Rivet Setter From Ebay?

[tossik]

Hmmm. Okay almost same case as me Time to put the creative juices flowing and get something setup for easier work flow!

[RavenAus]

Got my hand press and I love it :D I've only got the three eyelet dies that came with it so far but I'm ordering the other sets this week. I'm getting Line 20, Line 24 and 8mm rivet die sets. Can't wait!

[Sylvia]

Raven: It's amazing isn't it? Install the dies, put the hardware in, put the material on it... squish squish squish.... and done.

I tell ya I hug mine every time I set a rivet or snap.

A friend who got one of these used the 8mm rivet set of dies to set a brown stud. He emailed me asking if I had ever set one of those by hand because he couldn't figure out his hand setting anvil... uh nope...never used them at all. Then it dawned on me that a brown stud is just a "bulbous" rivet... I suggest that he use the rivet die. He reported back that it works great.

[meagain]

Does this unit require screwing to a bench? Or is it solid - with no tipping - on it's own. Tipping would suck.

I'm new and this is overkill for me but I cannot nail down this rivet thing at all so hopefully this will fix that. Course it would help if I had good rivets which... well... I think mine 'must' suck.

[Sylvia]

It's pretty heavy but I would at least screw it down to a hunk of 3/4" plywood if you need it portable and stable.

The trick with rivets even with a setter is that the stems need to be just the right length for your leather. If you don't have the right length the caps pop off or the hole thing goes sideways.

[cgleathercraft]

I'm using it without fastening it to the workbench. When I get more room i will do so and probably fashion a foot pedal for it too so I can use both hands to work my material around. As long as your careful you should be ok.

[meagain]

So it's OK without attaching it sounds. That's good.

I think my rivets are the right size. They are tandy double cap with the little crimp at the bottom of the stem and a cap. This makes zero sense to me. I can pull them apart. Twice I was able to get it to stay but still with more effort - pulled them apart. I'm making dog collars and this is beyond not acceptable. Trying to attach 2 8-9oz leather together. I have no idea what the post is supposed to do inside because I don't see any room for the post to go beyond the crimp thing. Then I worry it's not hammered all the way then it bends/tilts. Maybe I should go with Chicago screws but those scare me also. Or try the rivet type with the back having a hole in it which I'm not yet sure what are different about those. LOL Yes I'm new.

[Sylvia]

Hey we've all been there. And for a lot of us setting rivets by hand is or has been the bane of a lot our leather journey. I've seen online at youtube where some folks attach their rivet setter to the plywood like I said. I have mine bolted to an old sewing machine table.

Don't be afraid of chicago screws though. All you need to "secure" them is some Loctite brand "Removable Threadlocker" It's important that you get the removeable...remember that. 1 drop on the threads and it will take some good force to get the screw to back out.

[RavenAus]

With the double cap and the single cap rivets, the size is the main thing. The post has to come through the leather about 2mm and you want the hole tight enough to be just a bit of a pain to get the rivet in. Then the most important thing to me is a solid surface to hit them on. I have given up on using a dished anvil for them and just rest the back on a flat surface as it's more likely to slip when it's sitting on a curve.

The hammer I use now makes a heck of a difference too, it's a deadfall hammer. What that means is you can hit something and you don't get recoil. It has really helped me with rivets and posts, I bend a lot less rivets now

With the rivet press, I use a C clamp to stop it moving about on my bench. I like to have the jaws of the press hanging over the bench for when I need a little more space I'm still waiting for my rivet and snap dies though, I hope they work as well as the eyelet ones!

[meagain]

OK - Well I have Tandy Medium sized (5/16th aka 8mm?) double caps. They bother me. The ends rattle I'm putting 2 rivets on each end of the collar and I don't trust them. Just leather on leather with a d-ring held by 2 rivets. :| If anyone knows where there might be a better quality/stronger version of these - I'm all ears.

I think I'm going to buy this press. Don't really need snaps though, at least not the 24 but I'll ponder that.

I have 2 big questions....

1) I'd like to set Crystal rivets in 5, 6, 10mm sizes. I'd also like to venture into Swarovski flat backs with separate pronged rim thingies (a youtube shows the tandy using 1/4 rim spot. Would anyone know if I can just use the 8mm rivet die for this? Or something generic for the various sizes?

2) Pondering the hole cutter option for it. I'm worried it would be difficult to accurately see where you are lined up for the hole - i.e. if the size of the dye makes it impossible to eyeball where the hole will end up accurately?