| Peening Hollow Tubing Pins I use stainless hollow tubing for a lot of handles and it works exceptionally well. Most hollow tubing is almost polished from the factory, so you must peen it if it is to be of any value other than decorative. After the handle is rough ground and set (epoxy) is when I peen the pins. I use a center punch to do this as it is almost non marring and it stretches the pin, thus increasing the grip on the handles. Below is a picture of the hollow pins that are set but not peened. A level but non marring surface is recommended, but it must have enough support that it is going to allow peening. A wooden table will not do as it just doesn't have enough backing. I use a counter weighted hammer from Snap On as it requires a very minimal amount of force since the shifting weights are doing most of the work. Your first strike should be dead on center as it will spread the pin evenly. About 3-5 hits should get you where you want to go. Then angle the pin slightly to North, South, East and West hitting 2-3 times (or more as needed) to exact the round of the center. All you have to do now is the finish work, and the handle should be there for good. |
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