Making belaying pins seems like a lot of work when so many companies out there still offer little bags of them on the web. But when your decking out a Spanish Galleon, 6th rate frigate or a Man of war the expense can become unreasonable for a navy on a budget.
What you need:
- Box of round cocktail toothpicks
- Hobby Miter-Box & Saw
- Pencil
- Round hobby file
- Pin-vice & bit (not larger than full thickness of tooth pick)
- Square Dowel
- Sand paper
- CA Glue
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Use pencil to mark 2 of more holes in your square dowel. Then drill them out with a small pin-vice to make pilot holes for your rack.
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 | Using a larger pin-vice bit, widen the holes to accommodate the end of the cocktail sticks. | | | |
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this can also be done with the round hobby file
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(Caution if you use the larger pin-vice first the square dowel will split, a little CA glue on the end can remedy this.) | | | | | | |
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| Cut Rack from end of square dowel |
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Insert Cocktail sticks in pin-rack. Mark with pencil a circular ring on pin. |
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Cocktail Sticks
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Remove from rack.
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Use a round File
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File a divot in the cocktail stick completely around the circumference just above the line.
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Example of finished end.
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Cut off end.
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| Sand off edges of rack. Insert Pins. |
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I don't glue the pins in until the final touches of the ship's completion. The reason is if you want to secure lines to the pins and make sure the line stays taunt it is much easier to adjust the line by gluing to the pin then putting it in the rack, rather than adjusting the line behind a secured pin.
