Thinning lock wafers?

[Who.Me?]

This must rank as one of the most random questions, but anyone got any clever suggestions for thinning down lock wafers, without grinding the tips of my fingers away?

The problem:- I have a mid '50s screw-terminal ignition that I'm re-keying.

The original brass lock wafers are roughly 2/3 the thickness of wafers I've salvaged from some later VW and repro locks, so I need to thin the salvaged wafers.

The original wafers haven't worn thin - the slots in the barrel are too thin to accept the salvaged wafers.

I'm trying to thin them to fit the slots but they're tiny so I can barely grab them with my fingertips

I've tried rubbing them on a sheet of wet and dry stuck to some glass to keep it flat, but keeping hold of them is a nightmare and I'm thinning my fingertips more than the wafers.

I'm wondering if The Samba Hive Mind can suggest a simpler way to thin them?
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Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786

[KTPhil]

Maybe use a wood block with the same wet/dry on it and use that to move the wafer around? Especially if it doesn't matter which side in worn thin, you won't care which side "grips" as long as either the wafer or the block moves.
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[busdaddy]

Hot glue them to something flat and easy to grip, sand down with 400 or higher paper, remove from glue with a heat gun.
Alternately a strip of duct tape might also provide enough sticky to push them around on some sand paper, but use something flat to hold them down, a finger alone will make one side thicker.
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[Who.Me?]

Thanks. Going to try the first option first. Hadn't thought to effectively sandwich the wafers and grind both faces at once.

If that doesn't work I'll try hotmelt or tape. They get quite warm due to the friction, so not sure if they'll soften the hotmelt.
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Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786

[Opossum]

Clean the wafer with denatured alcohol. Then use double sided carpet tape and stick it to something you can hold on to and grind slowly.
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[Abscate]

[Opossum]

[modok]

loctite them all to a metal block in a row, sand to even thickness

[jeffrey8164]

Just be careful and don’t grind too much.
Might end up with something like this:

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