Attaching lead and spike length.
Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2023 10:04 pm
I wanted to share some pics of the process I used for attatching lead to the handle on a Indy whip I recently made.
I have made whips off and on for several years and recently wanted to get back into it and the thought of attaching the lead as securely as possible is on my mind. I’m sure everything has been done at this point but here is the method I used on the last few classic Indy whips that I did.
To start I will note is that years ago I noticed that the 8 inch galvanized spikes I like to use were actually about 7 3/4” long so I prefer to start with 10 inch spikes and cut them to exactly 8”
I use a bench grinder to clean up the spike and grind off any casting marks and Right under the nail head I grind a flat spot the same size as the width of the lead strip. That way I can easily drill two holes through the side of the spike.
using a hammer and punch I Put two holes in the end of the strip of lead so they line up with the holes in the nail.
The rest is pretty straight forward I use pop rivets to attach the lead to the handle. Then coat the whole strip in JB weld and wrap the lead as tight as I can. I also coat both ends of the lead cylinder and fill any voids where It didn’t lay completely flat. I also like to skim some of the very end of the strip to try and get a smoother transition.
I’m sure at some point some one has used this method or maybe it’s standard but It is certainly the most solid foundation I could find and I believe it should never fail or twist.
Thank you for reading!
Mike
I have made whips off and on for several years and recently wanted to get back into it and the thought of attaching the lead as securely as possible is on my mind. I’m sure everything has been done at this point but here is the method I used on the last few classic Indy whips that I did.
To start I will note is that years ago I noticed that the 8 inch galvanized spikes I like to use were actually about 7 3/4” long so I prefer to start with 10 inch spikes and cut them to exactly 8”
I use a bench grinder to clean up the spike and grind off any casting marks and Right under the nail head I grind a flat spot the same size as the width of the lead strip. That way I can easily drill two holes through the side of the spike.
using a hammer and punch I Put two holes in the end of the strip of lead so they line up with the holes in the nail.
The rest is pretty straight forward I use pop rivets to attach the lead to the handle. Then coat the whole strip in JB weld and wrap the lead as tight as I can. I also coat both ends of the lead cylinder and fill any voids where It didn’t lay completely flat. I also like to skim some of the very end of the strip to try and get a smoother transition.
I’m sure at some point some one has used this method or maybe it’s standard but It is certainly the most solid foundation I could find and I believe it should never fail or twist.
Thank you for reading!
Mike
