What were Belaying Pins Made of in early 19th Century?

[ASlrWnt2C]

I'm working on my 1/96 Revell Constitution  and have decided that the pins molded into the various rails are way too fragile. I'm going  to save myself some grief (I hope) by filing the plastic pins off the kit rails and drilling holes for aftermarket pins. 

 

I have more or less decided on these pins, but thinking about this has raised the question of What were the actual pins on ships of  that era made from?   I guess I always assumed, without thinking deeply about it,  that the pins would have been made of some kind of hardwood. 

 

But recently I read C.S. Forrester's classic Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and in that story  Horatio intends to dispose of a package of sensitive documents by weighting them down with a belaying pin and throwing them overboard. He ends up "skirting" the problem of safeguarding the dispatches, but it got me wondering if the pins would have been made from metal of some kind.

 

I don't suppose it would be plausible, for me to leave the bright brass finish on my pins? I think I would like the look of that, but not if it doesn't make sense. 

 

As a side question, you often see in books and movies, spare belaying pins being used as weapons. Wouldn't they have been secured in the rails? And wouldn't they all have a line tied to them? 

 

Thanks for any insight you can offer. 

[druxey]

Wood. I doubt weighing documents with a wooden belaying pin would be particularly effective! The brass ones look nice and are well shaped, but I'd paint them ochre brown.

[BenD]

If the belaying pin was made out of Lignum Vitae it would sink.  It is the most dense wood, as far as I know.  

 

The pins on a ship are not held down by anything but gravity or by a rope if a line has been belayed to it.  It's meant like this so you can pull the pin and all the rope drops to the deck.  You can react quicker to what ever sailing task is needed. 

[grsjax]

Belaying pins could be made from wood, iron or brass.  They were not painted as the paint would wear off pretty quickly from the rope rubbing on the pin.

[Bob Cleek]

4 hours ago, BenD said:

The pins on a ship are not held down by anything but gravity or by a rope if a line has been belayed to it.  It's meant like this so you can pull the pin and all the rope drops to the deck.  You can react quicker to what ever sailing task is needed. 

 

I've read this here and there a time or two, but I've never encountered a pin with a line belayed to it that could have been pulled out of a rail as described. Neither have I ever seen it done aboard a sailing vessel in my half-century plus of belaying lines to pins. Just sayin'. Maybe there's a trick to it that I haven't learned, but I've never encountered a pin that was going anywhere with a line belayed around it.

[Bob Cleek]

7 hours ago, ASlrWnt2C said:

I'm working on my 1/96 Revell Constitution  and have decided that the pins molded into the various rails are way too fragile. I'm going  to save myself some grief (I hope) by filing the plastic pins off the kit rails and drilling holes for aftermarket pins. 

 

I'd do some testing before going that route. I've not seen one of those plastic Revell Connies in a long while, but, plastic being what it is, you may find that drilling the pin holes in the pin rails may weaken them to the point that they snap clean off when the total rigging tension is applied. You'd be perforating them in a line down their entire length. They might not be able to handle that.

 

7 hours ago, ASlrWnt2C said:

I have more or less decided on these pins, but thinking about this has raised the question of What were the actual pins on ships of  that era made from?   I guess I always assumed, without thinking deeply about it,  that the pins would have been made of some kind of hardwood. 

 

 

Check your scale and make sure whatever pins you use are the correct size and shape. While not as bad as many, the ones pictured in the link are, IMHO, butt-ugly. They are way too fat and have an odd-ball shape. There is a relatively standard shape for a belaying pin and I don't know about anybody else, but incorrect belaying pins hit me like a poke in the eye every time I look at a model with them. 

 

 

(Note that the bottom of the pin is truncated in the above drawing. It should be 2/3 the length of the entire pin, with the handle the other third. See real pin pictured below.)

 

 

 

[druxey]

I agree with you, Bob. Most belaying pins on models are poorly proportioned and usually out of scale. However, as far as commercial pins go, those shown from Model Expo are far better than others I've seen!

[ah100m]

I'm currently deep into the running rigging of the 1/96 Revell connie.  I drilled holes in all of the pinrails to hold brass belaying pins and didn't have a one split.  The pins I used are 5mm/13/64" long (19.5" long actual).  I drilled 0.6mm/1/64" holes in the rails for them.  That's a #72 or 73 drill.  My references said that the pins were iron so I just blackened the brass ones.  Oh, and I also pinned the rails to the deck or bulwark with pins made from brass nails with the heads cut off.  

[ASlrWnt2C]

Thanks everyone for the great historical and practical advice. Amazon does not quote the diameter of the pins I'm contemplating but they sound a lot like the ones ah100m is using successfully. 

