How Can I Loosen Snaps ?

[fredk]

or poppers to us uns

The type with a spring in the female part -

I have lots of snaps/poppers but I very rarely use them because they are just too tight. They are so tight I have to use a small screwdriver as a lever between the male & female parts to get them to open up. Sometimes I have to use a pin-nail hammer to force the screwdriver between the male and female parts.

I have snaps/poppers from a number of different sources. Some are worse than others but they are all too tight

I recently used a few on an old fabric jacket. I re-enforced where they were fitted, but upon trying to open a couple they ripped out of the jacket rather than opening! yes, I checked before hand that they'd open but they didn't, I foolishly thought the snaps would loosen up with some use.  One snap/popper even ripped out thru the leather on a project rather than opening

As we say here 'its dooin ma heed in' (translated; it is very extremely vexing and its annoying me )

I've tried filing the raised ring towards the top of the male part. That helped a wee bit. Maybe I didn't do enough. But filing that ring cuts through the plating on nickle plated ones, but not too bad on the solid brass ones.

Is this the only way I can make them looser? I only have about 100 snaps/poppers to work on

PS. grease, vaseline, any lube, does not work

[Burkhardt]

Something I can see is the hole is larger on the left one and maybe your setter is making the socket bigger when setting. On my snaps the bottom is raised so it doesn't have set so deep. You maybe got some bad snaps.

[fredk]

ah, don't go by the photo. Its a stock photo just to illustrate the type of snap/popper

I'll check to see if setting the stud widens the male part

I dunno about 'bad snaps', my snaps have come from at least 5 different sources and each source supplied a different size and/or finish

[Gezzer]

I have had good luck using a punch to expand the female part . Right punch and a couple of medium raps with my maul  . Hope this helps .

 

[fredk]

Thanks.  If I have the correct size punch or somat I'll give that a try

[Dwight]

Two things I can think of . . . 

First is the trick I saw one of the guys down at Tandy do . . . he smacked the snap with a mallet to get it to close.  Worked real good after that  

It is the trick I do.

The other thing you might try . . . put a plastic freezer bag over the male part and smack the female down on it.  I use that to expand holsters and knife sheaths that were too tight.

Worst case scenario . . . didn't work.

May God bless,

Dwight

[fredk]

Thanks, I'll try those two tricks as well

[MtlBiker]

@fredk - I have a press and dies from Kamsnaps and use Line 20 and Line 24 snaps, both from Kamsnaps and Jt's Outdoor Fabrics.  The only time(s) I've had trouble with the snaps is when I didn't press down hard enough with the press.  Then it's almost impossible to close the snap and if I hammer it down, almost impossible to open it.  I wonder if that's the problem you are experiencing.  If done correctly, I've never had to use a screwdriver blade to pry a snap open.

[Handstitched]

11 hours ago, fredk said:

I have snaps/poppers from a number of different sources. Some are worse than others but they are all too tight

Yeh, different brands/ suppliers work different. Some are loose, and some are just too damn tight. I have tried using up my ' odds & sods' of press stud parts, by mixing & matching, not so  bad if its just one project,  no good if you have  quantities  .  The punch idea may work though  

HS

[fredk]

Thanks y'awl for your input

[RockyAussie]

This Paskal mob over this way do some snaps but they dont have much of a colour range. What they do have is different spring pressure settings in the socket section. The stiff ones are very bloody stiff. https://www.paskal.com.au/media/productattach/p/a/paskal_press_studs_specs.pdf

[Handstitched]

@RockyAussie as silly as it sounds, bunnings  do sell  'zenith' brand   line 24's ( here in west oz anyway)  .  They're not too tight or too loose , great for  knife cases etc. who would have thought?  

HS

[RockyAussie]

15 hours ago, Handstitched said:

@RockyAussie as silly as it sounds, bunnings  do sell  'zenith' brand   line 24's ( here in west oz anyway)  .  They're not too tight or too loose , great for  knife cases etc. who would have thought?  

HS

Thanks for the thought mate, I will have a look in the local one when I get in town next.

[Doc Reaper]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:43 AM, fredk said:

Thanks y'awl for your input

fredk- I see a set of snaps at the beginning of this feed. That male piece all the way over to the right is what I try to avoid. That whole stem (male) piece caves in pulling down on the female  part thus making the outside portion (where the spring is) slightly smaller. I was guessing that the ones I had were made in China as cheaply as possible. (I hate cheaply made crap from anywhere)

I will post a second picture of what a better quality snap looks like and  everyone here may benefit from it. I too purchased cheap China crap and don’t want to throw away money. I might try using an epoxy mixture and placing it inside the mushroom cap just so it doesn’t collapse when hit with a hammer. 

