Two things that came out of working on a piece:
Had a pin that would not budge; no rust, just being in place for, oh, roughly 80 years. So I mixed up a variation of the acetone & ATF penetrating oil: I used mineral spirits(no acetone, and I thought the ATF would dissolve into the ms better*). Half-filled a jar, put the piece in, capped it and left it overnight. Today, it came out.
Second thing, if you're not aware, if you've got a stubborn pin that doesn't want to move, use a punch with the shortest pin possible. Couple of years back I mentioned making a set with replaceable tips; took the appropriate size and cut it to about 1/4" to break this loose. A shorter tip both flexes less- delivering more energy to the pin- and is less likely to bend.
*Son had tried the acetone/ATF mix, said it worked well, but they tended to separate if it sat for a while. I'd wondered if mineral spirits would work as well, and seems to; and the ATF doesn't separate.
1 comment:
My Former father in Law and I used a similar trick when working on old BP guns. ATF, 2 cycle oil and lighter fluid/naptha. Used in a refillable pen lubricator, it helped free up parts of locks from old old flint and cap locks. Our shop regularly worked on pieces from civil war and up. And we did have an old Charleville that was dated from rev war period, that we restored the lock on for the local history museum.
Post a Comment