Making tiny fireing pins on a lathe.

[gitrdun]

I always figured that my lathe might be a bit too bit to chuck small enough material to turn something as small as a shotgun fireing pin. I started by turning a basic "pin vise" in order to proceed. Once done, I was able to turn a new fireing pin from a grade 8 bolt. The pin on the right is that from the right barrel, it's in good shape. The center one is defective, has been ground down and was slightly bent. Needless to say, the left barrel was a "dud". The far left one is the new pin. Works like a charm. When there is a will, there's a way.

[amosfella]

Have you tried getting a 4-6" chuck, and a stub arbor to mount it in?? Might be the easiest...

[Grizzly Adams]

Betting one of those little mini lathes is made for jobs like this.

Grizz

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Betting one of those little mini lathes is made for jobs like this.

Grizz

I've looked at those Grizz. However, that means more tooling etc. It never ends. As amosfella, a guy is better off trying to adapt existing tooling/machines to make it happen. Besides, no matter the size of the lathe, when making such small parts, one can only take so much of a cut at a time. In this case, 0.002" (0.004" on diameter).

[Dean2]

You so really nice work. I truly enjoy seeing the work of someone who still does it old school where you can make arts if factory ones aren't handy. Great job!

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Dean2

You so really nice work. I truly enjoy seeing the work of someone who still does it old school where you can make arts if factory ones aren't handy. Great job!

Thanks Dean2, I truly appreciate your comments. Being able to make a part which is next to impossible to acquire through normal channels is truly satisfying and rewarding.

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Very nice!

Glad to see that you did get a functional firing pin figured on your lathe.

[CantThinkOfAName]

Something like this could maybe help. http://www.kalamazooind.com/products....YdQAf160.dpbs
Trying to get them to run dead-nuts on center with absolutely no run-out is next to impossible. But if you're turning the piece in one shot with no 2nd op run-out shouldn't matter.
You could look for a dedicated collet system for your lathe too. Wouldn't need to get fancy with a cam system to tighten collet. Screw a drawbar into the collet and you're set.
Little tip I figured out is that aluminum inserts are a godsend when turning small parts when you don't have enough RPM in a lathe. Steel inserts aren't sharp enough. Stainless inserts are better. But aluminum inserts are sharp and positive enough to get to easily get a good finish for small parts whether they are stainless or steel.