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Pinion Grinder and Polisher

The ends of the leaves of pinions, when ground flat and polished, add very much to the beauty of a job when completed. Proceed to turn down your pinion in the lathe and fit it in the usual manner, ready for finishing. Now select a suitable chuck to hold the pinion in the lathe, and take a few copper cartridge shells, used in 22 or 32 caliber revolvers, and drill four holes in the end to fit the staff of the pinion you wish to polish. Fit a piece of wood about three inches long in the open end of the cartridge shells to use as a handle; do not allow the handle to enter the shell over one-fourth of an inch, so that it will not strike against the pivot of the pinion while polishing. Now file flat the closed end of the cartridge, and your grinding and polishing tool is completed. Insert the pinion in one of the holes of the shell so that the flat surface of the shell will come up squarely against the face of the leaves of the pinion. Apply a paste made of emery flower and sweet oil, and run the lathe at a high speed, pressing slightly against the pinion leaves. Transfer from one hole to another, to insure flatness. Clean off the pinion with benzine and examine to see if the marks of the turning tool are all out. If not, proceed as before. Take another shell prepared in like manner, and use crocus and oil instead of emery, and grind out the scratches of the emery. After removing these, wash thoroughly in benzine, and with another copper shell proceed to polish, using a paste of diamantine and oil or alcohol. A good polish will soon appear. Care must be exercised to see that the work is thoroughly cleaned after each process. The shells can then be laid away in separate boxes for future use. During leisure moments you can prepare a number of the shells to fit almost any job, and you will find them very handy for many purposes.