Pin pushers for planking?

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi everyone,

 

To start pins for the first planking on a double-planked hull, any recommendations on a good pin pusher?  I used the Latina (or maybe Amati) Nail Nailer on my Badger, which worked fairly well.  It pushed nails into the plywood bulkheads just enough to hold the glued plank to the bulkheads, but not all the way in which made removal very easy.  I pulled mine out of storage this afternoon, and it looks like it's bent and no longer usable.  It wasn't built of the sturdiest construction, so I'm looking to see if there are any other options that people are happy with.  

 

In the alternative, are their other preferable ways to pin the first planking to bulkheads?  I didn't particularly have much luck with hammering nails in with a ball peen hammer.  I thought about maybe using a Dremel to pre-drill holes, but the pin pusher seemed much easier.  I also saw that there are things called "T-Pins" out there, but not sure if they are all that helpful for planking work.

 

Thanks very much!

 

 

[kenr]

Hi  Mike

I use map pins And push them into the bulkhead adjacent to the plank I am gluing

The pins I use have a plastic head about 6mm in diameter which holds the plank

until the glue dries

Hope that helps

 

Regards

Ken

[DaveF]

 Hi Mike:

  I too found the Amati pin pusher lacking. When I did some digging, I found the model railroading people use a pin pusher as well for the tracks.

 The one I got is very substantial fits into the palm of the hand and is thicker at the business end.

 They have different sizes for different pins. The other thing I found was the cost was cheaper than Amatis. Now this was approx. 7 or 8 years ago.

 Hope this helps you.

 Dave

[usedtosail]

I bought a pair of these and really like them:

 

http://www.micromark.com/pin-insertion-plier,10735.html

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it.  A few follow up questions if you don't mind.

 

Ken, are you able to push the map pins all the way to the hilt?  I found at least on my Badger that the bulkheads were too firm to just manually push the pins all the way in without pre-drilling holes.

 

Dave, do you remember where and what model your pin pusher is?

 

Tom, I saw those pliers last night and wondered if they were any good.  Thanks for the suggestion.  Micromark seems to offer three sizes in nails - do you recall which you use?

[kenr]

Hi Mike

Yes I can.

You have to be careful not to split the bulkhead ply.

But as you said pre drilling a hole could help

 

Regards

Ken

[realworkingsailor]

I find these are slightly better in some cases: http://www.micromark.com/spike-insertion-plier,8242.html

 

Andy

[DaveF]

Hi Mike:

  I got mine from the UK shipping was not expensive

 It is an

Expo Tools 2mm PIN PUSHER 75110

 It is not from Model Expo.

 Wood handle and you can also get an adjustable stop for depth. I felt there was no need for this so I didn't get that.

 DAve

[usedtosail]

Hi Mike. I didn't buy any nails with the pliers, but have used them on all kinds of nails that I have received with various kits, as well as regular sewing pins.

[Glenn-UK]

I used a pin pushed for the inner planks, and you also can get them with an auto stop to prevent pushing in to far (have a look at CMB web site). I then used map pins for the outer planking, and found it best to use a small panel hammer to help push in

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks everyone, this is very helpful!  I really appreciate it.

[Guest EricD]

I use a pin vise to drill a hole big enough to take the nail in the plank and push the nail in and glue on the plank.  Then I give it a few taps with a hammer to hold it until the glue dries.  The small nails don't get in the way and you can easily pull them out with pliers.