 

Is there a product that blackens brass? I seem to remember a comment in a build log that  "the fittings are soaking in Blacken-It" or some such. I guess I could paint them since they won't actually get much use. I'm still torn between the aesthetics of leaving them bright or the accuracy of blackening. I suppose that if I left them bright they would tarnish over time. Maybe by the time I get to the rigging at the rate I'm going. 

[barkeater]

It would not work in your 1/96 scale but in 1/48 scale which I do, I use round toothpicks which I cut and shape to size. Pretty easy to do and they look good.

[ah100m]

I'm currently deep into the running rigging of the 1/96 Revell connie.  I drilled holes in all of the pinrails to hold brass belaying pins and didn't have a one split.  The pins I used are 5mm/13/64" long (19.5" long actual).  I drilled 0.6mm/1/64" holes in the rails for them.  That's a #72 or 73 drill.  My references said that the pins were iron so I just blackened the brass ones.  Oh, and I also pinned the rails to the deck or bulwark with pins made from brass nails with the heads cut off.  

 

Yes, I used Blacken-it.  Worked fine.

[BANYAN]

If it helps, the Contract for HMCSS Victoria (1855)called for brass belaying pins.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

photo 1: HMS Erebus 1812  bronze belaying pin'

photo 2: probably treenails from L' Orignal, 1750, Quebec. I bought these and they were sold as belaying pins. The question I ask myself; why this dark color as in the belaying pin from the NMM? tar, dirt!

[allanyed]

  A Sailor Went to Sea.   Cool name.....

Do a search here at MSW on blackening.  There are lots of posts on blackening brass with many do's and don'ts.   A key point to remember is be sure the pieces are clean.  Best to pickle them first, then clean with acetone.  Avoid touching with your fingers as oils from your skin getting on the piece will screw up the process.   Tweezers are the way to go for handling.    

Allan

[ASlrWnt2C]

Here is an update....

The pins arrived and I am in the process of drilling 135 holes with my pin vise. 

 

I guess I didn't realize how tiny they would be: 

It's one thing to talk about a pin that is 5mm long. Quite another when you drop one on the floor. 

 

Which brings up another question. @ah100mmentioned that he pinned his fife rails to the hull with brass nails. And I am aware that others have done this. But I don't see how it's possible to drill a hole for the a pin horizontally in the fife rail. 

 

You can see that I have some consistency issues even drilling vertical holes. Maybe a drill press is required for the consistency I would like to have. But I don't see how a horizontal hole could be drilled in this fife rail, even with a drill press. 

 

Hoping that  @ah100m or others can provide some insight. Everybody is so helpful here! 

[Bob Cleek]

2 hours ago, ASlrWnt2C said:

You can see that I have some consistency issues even drilling vertical holes. Maybe a drill press is required for the consistency I would like to have. But I don't see how a horizontal hole could be drilled in this fife rail, even with a drill press. 

 

You can do it by hand if you build simple jigs to position your drill bit. To drill the holes for the pins, take two strips of wood and glue them together at right angles. Then, in the "crotch" of the "L" draw a line exactly parallel to the upright leg of the "L" which is exactly half the width of your pin rail away from the upright leg of the "L." Roughly in the center of this line, carefully drill two perfectly vertical holes along this line as wide apart from each other as you want the spacing between your pins in the rail. (It is important that the holes you drill in your jig are perpendicular to the face of the jig because they will guide your bit when drilling your pin rail holes.) Insert a pin or nail in one of these holes, sticking up through the wood to provide a register pin in the jig. 

 

Use this jig to drill your pin rail holes by placing your pin rail piece in the crotch of the "L" flat on its widest side (Avoiding the "register pin" for drilling the first hole.) Holding the rail piece squareinto the "L" crotch (or clamp it there, as you wish,) turn the jig over and drill your first pin rail hole as straight as possible through the hole drilled in the jig that doesn't have the pin in it. (You'll have to make sure that hole is going to be where you want a pin hole in the rail. Make a mark on the side of the rail where you want a pin and then line that up with the hole in jig using a reference line where needed.) When you have drilled the first hole, take your pin rail piece and slide the drilled hole in it over the pin in the jig, keeping the pin rail piece again pushed squarely into the crotch of the "L." Turn the jig over and drill another hole through the reference hole in the jig and through the pin rail piece. Repeat the process as many times as you want holes in your pin rail. They should all come out perfectly spaced in a straight line. (The line of pin holes will not end up right in the middle of the length of pin rail if your guide hole in the jig isn't drilled perpendicular to the face of the jig. If the pin holes are drilled at an angle, they will come out a bit off, but the error should be consistent, at least.)

