Push pins....help on how to make them. - Page 4

RawhideArtist · #91 2008-03-06, 10:07pm

I made some hat pins a few years ago using .035 stainless. You could make them longer than needed and cut them down after annealing. The great thing about the .035 is how light it is to hold. Since the piece is so light, one naturally tends to be more detail oriented. Also as I recall, I had tried 1/16 mandrels but too many broke after coming out of the kiln. That's my 2 cents.

StOrM · #92 2008-03-07, 9:20am

manty666 - thats a good idea....that way you have that lip idea so if for any reason the metal comes loose from the glass it cant slip out

rawhideartist - thanks for the info

Frit Diva · #93 2008-03-07, 10:37am

I did the same as RawhideArtist describes, making hat pins from .035 stainless.

First I cut the rod/wire into 14" to 18" lengths and then bent a small loop into one end. This made it easier to build up a blob of glass, since the wire itself is so small!

No bead release~ made the glass tip in the flame, then stuck the glass end into the kiln just like a bead on a mandrel.

After annealing, I would clip the wire to desired length and then just sharpen it on a fine grinding wheel. I was trying to make them smooth enough to go through fabric, so I had a piece of fabric close by to test them on. The remining length of the wire could be used again till it got too short.

I have an old fashioned hand-powered grinding wheel that mounts on the edge of a workbench, it works great for this purpose (They sell these at Harbor Freight, but I got mine at a flea market). I'm sure you could do it on any bench grinder. The sharpening takes less than a minute.

What's nice about working with the .035 stainless is that you can make your pin as short or long as you want ~ though I confess I never found a big market for lapel pins or hat pins either one....

Beadbug · #94 2008-11-22, 7:24pm

Late to the party... did anyone ever decide what the best item to use for pins that would have a head to help them stay on? I would like to make some for christmas gifts for the people at work.

StOrM · #95 2008-11-22, 9:01pm

I don't know if we ever found a solution

S. Greco · #96 2008-11-23, 5:32am

Another latecomer...I was under the impression that steel was incompatible with glass?

StOrM · #97 2008-11-23, 8:19pm

What metal is then?

twiggyinaz · #98 2008-11-23, 9:52pm

I am going to take a stab in the dark.

The knobs are built on stainless steel screws, so evidently the stainless is a good metal to put glass on.

I have a flower bed with flowers built on the ends of bent mandrels, and they have been there for a few years. In the summer and fall and most of the winter you can't see them, there are real flowers, but every February and March, they hold their heads high and brighten that patch of dirt. I don't think I have lost one of them... yet.

jaci · #99 2008-12-01, 11:44am

I have been making them successfully storm. I do just as mentioned above by cutting the T pins to size and gluing them in. I have not had a problem with them coming off. This is by far the easiest way. There is no sharpening, or polishing, and 2 part epoxy will hold for a very long time. For those concerned with making a catch in the pin, it is easy to take a nail file to the top of the pin, or just make grooves with a pair of pliers before gluing. It really is easy. I sell them 5 together with a cork board that I sometimes paint for $10.

MerryFool · #**100** 2008-12-01, 2:44pm

Mark, you're my hero.

StOrM · #**101** 2008-12-01, 3:27pm

jaci - i think you are right..... So you make the pin end on the end of a mandrel....do you use 1/16 size?

simvet02 · #**102** 2008-12-01, 5:54pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaci

I have been making them successfully storm. I do just as mentioned above by cutting the T pins to size and gluing them in. I have not had a problem with them coming off. This is by far the easiest way. There is no sharpening, or polishing, and 2 part epoxy will hold for a very long time. For those concerned with making a catch in the pin, it is easy to take a nail file to the top of the pin, or just make grooves with a pair of pliers before gluing. It really is easy. I sell them 5 together with a cork board that I sometimes paint for $10.

Jaci, how do you hold the pin while you are working on it if you don't mine me asking. I like the "t" pin idea the best. I'm actually thinking of leaving the "t" on the end, building out the bead head and then cutting and sharpening on a hand crank bench grinder. Shouldn't take but a few minutes to do that.
thanks,

StOrM · #**103** 2008-12-01, 6:54pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaci

just make a round bead (or any other shape) on the end of a dipped 1/16th mandrel. Then clean out the hole and glue in the needle, no grinding necessary.

This is what Jaci means

jaci · #**104** 2008-12-01, 11:45pm

yes exactly!

1/16th seemed to work the best. these really fast to make, and getting it round is super easy that small. I have done mini hearts, dots, stripes, swirls, flattened clear dots, top designs, marbled, squished, mashed into a mold, or press... (The itty bitties work great for this, or the sweetie series, just use one half and push into the center rather than trying to press it. You could press it too) Its really just fun! They make great mini test beads too (think of those tiny beads Corrina makes as testers, only now you have something to do with them after)

I do dremel out the bead release with a diamond bit and then make sure to let them dry out for a few days on toothpicks or pins, There is always a bit of water that manages to get trapped in there if you don't! lol. (putting them on pins should ensure that all the water does not stay up in the hole.)

