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Old 2008-06-18, 11:09am
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Andrew Andrew is offline
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Join Date: Jan 05, 2008
Location: Australia
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Default Rivet Tutorial (Da pretty silva bit)

Hi Girls and Boys. Here is a tutorial on putting in the inserts to fit the assorted bracalets going around. A warning im not into spelling or punctuation so just look at the info not the grammer.

I will do two parts to it one being the putting in of the insert and the second being the polishing and a little bit on a few tools that make it a little easier. The first bit is complete and the second part will be finished before the weekend.

If you would like to use the information and images somewere else by all means do but dont pass it of as your own.

Ok of we go then.

First part is a nice clean area to work on and the tools required close at hand.



A polished steel block.
Dapping punches ( You do not require a full set i only used the 6mm and 9mm)
Small tube cutter ( commonly used in the plumbing and refrigeration trade )
Chasing hammer (The better polished the face the less polishing )
Ball Pein hammer ( This hammer hits the punches, never the chasing hammer)
Tube of your choice im using Sterling Silver 6mm outside diam 5.2mm inside.
A ezylap tapered reamer ( expensive but will last a lifetime)
Fine #4 round needle file.
Digital vernier calipers ( a simple ruler will do its not critical )



If the mandrel that you use is a little to small then a ezylap industrial diamond reamer is without a doubt the best tool ive found for cleaning and enlarging holes.



When i cleanout the bead pooh always makes me laugh when i hear that. I like the fit to be tight but when the tube is stood upright the bead will fall to the bottom. Ive found that it helps stop the tube collapsing when you are striking it with the dapping punches.



Measure up your bead. Always try and find the widest part and as i said above a ruler will suffice. Although a set of digital calipers is only just over the ten dollar mark these days.

Just a little note here, this is just me but if you find that the bead you are measuring has a large difference in size from one edge to the other and you are using sterling silver or gold. Dont bother with it just move on to another one.



Once you have your measurment add on your four millimeters ( 5/32) You can go more or less but i have found that 4mm gives me the nice domed effect that i like on the rivets. If you add more than 6mm on to the measurment of the bead i have found it just starts to constrict the internal diameter of the tube.

There is two reasons i like the domed look one is well i just like it and the second one which i worked out after a while is it actualy prevents the cracking of the bead when doing those final hits with the chasing hammer. A bit like a shock absorber. As long as you dont flatten out the dome when using the chasing hammer you can hit it fairly hard. ( lol have i let myself in for some nasty messages or what?)



Whatever measurment you have transfer that to the tube you are using. I just use the calipers to mark it. Or file the handle end of a file (notsure how to do that if you only have one file though) to a needle point. This makes a great scribe.



Now there are many ways to cut tubing but my favorite is with believe it or not a tube cutter. Now i have been using these for eons as it comes from one of my trades. The one i am using here is a mini one very handy cuts exactly 90 degrees everytime and extremely easy to be dead on accurate. For under 10 dollars from somewere like wallmart, bunnings or if you dont have something like that to go to a plumbing supplier or a airconditioning/refrigeration supplier. The secret to using one of these is only turn the tensioning screw a quarter turn to turning the tube once.



Once you have cut of the required length of tube you will need to take of the burr. It is far easier to do it now than later . I use a fine round needle file (fine being the coarsness off the cut not the diameter). The better the job you do here the easier to polish later.



Now we get to hit things and here is the reason i have two hammers (ball pein) the one shown in the image is for hitting the punches. The punches are tempered steel which in short means they will destroy the polished face of your chasing hammer. Damaged face on chasing hammer = much polishing . So no hitty with the chassie.The dapping punch im using is a 6mm (1/4). i normaly use a punch = to the outside diameter of the tubing im using.



Attention to this image the most important part of making a simple job simple.

Note as extra insurance i put a old tea towel under my steel block to absorb some of the shock.

In the image i have already flared the tube asmuch as im going to with the 6mm punch. It only takes a couple of tiny hits. If you flare it anymore once you move to the larger punch you increase the chance of collapsing the tube. Which is not a massive problem just makes it harder to get a nice domed effect. Once you have done oneside turn over and do the other.



Now we switch to the 9mm (3/





Once again what you see in this image is the tube already flared with the 9mm punch. All we are really doing with the two punches is giving us a small flared lip with which we can work on with the chasing hammer to give us the domed effect.

From here you have two options


One flip it over and flare the otherside with the larger punch or two start using the chasing hammer on this flared lip. You will need to practise both ways to findout which one you prefer. I tend to flare oneside with the larger punch then hammer it.

Note
From this point on i continualy rotate the bead whilst using the chasing hammer and never ever take the angle of it.




Now when you look at this image you see the Chasing hammer, the larger face of the chasing hammer is highly polished. The more polished the face the easier the finish. My idea of highly polished is a mirror, i bought it highly polished then used 1500 grit then 2500 grit wet and dry. This hammer hits nothing else apart from silver and gold. Also you will notice the angle. Probale around 20 degrees. To get the domed effect that is how i always strike the flare never flat. This causes the flare to go past 90 degrees and form a lip which will droop forming the dome.



This image shows although its hard to see that ive used the chasing hammer to take the flare to 90 degrees. That is as far as i take it the first time. I now turn it over use the 9mm punch to flare the otherside and the chasing hammer to take the flare to 90 degrees.



Yay finaly we can see from this image that we now have gone past 90 degrees and our dome is forming. Basicaly from here we try and not get to carried away and keep changing sides till we have a nice uniform dome on both sides.



The different stages that the tube goes through.



The tube after it has been measured, cut and deburred.

If you have spent good money on a press this is the spot to use it.



After the first punch has been used.



After the second punch has been used. If you have spent good money on a press take it to this point.


This one is after the first time the chasing hammer is used.





These ones just show the progression until completion.

Look at the second to last one carefuly and you will notice it already has a very nice finisht to it which is to do with the polished surfaces of the steel block and chasing hammer. If the internal surface of the tube was better you wouldnt have to polish at all.

On the final one looking from the underneath you can see the mushroom or umbrella effect (concave ) which gives you the dome on top (convex ). As long as you dont hammer this out as you are finishing the insert it acts as a shock absorber. Touch wood every bead i have broken in the last 8 months have been from being to heavy handed on the press in the start. Not to the hammering.

Now i timed making this one and it took 28 minutes from the time i stood up to do the tutorial till the time i wrote Rivet Tutorial (Da pretty silva bit) That included setting up tools, taking all photos, editing all photos and doing the rivet. Lol when i first started it took me longer to just hammer the insert. I have learnt alot and think i have it down patt i can hammer a rivet in under ten minutes. I dont do it much faster on the press. So give it a whirl if its not working for you il try and help you out.

So as i stated at the start il do a follow up on polishing and some hints like the little stand the finished bead is sitting on which i call a Fat Finger Stand. I dont have fat fingers until ive hit them a few times whilst trying to hang onto the bead.

!!!!!!Note!!!!!!

Please remember this tutorial is how i do my beads to get a nice domed effect. People can probale do the same on there presses i have no idea. I have a press i have made myself (butchered really used to be something else) and use in the first part but i always finish my beads with the chasing hammer.

Updated 01/07/ 2008 Finaly the Polishing tutorial.
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back up and running. Been months so needs major work. (updated 12/06 )

Last edited by Andrew; 2008-07-01 at 9:09am.
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