The Armour Archive

Willing to turn me some custom stepped rivits in mild steel? should be a very simple job.

I dont have a lathe, but I've made a few stepped rivets (for locking pins and such) using my drill press and a file. Chuck the rivet head in the drill press and carefully use the file to turn down the bottom of the post. For others I start with round bar stock the diam I want the rivet head and turn the shaft with the step, then cut the rivet loose and chuck the shaft up and shape the head. Low speed and a good file works great, turn the drill press speed up to much and you'll ruin your files.

Brian

How many? I can do a couple but much more then that and you should just send it out to a job shop.

If your in Cincinati OH there should be tons of shops around you.

Do you have a drawing?

I'm a tool and die maker in canada.

Trust me shops down there are going to be slow enough to do that for you right now.

If someone wanted me to this on my lathe, there would be no more cake and beer for them.
It's not that it is hard, but if you wanted more than about 20 it would just be an incredibly boring and tedious job.

That's exactly why I didn't volunteer.

*sigh* Got a drawing?

Find someone with a chucker lathe, they're built for this kind of thing. They just aren't as common anymore.

Garreth,

This is the tool I use for stepping rivets down for use in spring catches etc. It's a cheap locking pliers with modified jaws. I clamp the rivet in the jaws, and file the step in with a safe edged file. The resulting rivet stem is not truly round, but it's plenty round enough to be a rivet.

I use this tool in preference to my lathes for this sort of work.


Mac

Mac wrote:Garreth,

This is the tool I use for stepping rivets down for use in spring catches etc. It's a cheap locking pliers with modified jaws. I clamp the rivet in the jaws, and file the step in with a safe edged file. The resulting rivet stem is not truly round, but it's plenty round enough to be a rivet.

I use this tool in preference to my lathes for this sort of work.


Mac

that is very ingenious Mac. did you have to anneal the jaws to drill the end?

sha-ul,

No. They are such cheesy pliers that I was able to use a file. I made the surface for grabbing the rivet square or "diamond" shaped rather than round. This allows me to use it on rivets of different shank diameters with more or less equal facility.

If they had been too hard to file, I would have ground the jaws with a Dremel tool. Accuracy is not really required here.

Mac

There is an easier method, at least I think it's easier. What I do is punch (or drill) a hole that is slightly smaller then the shank (1/32 smaller works I think, I just eye ball it). Then you draw down the shank until you have the depth you want. Then you can trim the end if needed and peen it over. Here is a post which closes a gauntlet that I did using this technique.





As you can see it looks like I filed or cut the post down but I didn't. It may even be a bit stronger as there is no sharp corners on the shank that might develop a crack.

Jason,

That's a pretty forthright way to do it! I think you win the prize for "most authentic technique". I bow to you sir!

Mac

Thanks Mac, I am humbled.

Mac wrote:Garreth,

This is the tool I use for stepping rivets down for use in spring catches etc. It's a cheap locking pliers with modified jaws. I clamp the rivet in the jaws, and file the step in with a safe edged file. The resulting rivet stem is not truly round, but it's plenty round enough to be a rivet.

I use this tool in preference to my lathes for this sort of work.


Mac

Every time I see those custom rivets I am sad that the rest of us have to use hemispherical heads... They look so elegant by comparison. If you ever decide to go public, let us know, and mark me down for at least five pounds.