Infill construction question

[Bruce Haugen]

I'm working on an infill smoother, using a bronze casting from St James Bay Tools in Mesa, AZ. I've noticed that most infills seem to be pinned with steel rather than brass. Is there a reason for this? I have a piece of 1/4" brass from a hardware store, which I've learned is likely 360 brass. Can I use this or should I get some 1018 rod or annealed O-1 or what?

Thanks.

[Bill Houghton]

I learned, to my regret, that hardware store brass is often tempered hard enough to be difficult to peen. Annealing it would solve this problem.

But I can't answer your main question. I am, so far in life, without an infill plane.

[george wilson]

The color of the brass will be different from the bronze anyway,so I'd recommend going the whole hog and just using the steel pins. That way,the pins will not look like a half baked try at making them invisible. If you can't hide it,make it look intentional is a good philosophy in design.

Some old planes had steel pins,so you have precedent,at least. Not that precedent is always a required thing. But,your plane will have the old styling to begin with,so precedent counts here.

[Bruce Haugen]

Thanks, Bill and George.

Turns out that 360 brass has a problem with its cold-working properties and has a tendency to crack pretty easily. It can be annealed again, but that probably won't work because the wood infill will be installed when I'm trying to peen the pins. Can't heat enough to soften the brass without damaging the wood. So I guess I'll have to visit Fastenal and get some 1018 rod. I was trying to match color, but it's hard to argue with tradition. If steel is good enough for Konrad Sauer, Wayne Anderson, Ron Brese and Bob Howard (St James Bay Tools), it should be good enough for me.

[Brian Thornock]

360 brass is most commonly sold in 1/2 hard condition. You can pre-anneal it prior to using it as a pin if you like. It doesn't have to be annealed when installed.

1018 is what most hardware store steel rod is. Flat stock is usually A36, which I learned on my first couple infills is sub optimal. Didn't nobody need to tell me that, I dun lernt it for myself. It was a miserable experience. I like steel pins because it peens nicely. If the peening material is too soft, you can get the top mushrooming so much that the underneath portion doesn't completely fill in the taper.

I love making infills. I just started another one the other night. All O1 construction, small smoother.

[Bruce Haugen]

Thanks for the info, Brian. We're in the process of moving and after the dust settles I think another one is in order. I'll be looking you up for advice.