Making your own pan

[bioprof]

I'm trying to make my own pan for a matchlock build. I bought one of those round abrasive balls, but the steel just ate it up. What could I use with my drill press to cut out the depression?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Buy a grinding wheel for a dremel tool. You might go through a couple of them, but they will work.

 

[bioprof]

I tried grinding the pan from the side of the ball rather than at the axis and it is working a lot better. It is slow going because the pan keeps heating up, but it is getting there.

 

[Bubba45]

I used a carbide oval cutter made for a die grinder after eating up a grind stone and had it fly apart,thankful to have had the smarts to wear the safety glasses.The cutter come from an Ind. Supply in town.
I used it in my hand drill after making a shallow start with a drill bit.

 

[WRussell]

Yep, carbide is a lot better than the stones. Check out[url] www.micromark.com[/url] for a source, item 60677 (they have a good sale on until Sept. 11) They also have diamond burrs, which are my favorite. They have a whole set for the price of one carbide bit (about $10 plus shipping) Look for item 81094. Diamond burrs will cut slower than a carbide cutter, but that's a good thing, because slips are almost inevitable, and the diamond burr will do a lot less damage.

I happened to have the catalog handy. :grin:

 

[DickS]

The musket I was copying had a round basin in the pan. I heated the piece of steel to forging temperature, placed the ball of a ballpein hammer against it, struck the ballpein with another hammer. Made a nice clean smooth circular depression. Once the steel had cooled, I cut the pan to shape. Have done 2 this way.

 

[PitchyPine]

The musket I was copying had a round basin in the pan. I heated the piece of steel to forging temperature, placed the ball of a ballpein hammer against it, struck the ballpein with another hammer. Made a nice clean smooth circular depression. Once the steel had cooled, I cut the pan to shape. Have done 2 this way.

That`s a good idea :thumbsup:
I drilled a 5/8 hole in the back part of the pan the depth ya want then used a carbide tool as the other guys said. Takes a while for sure.

 

[44-henry]

Originally it was either forged in place, or cut out with chisels and cleaned up with riffler files and scrapers. If you want to speed up the process try some carbide rotary files or burrs. These aren't cheap, but in a die grinder they remove metal extremely fast, they do throw a bunch of pin like metal shavings out which can take out an eye so be careful, they also stick to clothing so you will want to wear a shop apron to protect your clothing.

 

[In Over My Head]

"...struck the ballpein with another hammer..."

I was taught that it was unsafe to strike a hammer with a hammer???

 

[DickS]

It's possible for chips to be detached from the hammer faces. Wear glasses, gloves. Remember, it is a single blow, the steel is plastic, this cushions the impact.

 

[Jim-Iowa]

"...struck the ballpein with another hammer..."

I was taught that it was unsafe to strike a hammer with a hammer???

In a perfect world thats good advice.
Hitting a hammer with another hammer is one of those things that my father would have told us boys"I better never see you boys doing this" just before he did just that. :grin:
When you don't have the right tool for the job, sometimes you have to improvise.