setting snaps and rivets

[esantoro]

I just now set the mst beautiful jiffy rivet on a bag strap (after screwing up four attempts and removing the rivets).

This time I used a 1 oz leather spacer so that the post just barely peaked the top hole and I used a rawhide mallet I received in the mail just yesterday. I have been using a yellow poly mallet from Tandy, but now I'm thinking there must be some advantage to the rawhide mallet, but am not sure just what that is.

Anyway, the mallet I have has a 1.5" face, which I think is a bit too small and light for setting rivets. What size would be good for setting rivets on two or three layers of 6 oz veg tan?

Ed

[Johanna]

For setting snaps and rivets I use my rawhide maul. The poly mallets are geared for starter kits and youth groups. The rawhide ones get a little "sweet spot" particular to the owner so they just "know where to go" when striking the tools. There are lots of mallets available- the important thing is to find one that suits your style, and allows you to work without getting "leather elbow", which requires ice treatments and ibuprofen to endure. (Rest is never an option.) It is common to have several kinds of mallets/mauls in the shop- different hammers for different jobs. Carvers will use usually the lighter mallets because of the repetition of backgrounding, but someone doing 3-D stamps might prefer a maul. I have a smooth cobblers hammer I use for beating lace. I would say the 9oz mallet is probably the closest to "all-purpose" that you're going to get. If you get a chance to go to a show and try out the custom mallets, do so- you may find one that satisfies you enough to justify the price.

Johanna

[pete]

after using the rawhide mallet I purchased 30+ years ago I thought that my carving was worth an upgrade so I purchased an Al Stohlman leather handled poly head 1 lb beauty.

I hate it. The tools seem to slip off if not hit dead center which in turn forces me to hold the mallet differently than I have for so long. As a result I developed tennis elbow after completing the 2 portfolios that Jack Justis showed on his Pool Case page.

I've gone back to the rawhide mallet and can do both light and heavy tooling and backgrounding just fine.

I also bought the AS leather swivel and couldn;t use it either. So I bought the tiny Magnum (I think) swivel and the diameter lets me do the sheridan tight corners much easier.

Try them out and you decide.

By the way- Kevin had no problem with me returning the swivel for a full refund at Springfield Leather in Missouri. They are great people to do business with and Bo Riddel is now on staff if you want to check out one of the finest boot makers in the country.

[steve mason]

Howdy;

I use both rawhide and nylon/poly mauls, I do prefer the poly over the rawhide for a few reasons.

1- the nylon will wear for just about forever, the rawhide mauls will breakdown and get smaller with use

2- while stamping the rawhide maul always seemed to leave behind a little bit of dust or specks of hide that would come off and the would get stuck behind in the carving.

To deal with the poly mauls slipping off the tools, I encountered the same problem when I got my first maul from Don King years ago, I asked him about it and the fix is, take all your stamping tools and just touch the ends to a grinder, (or use a file) and get a nice flat crisp edge to the tops of them, this will stop the tool from spitting out as you hit them.

hope this helps

[Art]

Hi Ed,

For snaps or gromets I generally use a press (Press-N-Snap or Snapmaster), but for eyelets or rivets I use a common tack hammer on a 33 lb anvil or a 20 lb or so bar of A2 tool steel. I can feel the rivet or eyelet setting better than with a maul. I have set a fair amount of rivets and eyelets with that little tack hammer and it doesn't seem to hurt the setting tools either. I think it is more important to have a good solid and heavy anvil when setting anything. I have a 4.5 lb maul master that is great for setting rivets and burrs and other times when persuasion becomes important, but for tooling, the 1 lb from Barry King and a 14oz from Duey Peters get the most use, but here again what is under the work is more important than the weight of the striking implement.

Of course, I am a pretty big guy and if I want, I can make a 4oz can of tuna work if I have to.

Art

I just now set the mst beautiful jiffy rivet on a bag strap (after screwing up four attempts and removing the rivets).

This time I used a 1 oz leather spacer so that the post just barely peaked the top hole and I used a rawhide mallet I received in the mail just yesterday. I have been using a yellow poly mallet from Tandy, but now I'm thinking there must be some advantage to the rawhide mallet, but am not sure just what that is.

Anyway, the mallet I have has a 1.5" face, which I think is a bit too small and light for setting rivets. What size would be good for setting rivets on two or three layers of 6 oz veg tan?

Ed

[abn]

I'm also a big fan of the poly mallets, and use a 14 oz. Garland model. (You can get these from Hide Crafter.) I like the additional heft of the 14 oz. mallet -- it gives a nice impression for stamping without much effort, and packs enough wallop to really drive a punch through heavy leather.

The heads on the Garland models are a lot nicer than the Tandy-made ones -- each head is radiused and the composite used is a little softer, so the tool you're striking bites into the composite and almost never slips. Plus, as Steve mentions, the poly mallets wear like iron.

Best, -Alex