Music wire.
I'd always thought it would work for the purpose, but I'd never actually tried it. So...
Happily, I had a piece of 1/4" out in the garage. This stuff IS hardened, so cutting it with a hacksaw will require heating the area for the cut up to a dull red(easiest seen in deep shade or a dark area) and letting it cool. I cut a piece, then shaped and heat-treated it same as the rock drill. Just tapped it on a couple of things, and it seems to work well. Might need to be tempered a bit harder(yellow to light bronze) to last as well, far as staying sharp, but will have to experiment to find that out.
This stuff can be found at hobby shops, and a lot of hardware stores; I seem to remember it comes in sizes above 1/4", though not bigger than 3/8" at most.
1 comment:
Rather than hacksawing, just grind a notch in it where you want it to break, and bend it in a vise. It will snap reliably at the ground notch. Then finish grind to your desired tip.
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