Simulating rivets

Pat Regan

Pat Regan

Member
Doing a project where I'm simulating thousands of 1/4" rivet heads in sheet metal.

Anybody know of any good rivet embossing tools might be available for this kind of work? So far I've been winging it on home-brew tools.

They made something like this for plastic model planes, but it's too small for my needs.

Any help?

VBR,

Pat
 
Is this a Nautilus, by your avatar? Ask the people who do Nautilus submarines. I'm sure they tried many different ways.

Love your website, by the way.
 
Check out Steve Neill's Nautilus thread, he used some kind of craft glue in a squeeze bottle to make rivets.
 
Thanks! I'm familiar with the folks in the Nautilus modelling community: they work in resin, and make rivets out of cabochons or tiny blobs of JB Weld. That won't work for me.

I'm working in sheet brass and copper: looking for input from people working in that medium, who've found tooling to assist in embossing faux rivet heads.

I've got my own home-made equipment, but I'm hoping it's something that someone might have made better tooling for.

And yes: this is for the exterior detailing on the Nautilus Minisub.

Thanks for your replies, but the question still stands.

Any "metal munching mice" out there? :cool

VBR,

Pat
 
Wolvster1 said:
Depending on the scale, why not just use resin rivets ?

Archer Surface Details

I've used them on tons of projects, their very easy
to apply and come in various sizes for many needs...

:cool
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'd thought of it. Have 15,000 acrylic cabochons in bags that could be epoxied on. Not gonna do it.

This is a functional submarine: it's made out of steel and going to be running in sea water, at possibly high speeds. I'm skinning it in metal ala the 11-foot hero SFX model, and want to emulate the embossed rivet heads found thereon. Back in the day, they had plenty of craftsmen and did it by hand. I can do that, but want to expedite the process.

Plus, the boat's going to get rough use: I don't want to have to continually replace lost rivet heads. Embossing is the way to go in this instance.

So....anybody know of any rivet embossing tools for sheet metal? Still a-lookin'.

VBR,

Pat
 
Talisen said:
What about the heads off of tacks or those metal foldback clips for 3 hole punched paper?
Click to expand...

Thanks Talisen!

It would probably look pretty neat; but stimming and brazing 15,000 heads on would be more work, weight, and time than embossing them.

Still in search of that person who has found or made a tooling expedient for embossing rivet heads into thin sheet metal.

But I appreciate the help. :)

VBR,

Pat
 
Well I can't think of anything other than arbor presses. And I can't imagine doing 15,000 that way! Hope you find something.
 
I think you would have to fashion your own arbor tip


If it's thinner gauged metal, maybe a rounder version of this point tracer tool?
Stitch_Marker_Paper_perforator_Needle_Points_Tracer.jpg
 
Sorry reading this on my iPhone. For rivets on my daughters Gene Simmons armor, I used googley eyes from the craft store. Once paints they look just like rivets. Do a seArch here for 8 yo Gene Simmons. And you can see a close up of the faux rivets.
 
darth_myeek said:
I think you would have to fashion your own arbor tip


If it's thinner gauged metal, maybe a rounder version of this point tracer tool?
Stitch_Marker_Paper_perforator_Needle_Points_Tracer.jpg
Click to expand...

I use pounce wheels all the time at work. Just press from the back against a firm surface, works great. You don't really need a round tip and you can customize the wheel for whatever rivet spacing you want.
 
Thank you all! I was out today and returned to find all these replies. Thank you very much for the help.

It's a problem I've worked with for quite a while; I think some of the ideas you've come up with are new to me and I'll look into them.

Thank you for your help. Quite of enthusiasm in this group, and that's always good to see. (y)thumbsup:thumbsup :)

VBR,

Pat

Oh, BTW: What I've come up with is a two part die set that can produce the embossed rivets one-at-a-time. I't's disassembled at the moment, but if I start using it again; or if I come up with something better, I'll share pics and info here in thanks for your help. Hopefully, it will help somebody doing something similar. Thanks again.
 
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