rivet lengths for certain thicknesses of leather

[thanatopology]

I'm new to rivetting, how long should the rivets be to hold some leather firmly together but not very compressed?

The total thicknesses I'm dealing with are 8oz, 10oz, 13oz, and maybe 20oz; I'm using multiple combinations of 3oz, 5oz and 10oz.

Also, what do all of you do to cover the interior side of the rivet to keep it from gouging skin out?

[Konstantin the Red]

I'm new to rivetting, how long should the rivets be to hold some leather firmly together but not very compressed?
<snip>
Also, what do all of you do to cover the interior side of the rivet to keep it from gouging skin out?

Sometimes we put the rivet head on the inside and pein the shank over the burr with a rivet setting tool to make a neat pein. Otherwise, lining or covering with a little soft, lighter-weight leather works. Too, most armor wasn't worn over skin, but had a lightly quilted pourpoint or arming-doublet beneath it for the exact purpose of keeping armor from chafing.

Holding it firmly without being too compressed is going to be determined by how tightly you drive the copper burr down on the tapered shank. Your rivet is the right length for the job when the burr is satisfactorily tight not too far below the taper at the shank's very end, that narrowing to make it easy to get the burr on. If you're having to really compress the leather there to get the rivet and burr to hold, your rivet's too short. Rivets that are too long can always be trimmed with mini bolt cutters or end nippers. Better to have too long a rivet for a job than one too short.