Looking for suggestions for a good pin pusher

[Capella]

Hey all.

 

I'm looking for a good, cheap pin pusher for the purpose of using pins for holding planks and bulkheads in place while gluing.

 

The pins I am using are 14mm long, .5mm diameter, and the head is 1.2 mm wide.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[vossy]

I have always found that a small modellers tack hammer does a better job.

 

Chris

 

[Jaager]

For most of the past - I use curved Kelly clamps - the direction of the force is oblique to the wrist - which is not ideal.

 

Recently, I have found this MM tool to be useful:

 

At Micro Mark  the name is  Pin insertion plier

 

In general  it is best to pre-drill a hole that is the diameter of the pin in the plank.  In a frame, a hole that is a tad smaller in diameter does better at holding.  For a POB mould - that is end grain plywood - a hole is probably not necessary - end grain is all holes anyway.  A pin probably should not be used as a nail on a scale model.  The bulldozer - blunt force trauma - friction hold holding action is best avoided.

[Paul Jarman]

I personally Don't like pin pushers. I have used them before and ended up with to many split planks and bent pins.

Its a bit long winded, and adds a bit of time to the job. But I use a drill slightly smaller than the pin and then use a toffee hammer to insert the pin. Makes for a much neater job than pushing pins in.

Paul

[Nipper]

43 minutes ago, Paul Jarman said:

I personally Don't like pin pushers. I have used them before and ended up with to many split planks and bent pins.

Its a bit long winded, and adds a bit of time to the job. But I use a drill slightly smaller than the pin and then use a toffee hammer to insert the pin. Makes for a much neater job than pushing pins in.

Paul

A good idea Paul!  I'm going to use your method on my next build.  I used a pin pusher on Sphinx and too many pins bent and marked the surface of the planks.  I also disliked the amount of force needed - can't be good for the shape of the frames.

 

Nipper

[allanyed]

2 hours ago, Paul Jarman said:

I personally Don't like pin pushers. I have used them before and ended up with to many split planks and bent pins.

If you are talking about pinning planking, it is really unnecessary if the planks are properly tapered and pre-shaped by spiling or using the heated edge bend method shown in the four part Chuck Passaro YouTube videos.  Consider studying the videos and the planking tutorial in the Articles database here at MSW by David Antscherl.  The results from both methods are of the highest order in terms of quality and realism.   

 

Allan