Are Copper Rivets Really Stronger?

[FoamerAce]

Tandy claims copper rivets are "the strongest rivet known to man". Seems dubious to me. But maybe they hold better than rapid rivets.

[camano ridge]

I am not sure how they are defining strong or to what attribute they are assigning that term. I can tell you that you can find many leather articles 100 - 150 years old or older that have copper rivet still intact.

Neither is worth anything if not properly set. I like copper rivets because I can see that they have been properly set and peend over against the burr. I can't see the inside of a rpid rivet to know for sure it is properly set. I have on occassion had a rapid rivet I thought I had done a good job of setting pop off. Which rivet is used may depend on project use and accesability as well.

[Chief31794]

Short Answer, Yes.

Chief

[WScott]

They use a Morse taper and then mechanically secured with a peened post.

Has to be cut off or out of the leather to be removed

[Andrew Chee]

I've had many brass jiffy rivets fail on me but never a copper rivet.

They don't have to be cut off though. You can punch them out with a center punch.

Andrew

[Studio-N]

I have (copper) riveted two straps together and we then played tug-of-war with the straps. It did not give.

[Andrew Chee]

If you want even stronger, you can try brass rivets. Those really won't break. Pain to cut the stems though.

Andrew

[footrat]

I hate messing up with copper rivets, but they are all I use. They hold better than stitching for what I make. The three or four times I've had to remove a copper rivet, the easiest way was to drill it out.

[WyomingSlick]

I don't know where Tandy comes up with that baloney because obviously brass rivets are stronger, and steel rivets would be even stronger. But then of course they are going to be harder to set properly. Then of course steel could rust on you, and will cause a darkening of the leather around the rivet due to the steel reacting with the tanic acids in the leather. Therefore, in my opinion, the brass rivets are best, but of course are harder to set than the copper rivets.

You might think about the fact that you see a lot of brass hardware for leather and very little in the way of copper fittings.

For those experiancing failure with the speedy rivets - note that you need to use long enough rivets so that the little dimple on the stem is inside the head of the cap because that is where the expansion of the stem occurs when you hammer the two parts together.

[oltoot]

Short answer yes; a little more info: Copper is a good comprimise between solid brass and the tubular nature of rapid rivets, which most definitely have their place ie securing the terminus of a line of stitching, especially on lighter materials. Properly set, CRs become lifetime anchors even holding after ends are mostly worn off.

[Chief31794]

Short answer yes; a little more info: Copper is a good comprimise between solid brass and the tubular nature of rapid rivets, which most definitely have their place ie securing the terminus of a line of stitching, especially on lighter materials. Properly set, CRs become lifetime anchors even holding after ends are mostly worn off.

Maybe my answer was too short, Copper Rivets 9's or 12' are solid post, tubular rivets are very thin walled in comparison and the mushrooming under the cap can't come close to comparing with peening over the burr. I have worked on some 75-100 year old mule tack for the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and while some of the leather was deteriorating, the copper rivets were still holding tight and were a pain in my, you know, to get out to replace parts of the tack. I have to make sure I stay historically correct and do, but I use copper as opposed to tubular cap rivets anytime I'm looking for a super strong hold. Tubular rivets hold well if set well, however, the question was are copper rivets stronger than the solid brass tubular rivets as I understand it, the answer is absolutely. Tubular rivets are so thin you can mushroom the tops with out much effort, if you decide to use copper #9 or #12 you better bring a real hammer.

Chief

Edited March 10, 2014 by Chief31794

[footrat]

I use 1" #12's, and I drive the setter with a 16 oz. framing hammer. The striking surface of my setter has mushroomed down a LOT. I peen with a ball pein hammer, and then dome again using the setter/doming tool. I finish by flattening the top of the dome with the framing hammer.

[WyomingSlick]

I use 1" #12's, and I drive the setter with a 16 oz. framing hammer. The striking surface of my setter has mushroomed down a LOT. I peen with a ball pein hammer, and then dome again using the setter/doming tool. I finish by flattening the top of the dome with the framing hammer.

Well, for darn sure you need to dress up that mushrooming with a grinder or file.. They only give you one pair of eyes and you can't really buy replacements that work well, ya know. !

[Spence]

I use nothing but solid brass and solid stainless steel rivets anymore. I get the "shallow" hole ones that are hollow about halfway down. The walls are quite thick, in comparison to the tubulars. I have a hand clincher that I use that has a dome that fits inside that hollow part and fans out the end of the rivet over the burr or washer. Like the copper, you need to just about destroy the leather to get the rivet out. If anyone wants to know resources, let me know.

[whipstitchwallets]

I haven't worked with rivets before. I am entertaining purchasing a tool that would let me make my own rivets out of copper wire. Does anyone use something like this? What additional tools would I need to set them? Just a hammer? Thanks in advance

[Andrew Chee]

Go check out Sheridan leather. They have the best rivet setting tools I've used.

Andrew

[camano ridge]

Do a search on these forums. I will see if I can find it someone on here was making a die for making CR s with copper wire.

Here is contact info for the guy that makes a die for different sized copper rivets with wire. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=55482&hl=%2Bcopper+%2Brivet+%2Bdie

Edited July 25, 2014 by camano ridge

[ChicoAlum]

On 3/9/2014 at 7:17 PM, Andrew Chee said:

If you want even stronger, you can try brass rivets. Those really won't break. Pain to cut the stems though.

Andrew

Hey there... I realize this is an old thread, but i just bought a bag of solid brass rivets. How hard are they to cut? Will standard end cutting pliers do the trick?

 

[JerseyFirefighter]

I have some beefier linesman pliers (I think they're the same thing) that measures 10" long. Copper rivet stems can be nipped somewhat easily with one hand. Brass with my pliers need just a little more grip but can still be cut with one if not two hands. 

[Dwight]

Given the choice between copper and brass, . . . I'll take the copper every time.

I've NEVER had a copper rivet fail, . . . actually never have ever heard of one doing so.

But brass can and will break, . . . I've done it many times with brass rods.

Copper bends but does not break.

May God bless,

Dwight

[doorty]

On 7/24/2014 at 8:11 AM, Spence said:

I use nothing but solid brass and solid stainless steel rivets anymore. I get the "shallow" hole ones that are hollow about halfway down. The walls are quite thick, in comparison to the tubulars. I have a hand clincher that I use that has a dome that fits inside that hollow part and fans out the end of the rivet over the burr or washer. Like the copper, you need to just about destroy the leather to get the rivet out. If anyone wants to know resources, let me know.

Please let me know your resources. I've recently moved toward copper rivets, but I'm curious to know more about this method for brass rivets.

Edited July 2, 2018 by doorty
added picture