installing ornament nails

[HondoMan]

Good morning folks,

looking for a solution.  A client has requested the below ornaments be added to an item.  No promises made, but an offer to experiment.  Seems a non starter.  The brass nails are 15mm long and need to be cut down to 5,5 mm.  The issue is having the nails peen (mushroomed or domed) in order to be held in place in the leather.  I've tried various hammers to include a ball peen, each time the nail bends.  The only means to hold or support the wee nails is within the leather (4mm harness).  Heating the nails slightly did FA.

It would seem a press would be in order to slowly put pressure down directly.  Perhaps there is another means.

Anyone have experience or ideas on this?  Would be truly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[fredk]

A; what diameter are the nail holes and how thick is leather you need to mount to? you can get ready-rivets with a 4mm head - they look smaller than they sound but they are only good for about 2mm thick leather . Mount to thin leather then glue and/or sew that to thicker leather

b, use the supplied nails or softer copper nails, put through, put a small round washer on the back and bend the nail over onto that and flatten as best you can

in either case use a piece of thick neoprene rubber against the ornament face side; this will prevent damage to it

[maxdaddy]

I would try using the nail holes in the ornaments for stitching to the larger piece. It may not have the expected look, but it should be easy enough to try out and decide if you and the customer are OK with it. 

The picture is of an antler-handled beer mug I made a few years ago and it has a slotted concho stitched onto it, similar to how I'm suggesting. I punched holes around the perimeter and stitched through the leather all the way around. (There used to be a tassel hanging off of the conch slot but it suffered an alcohol-related demise.) The antler handle was contoured, drilled and then stitched to a smaller intermediate patch which was then stitched to the barrel of the mug.

I'm showing this project simply as a means of offering another perspective to attaching unusual things to a leather project. I've stitched coins and conchos to other projects but can't find any pictures to show at the moment. 

[HondoMan]

21 hours ago, fredk said:

A; what diameter are the nail holes and how thick is leather you need to mount to? you can get ready-rivets with a 4mm head - they look smaller than they sound but they are only good for about 2mm thick leather . Mount to thin leather then glue and/or sew that to thicker leather

b, use the supplied nails or softer copper nails, put through, put a small round washer on the back and bend the nail over onto that and flatten as best you can

in either case use a piece of thick neoprene rubber against the ornament face side; this will prevent damage to it

fredk, the holes are ca. 1,8mm.  I checked with my suppliers this morning and the smallest is 2,2mm.  A 4mm head is just too large.  Grand idea though, I must say mate.  This does truly seem a non starter.  The washer idea is no a bad one.  Might be worth considering if the client won't consider another idea.

8 hours ago, maxdaddy said:

I would try using the nail holes in the ornaments for stitching to the larger piece. It may not have the expected look, but it should be easy enough to try out and decide if you and the customer are OK with it. 

The picture is of an antler-handled beer mug I made a few years ago and it has a slotted concho stitched onto it, similar to how I'm suggesting. I punched holes around the perimeter and stitched through the leather all the way around. (There used to be a tassel hanging off of the conch slot but it suffered an alcohol-related demise.) The antler handle was contoured, drilled and then stitched to a smaller intermediate patch which was then stitched to the barrel of the mug.

I'm showing this project simply as a means of offering another perspective to attaching unusual things to a leather project. I've stitched coins and conchos to other projects but can't find any pictures to show at the moment. 

For the ornament you added to your mug, it looks good.  For these horse ornament, no so much.  It would have an unprofessional appearence as there are only for holes.  Good idea should I have something like yours above.

[YinTx]

Locks are added to leather briefcases all the time with escutcheon pins.  I would think they would work excellently here.

YinTx

[Matt S]

If those nails are brass (rather than brass plated steel) you can anneal the tips by heating to a cherry red then quenching in water (the opposite to annealing steel). Then you might have some better chance of peening over the pointy end but I must say that's a long and skinny thing to peen!

Even simpler... Could you bend/clinch the nails over on the backside of the 4mm leather? Would need a lining, but I think the rivet idea would too.

If Fred's supertinyrivets™ don't fit the holes, can you drill them out a little to fit the rivets' stems?

[HondoMan]

I do appreciate the input folks.  I spoke with the client and explained this would no work.  Rivets simply won't as I explained to her, using a rivet is going to look poor.  Reason being, one of the holes is in the horse's head.  A rivet of more than 2mm in diameter is going to cover the head. Bending the nails back is a non starter as they could potentially catch onto fabric or other items.

Have a nice weekend.

Cheers!