Okay, I misunderstood you about that. The pins gotta come out somehow. Somehow they were put in so they should come out. How about a drop of penetrating oil left on it for a few days? Not much to lose if you break the pin off and try to drill it out on a drill press for accuracy. I would also try tapping it kinda hard with a small hammer on the side of the pin for a while to get the penetrating oil to work it's way down in it.
Nah, those pins are an interference fit. Penetrating oil won't change a thing. I already broke two of them using vice grips and a hammer. They probably froze the pins to shrink them a bit for install. Is what it is.
You mean they heated them to shrink them a bit. I doubt it. Probably just press fit. In any event, there's no reason not to try anything. If they are already broke off, find a machinist to drill them out with precision. Seems you have little choice.
Most substances expand when heated and shrink when cooled. The pins are hardened steel in a brass block. Drilling out just the pins won't work.
Not sure what I was thinking....Too much cold medicine in me!! As much as I hate it some projects are almost a lost cause. If you can cut or machine a new piece that would be cool. I watch the keys, bugs and parts for them on Ebay a lot but I have never seen any parts for Hamco Scotia or Brass Racer. It took me a lot of time to find the right size compression pins at a decent cost for the finger pieces. Now I have about a hundred of them but they were very inexpensive. More than I will ever need!
