Making Rivets

[Tony B]

Here is a quick question, does any one here make there own rivets?
I am looking for a way to make copper or brass dome rivets with a dome of 1mm wide,
I need about 600 and just don't want to have to buy them, so if any one has made a jig to make rivets, I would love to see how you have done it
Thanks very much

 

[kvom]

Given that you can buy 1000 for less than $40, I doubt the effort is worth it.

 

[Dan Rowe]

Tony, I do not make my rivets but I have considered it from time to time and here is the method I would use.

You need a two piece die to hold the wire, If you but both halves together with a small shim in between the faces and drill the hole when the shim is removed the block halves will grip the wire.

I have made new tips for an automatic center punch with using a ball end mill to make the cup shaped former on the tip. My rule of thumb is 1.5 times the wire diameter to form a head.

On one of the ships I was on we had a circular igniter for the boiler. The tip would wear away so we made a similar block to rerivet the center part so the gap would be close enough for the spark gap. I showed the tool to several of the sister ships to solve the same problem as it was a long lead time to get spare parts.

Dan

 

[Tin Falcon]

Well a couple thoughts to add. I worked in aircraft sheet metal for a couple years so had to learn about rivets.
I agree wit kmov if you can find what you need it likely make more sense to buy them.
but this being a DIY site Dan's advise should give you a good start .
Some of the older ME books have riveting methods and instructions and suggest a multi die approach to head forming . This will reduce the amount of force applied to the head and reduce the chance of the wire slipping in the holding jig. Make the holding jig longer and stronger than you think you need to reduce the chance of the wire moving during forming.
For the size wire /rivet you are taking about i Would try head forming in one step. If you do not get good results then make preform headers.
Tin

 

[Dan Rowe]

Hi Tin,
I do use two types of dies. The first one forms the base of the head only and the second die is the one I described.
Here is a link to my rivet practice near the bottom of the page:
http://www.7-8ths.info/index.php?topic=1357.15

Dan

 

[Ed T]

Are you actually going to rivet these or will they just be stuck in for decoration. The shanks are going to be REALLY small. Anyhow, I can't help you with making them, but I can suggest that you look at sewing pins as a possible solution. Some of them actually used to be plated brass. Don't know if they still are. I'm with KVOM, buy them if you can.

 

[Dan Rowe]

The OP stated he wanted to make the rivets and was looking for suggestions for methods.

Brass and SS rivets with the specifications mentioned can be obtained from here:
http://www.scalehardware.com/miniature-rivets-c-10

Dan

 

[GeorgeGreek]

Miniature rivets at very inviting price and reasonable shipping cost have being bought at following http://www.rbmodel.com/index.php?action=products&group=018

George