You won’t find much information about mickey pins online unless you have a great deal of patience. The reason for this is a rather strange one.
As well as being the name of a washered nail used for fastening difficult objects, enthusiasts also refer to collectable Disney badges as ‘mickey pins’ and feverishly swap them online.
If you have the patience to sift through all of the Disney related content, you’ll find some rather scarce information about the mickey pin fixing.
Mickey pins are essentially small nails with an attached washer. The washer helps the pin to grab onto materials that have a tendency to split or crack.
It prevents lateral movement from warping or pulling the pin from side to side. Because of this resistance to damaging materials mickey pins are often used in situations where regular nails would prove too risky. Here are 4 uses for this humble reinvention of the nail.
Sheet Metal
Sheet metal can be connected together with rivets, welding or mickey pins. Mickey pins are by far the easiest and quickest method of attaching sheets of metal together – although they tend to last a shorter amout of time.
The washer built into a mickey pin rests snugly against the hole created by the sharp nail end. This essentially seals the connection and makes it a great deal stronger. Strength is increased by increasing the surface area of the washer.
Less pressure is placed on each point during times of physical stress due to the increased surface area. Metalworkers use mickey pins to ensure that fastening do not warp thin metal sheets.
Masonry
One of the most prevalent uses of mickey pins is in the field of masonry. Masons working with concrete make especially widespread use of washer equipped pins and nails.
The washer attached to the pin or nail helps to anchor the fastening into the concrete without compromising the material – which is quite susceptible to crumbling. Hollow bricks and brittle stone are also very suitable materials for mickey pin use.
Plastic Trunking
Although plastic trunking is usually very tough and durable, it is very hard to attach together using conventional fastenings.
Regular pins and nails have a tendency to slip when used with plastic. Mickey pins’ washers prove invaluable when trying to connect plastic trunking as they effectively prevent slippage. Plastic trunking is used extensively in electrical installations.
Woodworking
Some kinds of wood are more susceptible to splitting and cracking than others. Wood that is covered in laminate is especially prone to cracking when using conventional nails and pins.
Mickey pins are often used by commercial woodworkers and are especially useful when attaching wood to other materials such as brick. The mickey pin’s washer is, as usual, the key to its success at attaching multiple materials together.
Insulation
Insulating foam is soft and prone to breaking apart, making wide washer mickey pins perfect for attaching it to walls and floors. Insulation installation is typically completed with at least some help from the humble mickey pin.
