I think I just had an epiphany. Either that or it was a brain f… . At any rate, I am probably not the first to come up with the idea.
I have used a variety of materials for pins – everything from finish nails, which are soft, to bicycle spokes, which are chromed and tend to be a little large. Being a good Maritimer, I don’t like to buy something when an alternative is available for the scrounging. While using pop rivets earlier today, I looked at the broken off shanks on the bench and thought hmmm. They are about 0.07” in diameter, 1.25” usable length for the shorter ones and hardened steel. I generally prefer 1/16”pins and they may be a little short for some applications, but I think I will give them a try. They sure should beat soft steel pins.
