I've been thinking about buying some pin gages in order to face the shank after freehand drilling and came across an e-bay shop that sells individual pin gages for just a couple bucks. I've ordered 2 for myself and will report back once the transaction is complete.
Here are the direct links to his pin gage listings:
0.061 to 0.250
0.251 to 0.500
Hope you guys find this helpful.
Individual Pin Gages on E-bay
Individual Pin Gages on E-bay
That's a good find. Thanks for sharing! I've been looking, too, but haven't been able to bring myself to drop the money for a set (or two) when I would probably only need a few sizes.
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Re: Individual Pin Gages on E-bay
I fear this might not be as helpful as hoped. I often try several pins to get the just-right fit I'm looking for. One of the great things about a pin gage set, versus just flipping a drill bit around and using the shank of the bit, is the very small incremental steps that let you get a perfect fit.
My sets came with each pin individually wrapped. I have a handy reference of how many pins I've used or tried pursuing the perfect fit: how many pins are unwrapped. I'll go count here in a minute, but its enough to make individual purchase at $4 a pop more expensive than the sets.
At the Briar Studio, when you unwrap a pin that's never been used before its declared your lucky day. In other words, even with a set that's got to be more than 5 years old AND USED EVERY DAY by more than one full-time pipe maker, they are still using new pins on occasion.
Edit: I've unwrapped 98 pins.
My sets came with each pin individually wrapped. I have a handy reference of how many pins I've used or tried pursuing the perfect fit: how many pins are unwrapped. I'll go count here in a minute, but its enough to make individual purchase at $4 a pop more expensive than the sets.
At the Briar Studio, when you unwrap a pin that's never been used before its declared your lucky day. In other words, even with a set that's got to be more than 5 years old AND USED EVERY DAY by more than one full-time pipe maker, they are still using new pins on occasion.
Edit: I've unwrapped 98 pins.
Tyler Lane Pipes
http://www.tylerlanepipes.com
http://www.tylerlanepipes.com
Individual Pin Gages on E-bay
Thanks for the input Tyler. I was afraid of that. I thought if I bought a couple larger and smaller than the sizes I needed, that might cover it, but .001 is a small increment.
Re: Individual Pin Gages on E-bay
Wow. 98? I wouldn't have expected that. Hmm... Hopefully I'll get lucky with the two I ordered, but if not I'll just spring for a full set. It sounds like this e-bay store would probably be best suited for what they advertise, replacements for missing gages.Tyler wrote:I fear this might not be as helpful as hoped. I often try several pins to get the just-right fit I'm looking for. One of the great things about a pin gage set, versus just flipping a drill bit around and using the shank of the bit, is the very small incremental steps that let you get a perfect fit.
My sets came with each pin individually wrapped. I have a handy reference of how many pins I've used or tried pursuing the perfect fit: how many pins are unwrapped. I'll go count here in a minute, but its enough to make individual purchase at $4 a pop more expensive than the sets.
At the Briar Studio, when you unwrap a pin that's never been used before its declared your lucky day. In other words, even with a set that's got to be more than 5 years old AND USED EVERY DAY by more than one full-time pipe maker, they are still using new pins on occasion.
Edit: I've unwrapped 98 pins.