Building an infill ?

Re: Building an infill ?

Jeff Aldred

>Ernie:

THis is my second time typing this response, the first time ended with some sort of file error!

Answers to your questions:

1) Yes, file a small countersink (1/16th side to side) on the holes that you are going to peen metal into.

2) Pins 1/4 inch long are probably an overkill, but with brass pins, you are not going to make yourself that much extra work. You could probably get away with 1/8th too long.

Big disclaimer - I have only made 1 kit smoother from Shepherd, so you might want to get a response from someone with more experience!

Jeff (All the metal for a shoulder plane infill seasoning in my shop!)

Re: Building an infill ?

Sandor in Boyds, MD

>I just want to add that for the pins, you can purchase a simple tapered reamer from Sears or Home Despot made by General for about $10. This tool will ream out your pin hole to a 5 degree or so taper. The beauty of the tapered reamer is that the undercut you get is perfectly round and does not look undercut once the pin is filed flush. If you undercut/chamfer the hole with a file, you will likely end up with an egg shaped hole.

my $.02

Sandor (still too busy building the shop to actually use the shop...)

Re: Building an infill ?

Ted Shuck

>I have read that an egg-shaped hole is actually desireable. It stops the pins from rotating.

Ted

Re: Building an infill ?

Steve Kubien

>Hi Ernie,

Disclaimer: I've only built one infill (shoulder plane from Shepherd) so my experience is limited.

1/4" longer than the shell is wide gives you 1/8" on either side is plenty long enough. Maybe a tad too long.

Yes, chamfer the holes before peining the rods. When we built our kits at the palatial estates of Shepherd Tools during the Neander Meander, we used files to create the chamfer. Worked VERY quickly so be careful. You don't need much.

Have fun!

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontario

Countersinking & rivet length

Jim Yehle in Salt Lake

>To make the countersinks, I use a countersink. Takes about two seconds, especially if I've just

drilled/reamed the hole and everything is still lined up in the drill press. For the 3/16" (i.e. .1875") steel rods I use, countersinking to .22 or .23 is good. No more than that. I have trouble imagining the rods rotating. I cut the rods no more than 1/16" over length (per side). Longer is actually a problem (at least in steel) since you've got to mushroom the entire head of the rod all the way down into your countersink. I use several sizes of ball-peen hammers, and the 2-oz size is handiest IIRC. I also use a 5/16" roll-pin punch for really fine control (like dovetails).

Practice on some scrap, file it down and check how you did.

My infill smoother writeup & plans

Good luck!

--

Jim, taking lots of breaks from making a panel plane to ski and shovel ALL THIS SNOW!

Sorry, bad link .. try this

Jim Yehle in Salt Lake

> infill smoother article & plans

--

Jim