We supply a large variety of rivets and setters for leather craft work. We have easy to rivets and rivet setters for general leather craft work which come in a variety of sizes to get you started. Our rapid rivets are the most widely used for most applications by leather workers. For dog collars, we use the double cap rivets which are even stronger than the rapid rivets. Our tubular rivets are even stronger than the double cap rivets. We use tubular rivets for industrial applications as well as copper rivets with washers which are the strongest.
Leather thickness is measured in ounces. An ounce is 1/64 inch thick. Therefore leather often used for making solid belts or hunting knife cases is 8 to 9 oz which means it is 8/64" thick to 9/64" thick. Briefcases and cases for jackknives might be a bit thinner such as 5 - 6 oz thickness which means it is 5/64" thick to 6/64" thick. Leather used for coin purses might be made out of 3 to 4 oz thickness which means the leather is 3/64" thick to 4/64" thick.
For most items that have to be set such as rivets, snaps and spikes, you will first need to punch a hole with a mini leather hole punch, drive punch or or a rotary hole punch. Both the mini punch set tool and rotary punch tool have the appropriate size tube hole cutters required for snaps, rivets and spikes. To make the cutting hole tubes last the longest, you will want to punch it through the leather into something soft. You can use a piece of scrap leather underneath or you could use a cutting board or poundo board. The advantage of using a hole punch you hit with a hammer is that it is easy on the hands and you can punch a hole far a away from the edge of the leather. The advantage of the rotary punch is that it is convenient to punch the odd hole but the disadvantage is it is tiring on the hands if you have to squeeze it for punching lots of holes as well it is limited as to how far you can punch a hole from the edge.
To rivet two layers of 8 - 9 oz thick belt leather for example where it wraps around a buckle, we use medium rapid rivets. We also use medium rivets for going through two layers of 5 - 6 oz leather for jackknife cases. Sometimes on our hunting knife cases which we normally make out of 8 - 9 oz thickness we include a third layer of leather that runs along the blade so the blade will not cut the thread. If we have to go through these three layers of leather, we would use the large rapid rivets. If we are making a coin purse from 3 - 4 oz thick leather, we would use a small rapid rivet to go through two layers of this thickness.
To set a rapid rivet, you will need a hole punch, anvil and a hammer and/or setter. After the hole is punched for the rivet. Insert the rivet post into the hole and push the cap onto the post. The mini anvil makes a good base for setting the rivet. Place it on a work table that does not have any bounce. A wooden stump also makes a great solid base to put the mini anvil on. Once the rivet is in the leather, put it on the anvil and hit it with a metal hammer head. A hammer head that has a bit of convex shape works the best so it will not mark the leather like a flat hammer face would. Setting the rivet with a hammer will flatten the rivet cap.
However, if you want to set the rivet so it will keep the round finished shape of the cap, you will need a rivet setter. We have several individual rivet setter sizes that fit different size rivet caps. We use this in conjunction with the mini anvil or you might have a piece of smooth solid metal which will work well for a solid base.
We also have the deluxe snap all rivet setter set which can be used to set a variety of rivet sizes but works best with the medium size rivets. With the deluxe set, you place the double cap rivet post against the provided anvil's appropriate size concave shape, place the setter over the cap and hit with a hammer. Use the flat base of a setter if you are hitting a flat post base. This deluxe set will keep the caps curved when the rivet is set. To protect your leather tools, it best to hit any setting tools or punches with a rawhide mallet or poly head mallet. You can use a metal hammer but over time the tops of the setting tools or punches will start to mushroom out.
Following is a leather craft video showing how to set rapid rivets and double cap rivets in leather. Although the procedure is the same for different size rivets, the cap size may vary requiring a wider or narrower setter. The mini anvil also makes a great work surface as opposed to using a large homemade anvil shown in the video.
We supply a large variety of rivets and setters for leather craft work. We have easy to rivets and rivet setters for general leather craft work which come in a variety of sizes to get you started. Our rapid rivets are the most widely used for most applications by leather workers. For dog collars, we use the double cap rivets which are even stronger than the rapid rivets. Our tubular rivets are even stronger than the double cap rivets. We use tubular rivets for industrial applications as well as copper rivets with washers which are the strongest.
Leather thickness is measured in ounces. An ounce is 1/64 inch thick. Therefore leather often used for making solid belts or hunting knife cases is 8 to 9 oz which means it is 8/64" thick to 9/64" thick. Briefcases and cases for jackknives might be a bit thinner such as 5 - 6 oz thickness which means it is 5/64" thick to 6/64" thick. Leather used for coin purses might be made out of 3 to 4 oz thickness which means the leather is 3/64" thick to 4/64" thick.
For most items that have to be set such as rivets, snaps and spikes, you will first need to punch a hole with a mini leather hole punch, drive punch or or a rotary hole punch. Both the mini punch set tool and rotary punch tool have the appropriate size tube hole cutters required for snaps, rivets and spikes. To make the cutting hole tubes last the longest, you will want to punch it through the leather into something soft. You can use a piece of scrap leather underneath or you could use a cutting board or poundo board. The advantage of using a hole punch you hit with a hammer is that it is easy on the hands and you can punch a hole far a away from the edge of the leather. The advantage of the rotary punch is that it is convenient to punch the odd hole but the disadvantage is it is tiring on the hands if you have to squeeze it for punching lots of holes as well it is limited as to how far you can punch a hole from the edge.
To rivet two layers of 8 - 9 oz thick belt leather for example where it wraps around a buckle, we use medium rapid rivets. We also use medium rivets for going through two layers of 5 - 6 oz leather for jackknife cases. Sometimes on our hunting knife cases which we normally make out of 8 - 9 oz thickness we include a third layer of leather that runs along the blade so the blade will not cut the thread. If we have to go through these three layers of leather, we would use the large rapid rivets. If we are making a coin purse from 3 - 4 oz thick leather, we would use a small rapid rivet to go through two layers of this thickness.
To set a rapid rivet, you will need a hole punch, anvil and a hammer and/or setter. After the hole is punched for the rivet. Insert the rivet post into the hole and push the cap onto the post. The mini anvil makes a good base for setting the rivet. Place it on a work table that does not have any bounce. A wooden stump also makes a great solid base to put the mini anvil on. Once the rivet is in the leather, put it on the anvil and hit it with a metal hammer head. A hammer head that has a bit of convex shape works the best so it will not mark the leather like a flat hammer face would. Setting the rivet with a hammer will flatten the rivet cap.
However, if you want to set the rivet so it will keep the round finished shape of the cap, you will need a rivet setter. We have several individual rivet setter sizes that fit different size rivet caps. We use this in conjunction with the mini anvil or you might have a piece of smooth solid metal which will work well for a solid base.
We also have the deluxe snap all rivet setter set which can be used to set a variety of rivet sizes but works best with the medium size rivets. With the deluxe set, you place the double cap rivet post against the provided anvil's appropriate size concave shape, place the setter over the cap and hit with a hammer. Use the flat base of a setter if you are hitting a flat post base. This deluxe set will keep the caps curved when the rivet is set. To protect your leather tools, it best to hit any setting tools or punches with a rawhide mallet or poly head mallet. You can use a metal hammer but over time the tops of the setting tools or punches will start to mushroom out.
Following is a leather craft video showing how to set rapid rivets and double cap rivets in leather. Although the procedure is the same for different size rivets, the cap size may vary requiring a wider or narrower setter. The mini anvil also makes a great work surface as opposed to using a large homemade anvil shown in the video.