I have 500 snaps (2000 pieces) of the cheaply made version from China, lord knows I despise companies that cut cost to save a penny, I’ll pay the extra 25 cents for a quality product 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Doc Reaper
More hot air to release

[chuck123wapati]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:06 PM, fredk said:

or poppers to us uns

The type with a spring in the female part -

I have lots of snaps/poppers but I very rarely use them because they are just too tight. They are so tight I have to use a small screwdriver as a lever between the male & female parts to get them to open up. Sometimes I have to use a pin-nail hammer to force the screwdriver between the male and female parts.

I have snaps/poppers from a number of different sources. Some are worse than others but they are all too tight

I recently used a few on an old fabric jacket. I re-enforced where they were fitted, but upon trying to open a couple they ripped out of the jacket rather than opening! yes, I checked before hand that they'd open but they didn't, I foolishly thought the snaps would loosen up with some use.  One snap/popper even ripped out thru the leather on a project rather than opening

As we say here 'its dooin ma heed in' (translated; it is very extremely vexing and its annoying me )

I've tried filing the raised ring towards the top of the male part. That helped a wee bit. Maybe I didn't do enough. But filing that ring cuts through the plating on nickle plated ones, but not too bad on the solid brass ones.

Is this the only way I can make them looser? I only have about 100 snaps/poppers to work on

PS. grease, vaseline, any lube, does not work

i think Doc is on to it. My snap setter is similar to this except it has a sleeve that will slide down into the snap ring so that the thing isn't deformed when set.

[Ddat]

I had the opposite problem, couldn't get snaps to feel secure enough.

Are you using thin leather with a long post? If there's too much peened (rolled) material inside the female portion you won't be able to close them properly.

 

Could they be pull-the-dot security snaps? 

[Gezzer]

I think Doc is right in that whatever the reason ( made to small or as a result of setting ) the spring has no where to go . It must have room to expand outward  , it should be fairly loose  in the female cup .

[Frodo]

I have a few different types of snap setters

i have the one shown on your photo

All of them are a pain to use , I bought a box of snaps in the sewing section of a big box they came with a short stubby set tool

I have found that this little tool works better than any other I have

It folds the metal over correctly and the snap does not have to be beaten with a hammer to close 

 

added bonus

use this tool to set large snaps where the leather is not thick enough

[fredk]

Interesting thoughts and suggestions from everyone. Thanks

Actually, come to think of it, the best snaps I had came in a small packet of ten with a silly small setter & anvil. You put the very small setter in a hole in a piece of plastic and the anvil into a hole on the other end of the plastic. But I've not seen those for years

[Gezzer]

I used the type on the left (SLC I think ) for a while and wasn't real happy with it . Bought the OSBORNE on the right and it made quite a difference  for me .  Being shorter it took a second to find a new hold but once I did it is as easy to use as the longer type. I think the added mass and a few thousands larger bell makes the difference  but it might all be in my head 

[Doc Reaper]

Ok Guys, I see I have to simplify this, these are the tools I use - line 24 snaps, left side is a quality snap head (notice it’s all one piece) while on the right is a two piece head which is really cheap. If you decide to set this, it will sink down into the head - pulling its female counter with it. I’m also sure that quality control is not as strict as the one on the left. While it pulls down something has to give and I’m sure it’s the tolerances around the spring, removing room for the spring to expand. Plus the sketchy QC which was loose to begin with, some fit tight some loose. 
if you have a stem that is too long find a way to file, sand, or grind it to a more manageable length. I have stopped using cheaply made snaps. The Tandy brand is better left on the shelf. 

[Doc Reaper]

8 hours ago, Gezzer said:

I used the type on the left (SLC I think ) for a while and wasn't real happy with it . Bought the OSBORNE on the right and it made quite a difference  for me .  Being shorter it took a second to find a new hold but once I did it is as easy to use as the longer type. I think the added mass and a few thousands larger bell makes the difference  but it might all be in my head 

Gezzer I’m seeing two different sizes in your hand. On the left side is “line 20” and the larger one on the left is a “line 24”, you will get unsatisfactory results if you mix the sizes. 20 won’t set a line 24 and a line 24 will not set a 20. 

[Gezzer]

41 minutes ago, Doc Reaper said:

Gezzer I’m seeing two different sizes in your hand. On the left side is “line 20” and the larger one on the left is a “line 24”, you will get unsatisfactory results if you mix the sizes. 20 won’t set a line 24 and a line 24 will not set a 20. 

Optical illusion  Doc I guess . Both are line 20