick handle.

[Ibn]

I use a machine for welding metal objects together using electricity. I don't know how is it called in english, but it uses large electric current to heat the material on a high temperature in a small area so it welds. Southord handles are made the same way. I hope it is understandable, but if you want some photos of that machine and photo of handle made with it, I can post some soon...

[Olson Burry]

Thanks for the replies.

@Ibn, that sounds like a spot welder or something similar, I would be hesitant to fork out for such a thing, especially having never used one before. It would be a shame to electrocute myself..

@freakparade3 - Im not sure we have Gorilla Glue over here Perhaps Ill ask around at the hardware shop tomorrow and see if they've any recommendations.

Perhaps Im barking up the wrong tree entirely with glue.. It needs to be solid.

I couldn't find any info on this site regarding this issue so I appreciate the suggestions.

[freakparade3]

If you do have gorilla glue it turns solid. It will work well.

[Olson Burry]

On closer inspection of the SO picks, they appear to be spot welded not rivets as i first thought. I wouldn't mind attempting spot welding but the £200-£300 price of the equipment is prohibitive unless i somehow wanted to go into manufacture

I'll use my money tomorrow and seek out some good glue. Perhaps I'll post some pictures unless im being a bit presumptuous of peoples interest

[raimundo]

I don't own a spot welder, but a friend does, the problem is that you have to adjust the machine to use the right amperage for the particular thickness of metal yo want to weld, this means for me that I have to bring some metal samples to 'burn' as I adjust the amps. Dont put your handmade pick in the machine until you have tested it on some scraps of the same metal.

[steve0527]

try sanding the surface your glueing and useing a really good metal epoxy. Sand it till you have little groves in it it will stick good.

[Ibn]

Thanks for the replies.

@Ibn, that sounds like a spot welder or something similar, I would be hesitant to fork out for such a thing, especially having never used one before. It would be a shame to electrocute myself..

Yes maybe it is spot welder. I didn't have to buy it, because my grandfather has it.
Another idea for making pick handles is to make it just from epoxy. You can use a small pipe as a shape and fill it with liquid epoxy. Then dip the pick into it and let it harden. It should make round handles. You can also put heatshrink on it. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe sometime I'll try it, ofcourse after some improvement of my idea.

[Olson Burry]

Great! Thanks for all the replies.

@raimundo - I dont think i'll be buying a spot welder any time soon, it does bear thinking about though. Perhaps I'll set a bit of cash aside for a few months and see if I really want one. Good advice on using test bits to check the weld times of course!

I found this one, not knowing too much about them myself I cant be sure but it looks like it would do the job.
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@steve & Ibn - I had thought about just making an epoxy handle but I'd choose to have all metal if possible so Ill make sure to rough up the sides so the glue can get purchase and see what happens tomorrow.

cheers all, happy pickin'

[criminalhate]

Some regular crazy glue should hold the handles on just fine. It's not like your using them to unscrew something so there really shouldn't be much torque or pressure on the handles.


Gorilla Glue expands some so it will squeeze out the sides. Although it holds very well.

Another option would be 2 part epoxy mix it up and it's a thick compound that should hold them together rather well.

[BraveHeart.]

ya.

thasnks.

i needed help with metal glue also

[Gordon Airporte]

I stick aluminum handles to my hacksaw picks with an adhesive called JB Weld. It's specifically for sticking metal to metal and it can be filed down once it's dried.

[Raymond]

You might try using rivets. Just drill the holes. Very slightly counter sink the outside surfaces. Put a pin into the hole and pound it flat with a hammer. Do the pounding slowly and carefully so as not to dent the surrounding surface. Be sure to use a hardened support underneath. Last, sand the 'rivet' down the surface and polish to your satisfaction. You can use any metal for the 'rivets'.

[Legion303]

Another vote for Gorilla Glue, which is holding a 2-pound combination wheel pack to the back of a hard drive in my homemade practice safe lock.

To get anything to stick two pieces of metal to each other, you're going to have to distress the surfaces. Adhesive needs something to grip and won't do well on smooth polished surfaces. When I need to distress a metal surface quickly, I use a Dremel and just barely touch it to the surface a few times.

-steve