removing rivets

[sheowahya]

Can anyone tell me how to remove rivets?

I made a bit of a booboo and I need to remove two rivets and I'm stumped as to how to do it without damaging the leather.

Advice, suggestions, and comments GREATLY appreciated.

Cheers

Marilyn

[steveh]

If they are copper #9 rivets, you can take a ball burr in a die grinder and grind the peened end of the rivet off, go slowly as this will produce heat that can burn the leather. If they are a brass jiffy rivet , I have removed them by getting a pair off end nips under the head and pulling them apart. Hope this helps

[Randy Cornelius]

Here is the easy way that will not damage your leather. I have a metal plat 3/4 inch thick with a 1/2 inch hole drilled in it. I lay the rivet over the hole and drive it out with a drift punch. Works well with Copper or with jiffy rivits and there is little danger of damage to the leather.

Randy

[esantoro]

Here is the easy way that will not damage your leather. I have a metal plat 3/4 inch thick with a 1/2 inch hole drilled in it. I lay the rivet over the hole and drive it out with a drift punch. Works well with Copper or with jiffy rivits and there is little danger of damage to the leather.

Randy

great idea, that metal plate for a guide.

[Peter Ellis]

Hardware stores sell a tool called an "end nipper" that is excellent for clipping off rivets so they can be removed. Very efficient and pretty clean.

[craftsman827]

Randy,

What is a drift punch??

Like a center puhch?

[bruce johnson]

For the double caps and the like, I center punch and then drill the cap loose if I can't get an end knipper in under them. For splash rivets I just drill the star until the prongs pop off. For copper rivets I smack the peen to flatten it and then center punch it. Then drill the peen off, and punch the stem on through. I slow speed on the drill press makes drilling these out easy, as does the right bit.

I was given this next bit of advice by my Michigan pal, LittleJohn - credit to him. I was having trouble drilling SS strap on some SS clip and dees. The titanium bits would melt and puddle trying to drill the strap. I was getting about 1-1/2 holes per bit. Apparently SS gets harder as it gets hotter, and titanium gets soft. He told me to try cobalt bits. I am still on the first one. It does a great job on SS, and eats copper and steel rivets like I eat flan. I have replaced the commonly used ones as they wear out with the cobalt.

[TracyMoss]

I have to agree with Randy on this one. Use a drive punch, often a tapered punch used to set nail heads in to wood so that they can be flush. Use the drive punch with the plate with hole. This will drive the peened end loose of the burr and allow the rivet to be removed with the least amount of damage to the leather. Using a drill bit in most cases overheats the leather and makes it brittle around the hole and can lead to the replacement rivet being ripped out. The drive punch works equally well with the jiffy, star, and double cap rivets. Just make sure that the hole in the plate is just slightly larger than the rivet. I have a plate with multiple holes of different sizes for this purpose. Also if you have a thick poly cutting board, you can drill a couple of holes in one end of your board for the same purpose. :deadhorse: Sorry if this was redundant

Edited February 20, 2008 by TracyMoss

[Randy Cornelius]

Randy,

What is a drift punch??

Like a center puhch?

A drift punch is one that is the same diameter all the way down the shaft. I have a couple different ones on my bench, an 3/16 and a 1/4 will knock out most rivets Center punch is one that has a point on the end for making a small dent to start a drill bit so it does not wonder.

I have tried drilling out rivets in the past but have not had much luck. The heat does more damage than I like.

Randy

[Kevin]

Not to be a smartass, but if you're burning leather with a drill and copper rivets, you need a sharper bit. If somebody used steel rivets, the leather is probably damaged already. I don't think I have to deal with stainless at all. Kevin