This one's riveting

[Sheen]

Yesterday i riveted a bead and it's partial tube setting onto a ring shank. What sized burr should i be using to countersink my rivets? I drilled a 0.7mmm hole then used a 1.2 round burr but found that when it flattened the wire ends i was left with a depression round the heads. It was very fiddly and time consuming to get my riveting hammer onto the heads without damaging the ring. Is there a way to make this easier or is it just my lack of experiance? I'm pleased with my ring design but i'm not sure if i'd want to make another one unless i can find a way to make it easier.

[Sheen]

Why did the file uploader insist on putting my pictures sideways?

[china]

I would use a 1 mm burr, you do not need a large countersink, to access tight areas use a small punch to flatten the ends over or a hammer handpiece if you have one, don't be discouraged that is a nice looking piece
As for the sideways pics that is someone else's department

[Sheen]

I would use a 1 mm burr, you do not need a large countersink, to access tight areas use a small punch to flatten the ends over or a hammer handpiece if you have one, don't be discouraged that is a nice looking piece
As for the sideways pics that is someone else's department

Thanks china. What type of punch? This is the only one i have at the moment and was worried i would put scratch lines all over rather than flattening the edges. How would you use it? Do you punch in the middle of the rivet to push the edges out?

[Dennis]

That's a centre punch for starting a drill hole. Being averse to hammers, I use a small ball burr instead.

It your hammer won't access the rivet, then use a nail punch which has a long narrow neck and a flat end, for flush rivets, or one with a hollow end for domed rivets. In fact for domed rivets you can use two in a balancing act as in my picture.

Your ring seems an ideal candidate for a tube rivet.

As for the orientation of you pictures on a web site, this is to do with how they were first taken: landscape, or portrait.
You might think you have corrected them by rotation, but portrait will end up on its side here.
As far as I know this can only be remedied by rotating in an editing programme. Dennis.

[Sheen]

I just recently learnt you could use a ball burr for starting a drill hole and it's brilliant! I used the technique for the first time with this ring. Will be looking on the net for a nail punch. Before i was looking at punches and getting nowhere. By tube rivet do you mean a tiny little one? The hole in the bead is pretty small. Thanks for the photos info.

[china]

As Dennis said

[Dennis]

By tube rivet do you mean a tiny little one? The hole in the bead is pretty small.

Silver Tubes start at 1.0mm o/s diameter and can be spread into the countersink with a needle or scriber. Bead holes can be enlarged with a bead reamer or fine tapered diamond (and plenty of water) on your machine, going in from both sides. Dennis.

[eekoh]

Nice setting! Reminds me of quite an industrial style, but still delicate and pretty. Are you going to keep a matt / satin finish or polish it up super shiny?
Btw I quite like the little round mark on the side of the shank (presumably the rivet head), you could work that as an intentional feature of the design if you do make more.

(Sorry, I have no useful advice for riveting but I am squirrelling away everyone else's info for future reference)

[Sheen]

Thanks hazel, so pleased you said it looked a little industrial as that's my style. This one is going to be shiny but the next one i do will have a brushed finish. Generally i prefer matt finishes. I was thinking of having domed rivet heads on the next one. Originally i was thinking it would be fussy (thats why i was trying hidden riveting) but i've changed my mind on that. Sheen