Setting Rapid Rivets

[TomG]

I had posted this in the Tools section, but think I should have put it here, so I'm reposting. I'm picking up the project Saturday and will need to get moving on it.

I am getting a restoration job in that will require me to set several hundred Rapid Rivets. The problem is that on most of them I won't be able to lay it down to use the typical anvil and setter.

I've been considering buying a Press N Snap tool. I use a good bit of Line 20 snaps, Segma snaps and double cap rivets anyway, and think it will do the Rapid Rivets as well. But not sure.

Does anyone have any experience with setting these with a pliers type tool or the P-n-S tool?

Does anyone have a Press n Snap for sale?

Thanks

Tom

[billymac814]

I have a press n snap tool, its not for sale but there aren't any dies available for rivets for it. They work great on snaps though. You can only set snaps that are within a few inches of the edge as well but that's rarely a problem. You may need to get creative with what you use as an anvil, I often use a shoe last/ jack as an anvil, its easy to get into tight spots and mine is very solid.

[TomG]

Most of my snap setting is on the ends of bracelets, belts, flaps, etc. I've been sort of drooling over that tool for a while. But I'm pretty good at doing them by hand and I'm usually only setting a few at a time anyway.

The Segma's are the PITA in my life <g>... I'm pretty much changing over to the glove snaps for a lot of my stuff. Especially some of the bracelets and such that I make from 3 oz leather. The Segma's just don't seem to set well on the thin stuff.

Now, the customer is thinking double caps. Same issue though. The piece is 3 feet wide and about 5 feet tall, and has about 80 straps that have 3 to 5 rivets each that are strung up to the legs. I was thinking of using open end screws, similar to the Chicago's, but the heads are a bit larger than she wants. The original has the rapid rivets.

I think with this project, what I will have to do is lay the piece across a couple of saw horses and rig a set of poles for the "anvil" that will go between the floor and the rivets I am setting.

But I can swear I've seen s pliers type of setter before that will set the rivets. I just can't find it on-line. I did find a tool from Pyrm (?) that looks like it might work, but haven't found a source on this side of the ocean yet <g>.

Thanks for the input.

Tom

[billymac814]

I went a long time without getting the press n snap tool but as soon as I got it I wish I would have got it a lot sooner. It does a better job, especially when the post is a little longer than it needs to be, I used to mess around with sanding them down so they didn't bend over. With the tool it does it nicely as long as the post is not way longer than it needs to be. Its also a pretty substantial tool, its bigger than it looks like it would be.

You can get other presses like the Little wonder that will do all sorts of things like any snap and rivet but the dies add up quick.

[TomG]

Well, I have found a potential solution to my problem. I'm running of at the mouth here as I KNOW I can not be the only person who has had this situation. The issue here is accessing the leather to set the rivets, and pliers solution is ideal, since the thing I'm putting the straps on is big and awkward (a wine rack).

A company called Prym makes one but I can only seem to find it overseas.

But as is usually the case, simple is often best. I discovered a small, U-shaped plastic "hinge" with what looks like concave anvils used for setting Jeans Rivets. These are almost identical to double caps. I'm gonna go to the craft store tomorrow and eyeball it. If the anvils are both concave as they appear online, I might be in business.

I'll let everyone know how it works out.

Tom

[billymac814]

You could probably make something up with a pair of vice grips pretty easily too. I think that the better presses with good dies have something that keeps the rivet inline with the cap to prevent the shaft from bending like they can sometimes do with a hammer. You won't have that if you use something with just a domed anvil. I've also used the regular hammer setter in an arbor press but its not really any better than using a hammer.

[TomG]

I think so as well. But there is only so much post you can squeeze into that cap before it's gonna bend. I have a pair of flush cutting nippers that I use to cut the post off about 1/16" above the leather before I hammer the cap on.

I don't have any problems with the post bending when I do this. But I do have to reform the top of the post when I cut it. It is a little time consuming but not as much as removing a bent rivet and resetting it..

One of my books shows using a nail in the post and running a file around the post to cut it, but that's too much effort and you can't do it with double caps anyway.