StOrM · #**105** 2008-12-02, 10:28am

great.Thanks!!!!

can you post some pictures of your finished pushpins.

jaci · #**106** 2008-12-02, 11:21am

I will take a pic or two saturday at my show. (they are all packed away! lol)

StOrM · #**107** 2008-12-02, 11:43am

sounds good. sell tons at your show

S. Greco · #**108** 2008-12-03, 2:32am

Quote:

Originally Posted by StOrM

What metal is then?

I learned that brass, copper, high temperature wire (nickel chromium?) and the precious metals (silver, gold, platinum) were compatible with glass. I supposed you could add aluminum, but it melts at a much lower temperature.

jenyip · #**109** 2009-06-04, 1:31pm

Hope no one minds me resurrecting this. After combining several ideas from this thread, and a bit of trial and error, this is what I have come up with.

(a) The pins
- I use this type of push pins. They seem to vary in price so hunt around for the cheapest.
- After bashing off the plastic (see below) you are left with a pin shaft which has a "nub" that grabs the glass nicely, and of course a nice pointy end which is literally made for the purpose.

(b) Removing the plastic head
- Prop a large empty box behind your hammering area. It won't stop the plastic shatter (wear safety glasses) but at least it will direct it to one area which is easier to clean up.
- Hold the pointy end of the push pin firmly with a pair of (old) pliers. Use a pair of pliers with a head that is smaller than the widest part of the pushpin. Butt the pliers up against the plastic head.
- Aim at the widest part of the push pin, closest to the pliers, and bash it with a heavy hammer!
- With a bit of luck the plastic will have completely shattered and you will be left with a perfectly straight pin shaft. It only takes a second.
- If the shaft is crooked straighten it with a few gentle hits of the hammer

It is a messy process but I do a whole lot in a single session, and then clean up in one fell swoop. And it's fun to bash them!

(c) Preparing the pin shaft
Thanks to Bobby for her brilliant idea of binding 6 mandrels together. But I found the resulting mandrel to be heavy and difficult to rotate, so, I made some modifications:
- cut five 1.6 mm (1/16") mandrels into 5 cm (2") lengths
- bind the 5 mandrels, arranged into a "flower" around the end of another mandrel which has been cut to approx 15 cm (6")
- Bind the other end of the mandrel bundle, also in a "flower" pattern, around a pin shaft. It should be tight enough that the shaft won't fall out, but not so tight that you can't remove it with your fingers.
- the resulting push pin mandrel is light, easy to hold, and just like rotating a normal mandrel.
- it takes a while to set up, but it's a mostly one-time set up.

(d) Make your pin
- Flash the pin shaft in the flame until just glowing before winding on the glass. Make sure you cover the "nub" of the shaft completely.

(e) Finishing
- Holding on to the middle of the mandrel bundle, gently ease the completed push pin out of the mandrel bundle.
- Check the stability of the mandrel bundle (tighten wires, replace as necessary)
- Ease in the next pin shaft.
- The completed pin shaft is pretty dark after annealing, but tumbling overnight brings them back to shiny.

I love making these little guys! Thanks to everyone for their ideas.

squid · #**110** 2009-06-04, 1:56pm

that is SO cool! Fantastic little innovation with the mandrels!

Lara · #**111** 2009-06-04, 9:37pm

Very cool. I would not have come up wiith any of these ideas. Thanks for sharing everyone.

lwilson21 · #**112** 2009-06-04, 10:23pm

Jennie, thanks for sharing your process. I love your push pins!

Leah

StOrM · #**113** 2009-06-04, 10:24pm

Jennie - I think you are right with regards to the cheapest and most effective way to make a push pin. Awesome idea for the mandrel. I think i am going to have to try it sometime.

tt4st · #**114** 2009-06-06, 2:42pm

What fun!!! Jenny, Thanks for refining and tweaking the previous ideas and sharing with all of us!

avisiblespectrum · #**115** 2009-06-06, 3:04pm

those are so cute Jenni! I'm itching to make some now!

Beadbug · #**116** 2009-11-18, 10:06am

I made some pushpins and though I would share, they were fun and easy with the instructions here.

StOrM · #**117** 2009-11-18, 10:07am

ooooooo it looks like you used murrini. nice touch!

MerryFool · #**118** 2009-11-18, 1:59pm

Seeing all your lovely push-pins, Tracy, reminds me of the doll-eye tut...

jenyip · #**119** 2010-02-16, 8:00am

Okay, so it's many, many months later and I am still obsessed by making pins. But I've figured out a couple of other applications ... lapel pins (aka tie tacks), and also stud earrings. What's even better is that the pin shaft thingies are commercially available (check at Rio Grande, eg, for "tie tac" and "ear posts").

Here are some lapel pins/tie tacks. They are about 15 mm in diameter.

And here is a pair of stud earrings. Each earring is about 12 mm in diameter. The earring posts are sterling silver.

Help! I can't stop making them!

StOrM · #**120** 2010-02-16, 11:36am

WOW great job!! i really like them. How much do you sell them for?

Do you just clean them after to make them shiny again?