Source for original MCM shelf pins?  

The best help you'll ever get for this is simple encouragement to jerry-rig something better yourself.

So go get 'em, tiger!

I could, but I'm a guy who likes my stuff to be "complete" in their vintageness. I'll find the part eventually, just annoying and hoping someone can expedite my search.

Rick

Try http://www.design-restoration-spares.com/. If they don't have it now, they might add it to their inventory if there's a need. They have a lot of oddball stuff and have been adding more, i think.

What are the pegs made of? Looks like nylon to me but it's hard to tell.

I would consider Xanax if you can

I couldn't agree more with RLG. A couple of stiff drinks might help, too.

Replace them all with new and keep the old ones in a baggie in a drawer until that magical day, if it makes you feel better. We're talking pocket change and nobody (including you) will ever see them. It's not like original shelf pins are gonna add anything to that sideboard anyway.

It is probably the case that another shelf pin costs as much and is just as hard to find as another sideboard by the same company. This is why such minor little things like this are so expensive and hard to find.

I've run across similar-style pins a few times, but in cast metal. Possibly an English thing. I guess they were designed like tuning pegs on stringed instruments so that one could get a purchase on them if they became stuck in their holes? Never seen cheap-ass plastic ones before, but seems consistent with the construction of the OP's sideboard judging by the nailed-on drawer rails.

I've never seen pins like these before. And it is amazing that they are in plastic. I do like the design with a broad head so you can get purchase on them. I might not like looking at them though.

I've seen those pins in cast brass, used in built-in furniture from the turn of the century (1900). In fact they are used in a built-in bookcase in my library, and it was really hard to find a replacement, though I finally did. It required keeping the part in mind any time I was at a flea market type place that might have bins with bits and pieces of brass hardware.

Leif, these are put into recessed holes in the bottom four corners of each shelf, with only the pins sticking out of the shelf and into small holes running up the sides of the cabinet. They and actually less visible than most other shelf pin designs since none of it projects below the shelf.

In the OP's case, since yours is made of white plastic, maybe you should consider trying to find someone with a 3D printer (maybe a library in your area if you don't have other ideas). 3D printers are getting cheaper and more common, but you'll have to come up with a model first. Luckily the model of this shelf pin is much simpler than most 3D models so it shouldn't be too difficult to produce. Maybe ask around to see if you have a (nerdy) friend that has a 3D printer at home. Once you have the model it is easy to produce as many as you want, so you could even get a few extras made up to see if there is any interest on ebay or etsy.

Ah! That is very clever about putting them in recessed holes. I like it. Someone actually has designed a better shelf pin (at least in metal, not plastic). Now why are they not more universally used?

Heck,

I hate to say it,,,,but I have a pipe that is in a similar shape..and color.

Heck,

Aunt Mark

Sorry all, I got sidetracked and lost track of this thread.

Thanks for the link Spanky, I'll add it to my list of potential resources. I'm not sitting here with a loaded gun ready to end it if I can't find a replacement for the ONLY ONE OF EIGHT THAT IS FING MISSING but I will obviously be continuing the search until my kids bury me in the ground.

As for the pegs, they could be nylon, and given the vintage probably are... I can't really say I could tell the difference between them. A heavy nylon peg (the fat part is the size of 2-3 pound coins stacked) feels like plastic. I guess maybe the discoloration from oxidation might be indicative of nylon? Seems like more than I'd see with plastic, but again, I really have no idea.

Funny about the guitar peg comment... yeah, they look distinctly like stubby guitar pegs. The hardest part with a temp replacement is that the peg part is fatter than any of the current "standard" pegs anyone sells, so the generic one I have in place of the missing one now is kind of loose. One reason I really want the original is that the fit is really nice... not to tight, not too loose, and they have that nice big fat pad for the shelf.

I'll probably end up making a better replacement out of wood. The pain will be that the peg side is as tall as the pad, meaning it'll have to be a three part piece (wood peg, wood pad, drill both and glue in a thin gauge rod to marry them together. However, should hold up fine.

The search continues. If anyone comes across these somewhere please follow-up. Maybe I'll revisit the store I bought it from and "look" at some credenzas... 😉

Rick

Nylon is a kind of plastic, sort of, I think (never even took high school chemistry, but I do know how to google). The peg in your photos has a slight translucency to it, at least to my eye, and I think most plastics are opaque. Nylon is stronger than most plastics, too---there are lots of nylon machine parts out there.

Anyway. Make sure you check the box (somewhere in the fine print on this thread) for getting email notifications when someone replies, that way if someone shows up in 6 months or 2 years with a peg for you, you'll know.