Alternatives to pegwood?

[ClipClock]

I was cleaning a french clock (what do ya know lol), and mulling that pegwood is pretty hopeless for small pivot holes. And I bet it leaves small woody residues. I guess it works better on big old pivot holes but is it that good? It's traditional I guess

I follow Jay Fortners method of pegging, smooth broaching and then pegging again and the pivot holes are definitely very clean at the end of it

But I wondered if anyone here used something other than pegwood?

Thanks

 

[Bill Stuntz]

I'm not 100% sure exactly what "pegwood" is. Is it supposed to be a specific type of wood? I have been using "that looks good" stuff - round toothpicks or shish-kebab sticks. They don't appear to leave any residue, and the first ones DO come out dirty. So I assume they're doing the job. Am I making a mistake?

 

[GregS]

I just use round tooth picks I get from the grocery store. They're cheap and already sharpened.


I see Bill and I were typing at the same time

 

[Bill Stuntz]

I'm cheap. And I cheat a little. I usually grab 3 or 4 toothpicks when I see them by the cash register as I'm paying at restaurants.

P.S. I raid the pantry for the sticks. I'm not sure whether my wife is letting me get away with it, or just hasn't caught me yet.

 

[SteveGus]

I'm not 100% sure exactly what "pegwood" is. Is it supposed to be a specific type of wood? I have been using "that looks good" stuff - round toothpicks or shish-kebab sticks. They don't appear to leave any residue, and the first ones DO come out dirty. So I assume they're doing the job. Am I making a mistake?

My understanding has always been that "pegwood" comes from dogwood trees. I have several, so I can get some if it's vital, but I've just used round toothpicks or odd bits of hardwood scrap for bigger holes.

 

[bangster]

I can't imagine how the genus of the wood could matter. It needs to be tough enough to scrub out the inside of a pivot hole. Your average birch toothpick or ? kabob skewer fits the bill. I doubt that oak, Brazilian rosewood, teak, or Adirondack Spruce would do any better.

 

[Kevin W.]

An old thread on this subject.
https://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?6100-Peg-wood

 

[Bill Stuntz]

I just did a little googling. I saw orangewood and boxwood. Some of it was "high quality imported" wood. $5-$25 for 20-24 pieces 6-7" long, diameters from 2-8mm. Diameter doesn't seem to affect the price very much. I think I'll pass on those, and keep using the toothpicks and the skewers I steal from my wife. Thinking about it, "Caramel Apple" sticks would work for great wheel bushings.

 

[Patch]

Toothpicks, for small holes. Doweling, for the larger holes.

 

[D Crone]

Timesavers and merritts both sell peg wood bundles. It is made from trees specifically bred for pivot cleaning on a farm in the Black Forest. Unicorns live there also.

D Crone

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Do they sell chickens that are specially bred to oil clocks, too?

 

[ClipClock]

Loving the unicorns and chickens

I guess I was thinking that there might be something better, (not a different type of wood), for cleaning them...just cant help thinking there must be a better way of cleaning a gunky little pivot hole than wiggling a piece of wood in it lol

Oh well it was just a thought

 

[shimmystep]

Bamboo skewers can work well. The little interdental brushes are very good at getting rid of any wood detritus.
When re-bushing I dip them in acetone and run them through a pivot hole before I burnish it, to ensure I'm not burnishing any brass fragments to the pivot hole wall.

 

[Kevin W.]

In the link i posted , it states do not use bamboo skewers as they are hard and will scratch.

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Clip, this is why the reference to chickens. That thread pre-dates your joining us here. https://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?87271-How-not-to-clean-a-clock

 

[bangster]

In the link i posted , it states do not use bamboo skewers as they are hard and will scratch.

Use balsa. It's soft and won't scratch.

Won't clean, either

 

[Kevin W.]

It was not me that stated it, just said what is in the link. I use peg wood.
Peg wood works for me.

 

[ClipClock]

Clip, this is why the reference to chickens. That thread pre-dates your joining us here. https://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?87271-How-not-to-clean-a-clock

Thats hilarious, loving that thread Scary that he was acting as 'expert' though, wonder if he still is lol

Shimmy the little interdental brushes sound like a great idea! And dipping them in acetone, thanks

 

[shimmystep]

In the link i posted , it states do not use bamboo skewers as they are hard and will scratch.

Not in my experience kevin. It gets wet in the cleaning process which softens it a bit anyways. I look at every pivot hole under mag during cleaning to check how clean it is getting, I don't see it scratching the brass.

