I'm Doing Something Wrong...

[UKRay]

I have always set cap and stem rivets by womping them with a hammer, but since my eyes have been opened by the good folk of this forum I've mended my ways. I even purchased a rivet setter from Tandy Leather Factory. LOL

Now, instead of a dead flat rivet I get a domed top rivet. It looks great but for one thing, I seem to get a little depressed ring around the outside edge of the rivet dome as if the tool were too small for the rivet. Is this normal? Is there more than one size tool for these things?

I have attached a picture so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about. What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it?

[dirtclod]

Ray your rivets maybe to long for thickness your going through.

[celticleather]

Ray

I think you've reached the correct conclusion! I use rivet setters in three different sizes, according to the size of cap. Ideally, the diameter of the tool should be just a bee's knee larger than the rivet head. I also think it's important to use a bottom anvil of the same size (for double-capped rivets) or with the central projection for single-capped.

Terry

[TwinOaks]

Cool effect with the rivets, Ray!!!! Wish I'd though of that.

Also, I'd like to add the comment that proper rivet setting should sound like this: " Tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap....", and not "....WHAM!.....Aw, dangit, bent another one...." --not that you would do so, Ray. There just always seems to be a new comer to the craft that doesn't understand it.

[UKRay]

Cool effect with the rivets, Ray!!!! Wish I'd though of that.

Also, I'd like to add the comment that proper rivet setting should sound like this: " Tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap....", and not "....WHAM!.....Aw, dangit, bent another one...." --not that you would do so, Ray. There just always seems to be a new comer to the craft that doesn't understand it.

Have you been hanging around outside my workroom again, Mike?

To be honest, I was taught that a cap and stem rivet was a poor, cheap thing (the only good rivet was a properly set copper rivet) and they should only be used where nobody could see them, hence we didn't take a lot of time setting the things as they were just an ugly necessity.

Having seen how good they can look (when set by the right hands!) I started to change my opinion, but I have only just got around to sorting out a suitable technique.

Like most things to do with leatherwork it seems that there is a knack to cap and stem rivet setting and providing you have the right tools it isn't too difficult. Does anyone know where a well made set of rivet setters can be purchased as Tandy only seem to sell one size.

[TwinOaks]

Just experience with bent rivets, Ray. I STILL bend rivets on occasion, but I'll keep using them because they serve both aesthetic and functional roles.

[UKRay]

Just experience with bent rivets, Ray. I STILL bend rivets on occasion, but I'll keep using them because they serve both aesthetic and functional roles.

At this point in time, rivets are purely functional for me, LOL

Thanks to Terry's mental database of where things might be found (thank you, sir!), I have now ordered a set of three different sized rivet setters from Le Prevo here in the UK. Hopefully my rivet setting will improve dramatically sometime soon.

One last question though - how do you line up the anvil with the underside of the rivet when you can't see it? Is there a trick to this?

Ray

[oldtimer]

Ray. Are you using a copper rivet setter ? Do you have a pic of your rivet setter? I don´t think you have got the right setter!

/ Knut

[celticleather]

One last question though - how do you line up the anvil with the underside of the rivet when you can't see it? Is there a trick to this?

Ray

If you're using open-ended (single-cap) tubular rivets, its helpful to use the rivet anvils that have an upstanding projection in the centre. It's easy to feel when the rivet bottom settles over the projecting nipple. Similarly, when using double-capped rivets, I find that using a bottom anvil with the same concavity as the top punch, helps to locate the bottom of the rivet accurately. It also prevents the rivets from skewing off sideways when pressure is applied.

If you're using a mechanical rivet setter, it's obviously important to ensure that the top punch descends perfectly in line with the bottom anvil. The pic of my hand-setter shows the nipples on the interchangeable bottom anvils.

Terry

[gary]

Cool effect with the rivets, Ray!!!! Wish I'd though of that.

Also, I'd like to add the comment that proper rivet setting should sound like this: " Tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap,tap....", and not "....WHAM!.....Aw, dangit, bent another one...." --not that you would do so, Ray. There just always seems to be a new comer to the craft that doesn't understand it.

So " Wham, wham, wham, wham, wham, wham, wham, wham....Oops...." is wrong?