[TheForge] Making needles?

[Ries Niemi]

I have been using a sewing awl since about 1968. 
And in that time, I think I have gone thru two needles.
Guess I just have a light touch. So, for me, five bucks doesnt sound like a fortune.

If it were me, I would buy and modify commercial needles- easy to cut them with a cut disc, on a grinder or a dremel. All the hard work is done that way.
It sounds like you have looked at standard, home sewing machine needles, instead of heavier industrial needles- have you considered someplace like this?
http://www.pilgrimshoemachine.com/replacement_parts.html

the problem I see with making them is that, in small quantities, the home made ones are usually inferior AND more expensive- because you arent buying the ideal alloy of steel by the truck load, you are usually using inferior steel, or else paying a very high price for it. You arent using gigantic machines custom made to do the process, and you arent using controlled heat treating, or polishing.

I would think these guys would have something that would work, or know who does-
http://www.kaufmanshoe.com/
or these guys-
http://www.labellesupply.com/prodlist.asp?Serviceid=2&ProductId=28&CategoryId=236

to actually forge these, you would need to work them long, in my opinion, and build a pretty precise jig to hold the blank in place while you punched it. 
I would make the jig on my milling machine, myself- it would need to be machining level accuracy. Using a tiny ball end mill, I would mill a slot, and probably have a clamp on the waste end of the material to hold it in place, then have a registration guide that also clamped on for the punching. 
There would definitely be some trial and error, could take some work to get the punching jig just  right. 
You could clamp two blocks and drill, but you would then get a cylindirical hole- with a milling machine, and light passes, stepped, you could make the end taper, and, of course, it would be straighter. A drill will want to wander a bit. 

ries


On Oct 15, 2013, at 5:57 AM, Bruce . wrote:

> Bob -
> 
> You tell us you make needles (albeit very big ones) but don't tell us HOW!
> Please share the info.  I t might just be exactly what I'm looking for!
> 
> Thanks for the suggesting on polishing.  That might help. I resharpened my
> cut-off needle on a fine grinding wheel, and thought ahead enough to leave
> the "scratches" lengthwise, but I didn't think to polish it.  And the
> reason NOT to cut off sewing-awl needles is twofold -- price is one and the
> shape of the resulting base is another.
> 
> BTW, it sounds like you did a patent search at the USPTO website.  That's a
> useful tool, but you can often do better using the Google patent search,
> which will search foreign patents as well.
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 10:53 AM, Bob Ehrenberger <eforge at centurytel.net>wrote:
> 
>> ---Original Message----
>> 
>> Subject: [TheForge] Making needles?
>> I need a few needles of dimensions I can't find commercially.  The
>> application is a sewing pliers (US Patent 1,352,508).  I have one of these
>> pliers and it's great for repairing those damned silly running shoes you
>> can't seem to avoid these past forty or so years.
>> 
>> The needle needs to be about 1" long, maybe 1.25", "heavy" thickness
>> (equivalent to a #8 Tandy sewing-awl needle).  Therein lies the rub --
>> cutting off the commercial needle to an appropriate length gives a needle
>> that isn't quite appropriate for mounting in the sewing pliers.  I have
>> done this and it can be made to work, but such commercial needles are not
>> cheap and I'd prefer to make my own than to pay the price for what ends up
>> being a second-rate needle.
>> 
>> ----Reply-----
>> 
>> I don't do a lot of patent searches and was a little surprised when it
>> couldn't find the patent even though I had the number. When I went to add
>> the subject to the search I discovered that the search engine defaulted to
>> starting at 1976. Once I told it to search all, it found it.
>> 
>> On the original topic, I do make sewing needles, but I make big ones for
>> sewing brooms. The early ones were just flat stock 1/4x1/16 with a taper on
>> the end and a 1/8" hole.  Later I demoed at an event next to a broom maker
>> and he asked me to make him some needles and gave my one for a pattern.
>> These were heavier 1/4x3/16x6 and tapered at both ends all the way to the
>> middle with the hole in the middle. They feel better in the hand and with
>> the hole in the middle are faster to use.
>> 
>> Sorry, it doesn't help with your current problem.  I think Frosty's idea of
>> shortening an awl needle should work.  One of the problem with hand made
>> needles besides the heat treat, is they really need to be polished to work
>> right.
>> 
>> Robert Ehrenberger
>> Shelbyville, Mo.
>> eforge at centurytel.net
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bruce
> NJ
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