 

[leeinv66]

I'm as cheap as anybody and have tried all the alternatives. For me, none of them work as well as QUALITY pegwood. I stress "quality" because not all pegwood is created equal. Quality pegwood is made from Dogwood or French Orange wood. The wood from both these trees has a tight even grain and is strong and flexible. You pay about ten bucks for a bundle of the good stuff. Unfortunately, there is also Indian pegwood on the market for about four bucks a bundle. Exactly which type of tree that comes from I can't tell you. I can tell you it does not work as well as the more expensive variety. From my experience, you get what you pay for when it comes to pegwood.

 

[Jay Fortner]

I grown quite fond of the bamboo skewers and I like the seasoned ones best when I can find them. They seem to work best if dipped in acetone or carb cleaner. You can dip them give the hole a scrub and wipe the skewer to clean it a few times before you have to resharpen it. For larger holes a pipe cleaner doubled over works well.

 

[bangster]

I'm as cheap as anybody and have tried all the alternatives. For me, none of them work as well as QUALITY pegwood. I stress "quality" because not all pegwood is created equal. Quality pegwood is made from Dogwood or French Orange wood. The wood from both these trees has a tight even grain and is strong and flexible. You pay about ten bucks for a bundle of the good stuff. Unfortunately, there is also Indian pegwood on the market for about four bucks a bundle. Exactly which type of tree that comes from I can't tell you. I can tell you it does not work as well as the more expensive variety. From my experience, you get what you pay for when it comes to pegwood.

How do the differences in pegwoods show up?

 

[leeinv66]

For me Bang, I found the Indian stuff was hard to sharpen and the tip would snap off with the slightest sideways pressure.

 

[SteveGus]

In the link i posted , it states do not use bamboo skewers as they are hard and will scratch.

Bamboo is a grass, and grasses extract silica from the soil. Basically, bamboo contains sand.

 

[shutterbug]

I use toothpicks. After the Ultrasonic cleaning. If I'm only getting nineteen years of crud out of a twenty year accumulation I can live with it.

 

[Jay Fortner]

I use toothpicks. After the Ultrasonic cleaning. If I'm only getting nineteen years of crud out of a twenty year accumulation I can live with it.

I'm greedy,I want it all out.

 

[bangster]

I'm greedy,I want it all out.

Keep pegging until nothing shows on the toothpick. Use acetone for a dip.

Is what I think.

 

[Fitzclan]

Oh Clip, only two pages! (So far) on pegwood LOL. Something tells me there'z more to come. You sure know how to pick 'em.

 

[shimmystep]

Oh Clip, only two pages! (So far) on pegwood LOL. Something tells me there'z more to come. You sure know how to pick 'em.

Indeed.

I also use Guatemalan Bearded Lizard claws, but are increasingly difficult to get hold of.

 

[Jay Fortner]

Something that grows around here is scrub palmetto also known as saw palmetto. The stalk of the frond is quite similar to bamboo in the grain structure but a lot harder to break. I may have to go out and cut a few fronds and let them dry and see how they work.

 

[ClipClock]

Oh Clip, only two pages! (So far) on pegwood LOL. Something tells me there'z more to come. You sure know how to pick 'em.

Ha ha its not intentional, I only ask about things that catch my interest lol.

Indeed.

I also use Guatemalan Bearded Lizard claws, but are increasingly difficult to get hold of.

I like your style Shimmy, perhaps we could start a breeding programme. I see a business opportunity

 

[bangster]

Starling quills work well (so I've heard). And they are plentiful. "Just catch yourself a starling..."

 

[harold bain]

Think porcupine quills might work? They are much slower than starlings

 

[bangster]

Think porcupine quills might work? They are much slower than starlings

YES! And those little backward barbs will really dig that ol' crud out of the pivot holes.!

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Be sure to wear appropriate safety equipment when gathering/using quills.

And we should use specially bred imported porcupines to supply varying size/shape quills/barbs. Maybe we'd want some with spoon/scraper shaped instead of pointy barbs.

We should be able to charge premium prices for those.

 

[leeinv66]

What were we talking about

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Well, to summarize... Harold suggested that porcupine quills would be a good substitute for pegwood, and be easier to catch than the starlings that Bangster had suggested... And Bangster pointed out that the barbs on porcupine quills would help scrape crud out of the bushing holes, and that starling quills don't even have barbs... So I suggested a possibly productive direction to point the porcupine breeding program that Clip had previously suggested... Of course SHE was suggesting breeding Guatemalan Bearded Lizards as a business opportunity, and as far as I know, THEY don't even HAVE barbs on their claws to breed for either - and I STILL don't know Shutterbug's position on ANY breeding program yet... The REALLY confusing thing for me at least, is WHERE did the Guatemalan Bearded Lizards come into this? I can't scroll back far enough to find out! Oh, I SEE now... Shimmystep uses Guatemalan Bearded Lizard claws. Are we clear yet?

