To make your bench pin fit tighter, drill a hole on the underside
of the slot for the tang and fit a bolt with a "T" bar on the end
and you will be able to tighten as needed or remove.
If you do this, you may find, as I did, that the bolt thread
eventually erodes the wood and cannot be tightened effectively. My
solution was to roll a very thin sheet of copper, anneal it and then
wrap it around the bolt. Then wrap some binding wire very tightly
onto the soft copper, following the thread form of the bolt. What
results is a threaded copper sleeve which can be carefully cemented
(I used two part Epoxy) into the “loose” bolt-hole. Once the epoxy
has begun to set but is not yet fully cured, the the bolt should be
lightly oiled and screwed into the sleeve. The first time, this my
require a little effort, but once the thread has been ‘re-cut’, it
becomes easier with subsequent tightening. This also work hardens
the copper sleeve and allows the bolt to be tightened without
damaging the wood.
To make your bench pin fit tighter, drill a hole on the underside
of the slot for the tang and fit a bolt with a “T” bar on the end
and you will be able to tighten as needed or remove.
Now that's an easy thing I never would have thought of. But since
the tang is a good 2" to 2 1/5" wide, should I use one or two
bolts
You might consider a threaded steel (or brass) insert for the wood so
that you’ll have long lasting threads through the wood. You could
also braze a short length of tubing just larger than the bold
diameter to a length of flat bar that spans the width of the pin
slot. As the bolt is tightened it would act as a clamp on the pin
with a large bearing surface rather than the relatively small bearing
surface of the end of a bolt.
My solution was to roll a very thin sheet of copper, anneal it and
then wrap it around the bolt. Then wrap some binding wire very
tightly onto the soft copper, following the thread form of the
bolt. What results is a threaded copper sleeve which can be
carefully cemented (I used two part Epoxy) into the "loose"
bolt-hole.
I admire your resourcefulness. But as a former carpenter and
woodworker I’ve found that there are fasteners and jig fixtures that
will do the same thing.
An even better idea. I was thinking of just wrapping the tang with
duct tape but worried that the glue might damage the desk. Leather,
on the other hand, should hold nincely without the worry of glue
coming off. Thanks.
You might consider a threaded steel (or brass) insert for the wood
so that you'll have long lasting threads through the wood. You
could also braze a short length of tubing just larger than the bold
diameter to a length of flat bar that spans the width of the pin
slot. As the bolt is tightened it would act as a clamp on the pin
with a large bearing surface rather than the relatively small
bearing surface of the end of a bolt.
Times like this I wish I had a handy_man_ around the house. I’m a
little bit confused on how to do this as I’m not very handy myself.
If you want a really sturdy bench pin I’d suggest the GRS Bench Pin.
It’s not the cheapest thing in the world, but you only have to buy it
once. There are several accessories that are available for i. If you
are handy with tools or know someone that is you can mount just about
any tool on it. It doesn’t take any time to mount the tool of choice
on the mounting bracket & when you’re done with it, it can be removed
as fast as it was installed.
I think the angle up up is to file on and the flat side is for other
work. I have one like this that fits into a slot and I also have a
vee board that I clamp on with a C-clamp.
