A tool for rivetting

[Milomade]

Hi all

I did a one to one class on rivetting many many months ago [so all knoweldge is now fading fast] and want to get back into it. I want to make small silver versions of my cloud brooches using small mother of pearl buttons, or shirt buttons and so want to rivet the buttons to a cut out cloud shape using silver tubing.

Not done any rivetting with tube before really. Are there any tools out there that are specific to rivetting using tube or do I have to use a hammer and just bang away gently.

I was looking at lampwork beads the other day and noticed alot of them lined with silver and wondered how that was acheived and my curiosity lead me here - has anyone used this kind of tool and is there something similar for rivetting samll items.

Any adive on rivetting with tube would be very welcome as I'm a total novice and really want to try out my ideas.

Ta

[agent_44]

I just use a hammer and an appropriate sized doming punch (e.g. 999_764_ ) to rivet tubes. I assume there are tools more specific to the task, but the punches are more than adequate for me.

[caroleallen]

I haven't seen them myself but a fellow jeweller told me that those silver lined beads are made with 2 pieces of silver that slot into the bead from both sides and are glued into place.

[ben b]

I wondered how they got such big flanges on those things by riveting...without smashing the bead to pieces!

hey...just a thought, having looked at the origional version...is it possible you could thread them on with thin, fine silver wire and knot it, like the origional version?

If your using mop buttons or similar, even riveting tube may cause then to crack.....

The main principal of tube riveting is to open it out, so the device you saw would do this, but only to a 45 degree angle, still needing to be hit with a small doming punch or flat punch...or, if the tube wall is thin enogh, just by burnishing, in a rotary motion

I dont know if the front of the rivet will look how you expect though...imagine trying to burinsh it to a flat flange against a delicate button?

[glen]

a tap and die set is a good way of making a rivit without heat or hammering

[agent_44]

I wondered how they got such big flanges on those things by riveting...without smashing the bead to pieces!

Plenty of people do it without the glue in pieces, just lots of careful tapping till you get a sugly fitting rivet! It's perfectly doable, because I can do it, and I have the delicacy of an elephant!

[EmmaRose]

I use a ball pein hammer (small and large size). You can also get rivetting hammers.
E

[Milomade]

loads of questions:

what is a tap and die set?

I have a ball pein hammer - but think it's far too large for what I want to do - plus not sure I have that kind of accuracy - do you just bang away with the hammer, even on a tiny tube?

This an image of some rings made by Charlotte Berry that I found when looking for examples of rivetted buttons online - took me ages to find anything!


And that what gave me the idea of doing a silver version of my cloud brooches - I could make the cloud shape solder on a brooch back and then drill the holes for the buttons. I don't want to stich the buttons on as where would I tie the wire/thread and seal it? So in that image you can see the kind of rivetted finish I'm after.

[AlexandraBuckle]

i did a lot of rivets at uni. i used an upturned ball pein hammer held in a vice to rest the underside of the rivet on and then i started off on the top with a wide punch then followed with a rivit hammer.

my advice is to keep checking the underside - alternate between each side as you work.

with the rivet hammer imagine you are spreading butter from the centre of the rivet outwards!

[Milomade]

is a rivetting hammer one of those tiny little light ones - I've got one of those - must have bought it after my one to one session. Not used it once.