And ON topic?

And we ALL get to blame ClipClock for this whole fiasco, since SHE introduced the topic by asking what she could use instead of pegwood. I think we've come up with some pretty creative ideas for her. Don't you?

 

[leeinv66]

I'm disappointed Bill! I'd have thought a man of your background would have at least thrown a diagram into your summary and may be even a graph or pie chart. I guess I'll just have to use my imagination

 

[stewey]

So far I've taken the grand total of 3 clocks apart, and reassembled I should add! These, to me, are useless as dental flossers; however, they seem to work well on pivot holes.
http://www.gumbrand.com/accessories/gum-stimulator/gum-stimulator-600rqa.html
Actually, I guess they're gum stimulators not flossers. I might add that I've used them for nudging, by pulling or pushing, pivots into place.

 

[ClipClock]

And we ALL get to blame ClipClock for this whole fiasco, since SHE introduced the topic by asking what she could use instead of pegwood. I think we've come up with some pretty creative ideas for her. Don't you?

Ahem (where is the indignant 'smiley'?) SHE asked a serious question seeking a superior way to clean my quality timepieces (OK clapped out old crocks). You BOYS took my earnest quest for information and sent me off googling lizard claws and porcupine quills and the like

I shall sweep up my clock innards and depart in a flurry of indignant feathers (and don't tell me cleaning with feathers would be a good idea..... Hmm now theres a thought )

On a serious note, Stewey those look pretty good!

I've also seen some micro brass brushes that look like they might be really good. I'll let you know if/when I try them

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Clip, you don't REALLY expect innocent little me to accept responsibility when I can blame YOU - do you? Well, I guess I'm not so little any more...
You've always been a good sport in your posts, and seem to enjoy diversions like this. And your questions always seem to make me think about things more deeply. Thanks for putting up with me.

 

[ClipClock]

Ha ha Bill, a bit of fun and banter is definitely a GOOD thing in my view!

 

[Bruce Alexander]

A little while back, bangster mentioned using a cordless drill with your peg wood, toothpicks, skewers, claws, feathers, quills or whatever trips your trigger. I've tried it with toothpicks, peg wood, bamboo and wood dowels. Seems to work good at "power pegging". The size of the hole generally determines what I use.

 

[Bill Stuntz]

Power pegging sounds like a good idea. I wonder how I missed that. I try to read just about everything here, and I should have remembered that. Maybe I'm getting senile.

 

[bangster]

Ahem (where is the indignant 'smiley'?) SHE asked a serious question seeking a superior way to clean my quality timepieces (OK clapped out old crocks). You BOYS took my earnest quest for information and sent me off googling lizard claws and porcupine quills and the like

I shall sweep up my clock innards and depart in a flurry of indignant feathers (and don't tell me cleaning with feathers would be a good idea..... Hmm now theres a thought )

On a serious note, Stewey those look pretty good!

I've also seen some micro brass brushes that look like they might be really good. I'll let you know if/when I try them

Don't forget round toothpicks and acetone.

 

[Bruce Alexander]

Power pegging sounds like a good idea. I wonder how I missed that. I try to read just about everything here, and I should have remembered that. Maybe I'm getting senile.

Check out this article: Power Pegging

 

[Bill Stuntz]

OK, maybe I'm not senile yet. I've been to Stephen's web site before, and I missed that. But I haven't spent a lot of time there, since I'll probably never own a clock of the quality that he specializes in. And I was distracted by his hammered dulcimers when I visited his site. They aren't cheap, either. I got mine for a bargain basement price, or I wouldn't have one of THOSE, either.

I must admit that I'm easily distracted. This thread is ample evidence of THAT!!

 

[bangster]

Check out this article: Power Pegging

Cordless screwdriver is simpler and more convenient.

Is what I think.

 

[Bruce Alexander]

I agree with you bangster. While I never used my lathe to power peg, I have used my cordless drill and enjoy doing so. Thanks for suggesting it. I recently noted that Nelson does mention it in passing near the end of his article but I must have missed it. Perhaps I'm the one getting senile.

Bill, I think that maybe clocks are relative metronomes in your life. One speeds up and the metronome slows down. One slows down and the metronome speeds up.