Wednesday, March 5, 2014
small wheel turning
A small scrap of steel, not sure what it started out as, found on the street, has been a tiny anvil for a while. Since it has a wider portion that makes a steady-ish base, it seemed like the right thing to add a small hemispherical divot in one corner, so as to hold the rounded head of escutcheon pins when using them as rivets. Sometimes Tool Girl makes tools as well as uses them...
I first smoothed out the top surface as best I could, using a range of abrasive wet/dry sandpaper, and then used some of these inexpensive industrial diamond points to grind the place that would serve to hold the rivet head. I have had a set of the diamond bits for a number of years now, and while they are not super-high quality*, they work well for the various odd things needed. Often they come in handy on the rare occasion that some enamel needs modified while in process, or should there be a small bit in the wrong place. The important thing is to remember that these sorts of points must ALWAYS be used underwater, just like when grinding enamel. The water serves to cool and to flush away any of the grinding debris from the abrasive.
* I find Harbor Freight to be a useful source of some small tools, depending on what you need them for. Not the most precise, and highly variable in quality, but the price is notably less, and for many things the tools are perfectly adequate. I have a set of drive hole punches for leather and soft materials that work just fine, as do these little points...
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