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The tread on turning pins got me excited to give it a try, and I took some
pics of my adventures to share with you here. This is how I would
approach this job on a small production standpoint using my 10" South
Bend metal
lathe.

First, I hacked away at a high speed steel tool bit until I got something
that looked like the head of an endpin.



Then I chucked up some 1/2" diameter brass stock.



And set my compound rest at 3 degrees.



Then I plunged in and cut the head profile using the cutter I made.





Using my parting off tool I made two grooves, one just at the base of the
pin head and one the end of the shank.



Then I roughed in the taper.



Cutting the taper with the compound rest.



Then I parted off my pin.



A quick grind.



And polish.



And she's done.



I will have to give this a try with some wood to see if it will work as well.
So far so good!!

Louis

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

Thanks Steve. It looked good in the preview, but looks like something went
wrong on the post.

Louis

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

Nice tutorial Louis. It looks like the software put a space between the "p" and "g" in "jpg". I can't wait to see how it looks in wood.

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Got it guys

Thanks Steve, I deleted your fix to prevent twice the pics'n a post

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Thanks Joe and Lance! Pesky spaces. When I have a little more free time I'll
turn some ebony blanks and give this a shot in wood.   I tried this out in
brass because I already had some 1/2" stock ready to go. They look neat but
wood would be more useful in real world applications.

Louis

(Now addicted to metal work as well as lutherie, is there no hope?)

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

That looks great, Louis, make me a set of 7 out of bloodwood, please.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Hey, that's pretty cool! I like the design, too, though in wood I'd leave the "neck" a bit thicker.

That looks really cool.

I think you got a great looking end pin there, a little to big of a head for my liking though.

I'd take a 1/2 doz end pins in ebony though

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When you turn it in wood you might want to make the head a bit more bulbous and a bit less undercut between the button and the head or you might find you break a few. out side of that looks good. I personally would not like brass due partially to the weight.

Excellent Louis!

Making your own pins opens up a lot of design possibilities, not just using unique materials but... how about making them out of a lamination that matches the purfling/binding scheme?... You could even make them out of laminated neck off cuts.

Its your fault Louis, NOW I gotta' get a lathe.

Long

_________________
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Thanks guys. Lathe work is fun and it is a great tool to have around the
shop for tool making and whipping out little parts that just don't exist.   A
small lathe capable of cutting screw threads would be my choice if I could
only have one.

Bob- I'm truly sorry. Watch out, if you do get a lathe it's only a matter of
time before you must have a milling machine and a metal cutting saw
and..... You see where I'm going with this...

This little project was my break from a mountain of repair work, when I
finish a few more jobs I'll make up some ebony and cocobolos blanks and
see how it goes in wood.

I did modify my cutter to leave a bit more bulk below the head of the pin
and bulbifyed the head a bit more.

More to come soon!

Thanks for watching.

Louis

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!