Copper Rivets

[wlg190861]

I met a lady yesterday to make her a dog leash and I noticed the small medallions, they were attached to her dogs collar with very small copper rivets, the base/head was the size of a small piece of pea gravel. I was thinking they were used in jewery making but, cant find any.

does anyone know where I could find some that small ?

Edited April 14, 2014 by wlg190861

[WyomingSlick]

............................., the base/head was the size of a small piece of pea gravel.............

And what size is pea gravel ? You know that they invented measurement standards several thousand years ago.....inches? Centimeters? Millimeters?

The most commonly found size of copper rivet has a head about the size of a pea....that is, about 15/32" or 12mm.

Are you even sure that these were copper rivets? It is much more likely that they were brass rivets since copper corrodes very easily.

.

[wlg190861]

no need for sarcasm. Yes there are copper. I would say the the base is maybe a 16th "

[Tree Reaper]

Try a search for round head rivets, these have a smaller head.

[WyomingSlick]

no need for sarcasm. Yes there are copper. I would say the the base is maybe a 16th "

Wow. Now that is small ! One possibility I can think of is that they used small copper tacks with small copper washers. With those, they could do the assembly, nip off the tack points, and peen the end of the shank to secure it just like you would do with a larger rivet.....only on an itty-bitty scale.

[camano ridge]

Any chance you can provide a picture. It is easier to tell you where you might be able to find an item if we can actually see the item. Have you gone through the online catalog for Ohio Travel Bag and Weaver to see if they have anything that looks like them? It is possible that they used copper brads or escutcheon pins. Check this site out and see if you see something like it. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/search_subCategory.do?categoryName=Nails,%20Tacks,%20Brads%20and%20Escutcheon%20Pins&category=481

Edited April 14, 2014 by camano ridge

[wlg190861]

I will be meeting her again in about a week so, I will b getting a pic then

[Matt S]

The smallest I have seen are Osborne #14, the shaft of which is around 1/10" and the head 5/16" diameter.

[wlg190861]

Here are a few pictures of the small rivets used to attaché these medallions. She said that he mother got them from Germany. Any idea where to get these ?:

[WyomingSlick]

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1925&familyName=Copper+Common+Nails just like camano ridge already suggested

[wlg190861]

These rivets are much smaller than 14 guage

[WyomingSlick]

Well, if they are that small, just get some copper wire of however small guage you want, clamp it in a vise, or clamp that had a small groove filed it it (just a wee bit smaller than your wire). Or make a pair of blocks that have a groove filed in them which you can put in a vise or clamp. Take one of your leathercraft seeders and form a head on the bit of wire you have left sticking up, Copper is much softer than your leather stamp so it won't hurt the tool a bit. If you want a flatter head than that, just give it a final tap to flatten it with your hammer. Cut the length to size and you are ready to rivet. You can use the seeder as a rivet setting tool also.

[chicagojane]

Go to Minkus Margo on etsy. It is a US seller with great feedbacks. They have a handpress machine with many dies. The single cap rivets are as small as 3MM. The double cap rivets as small as 6MM. They also have 23MM press snaps. A great shop.

[Kevin]

I've worked on several of these before and I'm pretty sure they all had brass nails going into the back and peened on the top side.

[brettra]

I've heard of peaning rivets from copper wire as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhHxpuAdGc .

Looks like it may take a bit of work to round out the heads but it appears to be a practical solution. Tandy also has a rivet tool for rounding out cuts on copper rivets that would likely be useful on homemade rivets.

Edited July 10, 2014 by brettra