Rivet Setter From Ebay?

[oxeyenyc]

Hi!

I am new to leatherworking, learning a lot along the way!

I want to learn about riveting--I see on ebay antique rivet setters for sale for around $30, described in "working condition." Are these tools appropriate for setting rivets, or are they not really useful? I also see in the forums that die sets are mentioned--do I need more than one set of dies? Do the rivet setters usually come with a die set?

Thank you so much!

Dana

[raysouth]

Hello Dana,

Search for "Sylvia", under members. She has a white chicken as her logo. Contact her and ask about the setter deal she found. I have taken advantage of it and it is a very good buy.

Setter, 3 die sets and 100 pack of rivets for $89.99 with free shipping.

She can head you off in the right direction.

The older setters on eBay will work, if you can locate the dies you need that will fit these devices. For me, it is not worth the trouble and the dies can be very expensive if you need several.

If any questions, Sylvia can help you out. She saved the day for me.

God Bless.

Ray

[Ed in Tx]

The deal that Sylvia found is through a company called Goldstar Tool. The url is http://goldstartool.com/ I ordered the press a couple of days ago, hopefully it will arrive soon. You can't beat the deal they have anywhere, the press and one set of dies is $54.99, additional die sets are $19.99 and they have more variety of dies than any I have seen. The deal Sylvia worked out gets you even more. They have dies for every rivet, grommet, snap and almost anything you use as a fastener. Plus shipping in the U.S. is FREE. Personally I wouldn't take a chance on the ones from eBay, you may never find dies that work with it.

[camano ridge]

The Golstar actualy has several packages for $15.00 more $69.00 they have the press and 3 sets of dies of your choice. They also have hole punch dies in various sizes for punchng the holses for the rivets. as well as dies for spots and for industrial strength needs they have a foot press for $299.00.

[Sylvia]

Look at that package again, Camino Ridge. ..... the 3 dies are Grommet dies only. You did the same thing I did... got excited... then I was disappointed. I called Dave and asked him to make up a package for us leather workers. It's the hand press, ligne 20 and 24 ring snap dies and a 8mm rivet die and 100 8mm double cap rivets for $89.99. If you want further info... like Dave's number. PM me.

[camano ridge]

Your right I should have realized since it said it came with 900 grommets.

[oxeyenyc]

Thanks so much for all that great info!

[Ed in Tx]

I got my press in the mail on Saturday. Tried it out first thing and it works great even on the ligne 20 snaps which usually cause me major grief. It is worth 10 times the price just to save my sanity.. not really 10 times but sure as heck beats paying 3 times as much for the crappy little press Tandy sells.

[Sylvia]

Woo hoo!

To anyone interested in turning your press into a kick press study this picture.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EeN0flJCzjw/TMpZ-OnNX7I/AAAAAAAAALo/Xc4FvWKFDHw/s400/footpress-cherly.jpg

Also It's a good idea to color code your die sets. I used nail polish but any paint should do the job.

[rgepting]

I received mine on Friday. It works great!! and a great price also. Thanks Sylvia for passing on this deal.

[Sylvia]

Glad you are happy rgepting. I love mine too! I now want to get some of Dave's rivet spots and the dies to match! I'm sure before it's over I'll have a nice collection of dies for mine. lol

[historical leather]

I know this is a super old topic, but just wanted to say THIS was what I needed!! Need a faster way to do grommets. Do I need to punch the holes before setting the grommets with this press? I don't want to buy the hole punch die set if not needed. Tandy's setter is way to much $, and afraid to buy something too cheap on eBay in case it didn't even work for leather. Going to order one like others above. Nice that you can select how many dies you want, since I just need one grommet size.

[Sylvia]

I would say yes. But the dealer has dies for $20 that does the hole punching. You might want to look at his Grommet Press Deal. It's quite a bit less expensive but comes with 3 dies I think. Then you can add your leather dies for snaps and rivets for $20 per set as you need.

[historical leather]

The one for $54.99 that includes one die, plus $19.99 for the hole cutting die seems to be the best deal?

[Sylvia]

this is probably the best deal for you since you use grommets. Comes with 300 of each size grommet sets to match the die sets.

http://goldstartool.com/Grommet_and_Snap_Press_Machine_Package_3_dies_plus_900_grommets.html

then this is the whole punch die set. I can't speak to how this works though.

http://goldstartool.com/Hole_Punch_Die_for_Grommet_Machine.html

[historical leather]

Gotcha! Yes, the package deal does look the best. Thanks again -

[simontuntelder]

The other day I finally decided to buy a press. I don't use rivets or snaps all that much, but when I do, it's often a hassle. Furthermore I recently moved into a workshop in a building that houses some offices as well, and I've promised them that I'll try to reduce the noise as much as I can. So a press is needed.

Of course I turn to leatherworker for advice and of course I come across something useful. I'll pick up a setter and a lot of dies, so I'm completely set for the future!

Thanks, Sylvia and everyone else.

[Sylvia]

You are welcome Simon. It should be noted though that some have had problems with the Tandy line 20 snaps not working with the presses' line 20 die. Come to find out that some of the Tandy snaps are actually more like 18.5 or 19mm instead of 20. It might be wise to have Goldstar send you snaps to match the line 20 dies.... though my line 24s from another company and Tandy worked just fine.

[paprhangr]

be nice o use the press for punching hole for revit & snaps. I got a Goldstar press last week. I need a 5/64" hole for 8mm rivet , the smallest die on Goldstar menu was 1/4" which is too big

[Sylvia]

I agree paprhangr. I've been thinking on that (it's the frustrated engineer in me) You know that set tandy sells with one handle and like 4-6 punches that screw in? I was thinking of getting one of bigger die sets for rivets and having someone drill and tap the upper die to fit that thread on the tandy sets.

[paprhangr]

That would be very useful, and could screw in the punch size needed.

I have chucked the punch in my drill press for drilling holes with some success but punch burns the holes

[Sylvia]

That's my thinking exactly... I already have the "maxi" set, I just need the extra rivet dies and someone that can do a good job at drilling and tapping them.

[dkbutcher]

I bought one of these from Goldstar Tools. To be honest, the biggest selling point was $19.95 for additional sets. All of the other presses seem to charge more for their sets than Goldstar charges for their entire setter. I don't mind spending $20 for another set but 4x that... not so much. It's not perfect, not a thing of beauty, but it works and it does the job. It has been money well spent just to preserve my sanity (snaps have been the bane of my existence)

Dave

[tossik]

I am looking to get a rivet and snap press, and these prices are very appealing. Question, is it worth spending extra $50 and get the PM5 Grommet & Snap Press Machine or should I just get the back one for $60?

[cgleathercraft]

i have the cheaper one and it seems to be very solid. I'm not doing any kind of high production runs either so it depends on what your amount of use will be. i don't expect i'll ever wear this one out.