 

Somewhat similarly, to drill a hole through the narrow dimension of the pin rail to pin it to the bulwark, use a piece of wood that is exactly half as thick as the side of your pin rail less half the diameter of the drill bit you want to use to drill the nail hole. This piece of wood should be slightly narrower than the length of the drill bit exposed when it is held in the pin vise. Clamp the piece of wood just mentioned to your bench top so that it barely hangs over the edge of your bench top.  Then take the pin rail piece and clamp it flat on the workbench with its edge butted right against the side of the first piece of wood. Taking care to drill at a right angle to your pin rail edge, and keeping the side of your drill bit flat against the piece of wood, drill through the width of your pin rail piece carefully at a right angle to the pin rail piece. The thinner piece of wood will act as a guide to keep your drill bit level with the pin rail piece as you drill through the pin rail.

 

It's easier to do this than it is to describe it in writing, but there you have it.

 

If you already have a good rotary tool (Dremel or Foredom flex shaft,) or don't mind spending a few bucks to get one, you might want to consider picking up a Vanda-Lay rotary tool drill press or mill press and some of the attachments to their Acra Mill system. This may set you back a few dollars more than the cheapest dedicated Asian mini-drill press, but what the Vanda-Lay drill press or mill system offers is the same or better accuracy than Asian cheapo mini-drill presses and with a huge amount more flexibility in applications. The Acra Mill has attachments for use as a lathe, sanding planer, and cut-off table saw. None are as good as a dedicated stand-alone Sherline milling machine or Byrnes Saw, but close, at far less cost than tooling up a modeling shop with dedicated power tools.  (Don't waste your money on the Dremel brand drill press. It doesn't hold the drill moto-tool securely enough to provide the accuracy you need from a drill press in the first place.) 

 

See: https://vanda-layindustries.com/index.html

 

 

[ASlrWnt2C]

Thanks, @Bob Cleek I think I understand the manual jigs. I'll give them a try. We'll see about getting power tools. Christmas is coming! 

[Bob Cleek]

On 10/14/2020 at 6:38 PM, Gaetan Bordeleau said:

The question I ask myself; why this dark color as in the belaying pin from the NMM? tar, dirt!

 

Pine tar build up over time. The more you put on, the darker it gets. 

 

Baseball players use it on the handles of their bats to provide a sticky non-slip grip, too.

 

• 

[ASlrWnt2C]

I reckon I owe the group a comeback, even though this has strayed a bit into the realm of "Jigs and Building Tips" 

 

The smallest steel pins I could find are .8mm, but My Fife rails are only about 1mm. 

It seemed to me that even if I could drill a horizontal hole through the rail with the setup described by @Bob Cleek that the rail would be weakened too much. So I decided to glue on another strip of plastic to support the pin, and I got an idea about how to drill the hole perpendicular.

 

First I cut a strip off a .02" sheet, approximately the width of the rail behind the Belaying Pin holes (so that there will still be pins exposed at the bottom to belay to. 

Then using a scriber I cut a perpendicular channel in both the rail and the strip. 

Now when the strip is glued to the rail, I have pilot holes that are very close to perpendicular in both dimensions. 

Drill through. 

(I will get better with practice I hope) 

 

The finished part looks like this. 

 

I oscillate between thinking that this is a clever solution, to thinking that it's obvious, to thinking that there must be a better way altogether. 

 

I guess the only way to find out is to run it up the halliard ... 

 

Thoughts? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by ASlrWnt2C

[Bob Cleek]

That's one way to do it.

 

If the pin rail is too thin to run a pin through it horizontally, another solution would be to drill the hole for the fastening at an angle through the top of the pinrail, down at an angle so i exits the bottom or the pin rail. Then drive the pin, nail, or piece of wire, or even bamboo through the angled hole and into the bulwark or frames. The entry hole can then be puttied over so as to make the pin hole invisible. One handy product for filling nail and pin holes is called "furniture repair wax crayons" or "fill sticks." These are crayon-like sticks of wax which softens when warmed by your hand. You just rub the crayon over the hole in the wood press it into the hole, then wipe over the hold to fair the wax to the level of the surface. These come in a number of colors to match various wood species. There are also softer "finishing creams" and "nail hole fillers" in a variety of wood tones and even bright colors. These are used by picture framers to fill nail holes and joints in picture frames.  See: https://www.unitedmfrs.com/frame_touch_up_supplies_s/12.htm?searching=Y&sort=2&show=30&page=1