I've already been a bit worried about you not posting anything. Good to see you again. I might have some tipps to go along: Filing any burrs off a hole: I often use a diamond coated ball burr (a normal fine ball burr will work as well most of the time) in some kind of file handle. This will avoid scratching the surface of the metal and reduce the amount of work to be put into clean-up and polishing. Brilliant tipp for holding rivets in the bench block. Absolutely logical, but haven't seen that before. I surely will copy that one. :) I've been missing an important step when using a flush cutter: Using a flush cutter will harden the metal. So either the rivet needs to be annealed again or the cut needs to be treated with a file to remove the hardened metal or else riveting will be a bit inconvenient and probably yield a suboptimal result. "It will flatten the pre-made side, so be aware of that." Right. I've got a steel block for just that purpose - to avoid flattening the pre-made head. As far as I know, you cannot buy those but it is easy enough to make one yourself using a piece of tool steel (e.g. a 10x10mm piece that is normally used to make punches, anneal it, use ball burrs or punches to make some depressions in which the pre-made rivet head can rest; then harden and temper it). This kind of "riveting anvil" will also act as a perfact spacer and will even shape the other side of the rivet into a domed rivet (e.g. when you're doing a "custom" rivet by balling up one end of the wire).
Hello Torsten, Thank you for your kind comments and I am very happy to be seen again. Your tips are (as always) excellent suggestions. Very nice to hear from you Torsten. I hope more viewers read your comments. Great ideas. Thanks again. Greg Greenwood
Hey Greg great video, leather workers saddle makers use a small hand held punch /die block with 2 dimples of different sizes and a 1/8inch 3/4inch deep hole in 1 end, also 1 through the side for side ways use same 2 dimples on the side also. The hole is used to push a washer down before you cut rivit to length for mushrooming the head.
Hello Krystinatran, Thank you so much for your fun comments. Welcome to the world of designer craftsman jewelry! I invite you to visit my website to see what it is all about. You might find something you like. Have a wonderful day! Greg Greenwood
Incredible introduction! Look, although I'm looking for a solution to a different problem - namely fixing two embossing plates together so that they don't shift when passing through a printing press - the information you provide is essential and you present it in a way that is exciting and easy to understand... so ... rivetting!
I'm not a jeweler but your videos are of great help when I build small parts.... for example tube rivets are very useful to build vintage style custom switches and other electronics parts.
Hello Samuella, Welcome to my studio!! I am so glad that you found me. I am here to help you if you need me. Let me know any questions that you may have, Anytime. Thank you for your kind comments, I appreciate it. The best to you. Greg Greenwood
Thank you for your excellent presentation: you've taught me a trick for cutting those little rivets... In old Europe, where I live, for traditional riveting (for example in cutlery) we let the rivet protrude half its diameter on each side to hammer it. Here, many riveters don't use a spacer: simply a flat steel plate to be placed on the anvil, with small prepared holes corresponding to the different half diameters of the rivets. (A thousand apologies for my approximate English). Be well. Greetings from Belgium.
Hello Alain, Your English is great! It is always interesting to hear how other craftspeople do different jobs. And always fun to hear where you live. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. Have a wonderful summer. Greg Greenwood
Jeweler of 35yrs hand made ! Love your work you teach the proper way and explain spot on . I have picked up a few things always room to improve and some times you need to go back to basics . Thank you !
Great to see you again!!! I havent done much with rivets but it looks like I need to start experimenting!! I already have an idea for some earrings using rivets. As always thank you for sharing and for the inspiration!! 💙👍💙
Hello JW, It is nice to be seen!!! Glad I have inspired you to do something different with your work. Thank you very much for your wonderful comments. It means a lot to me. Greg Greenwood
I've looked far and wide but cannot find your tubing cutting jig. Is this tool still manufactured? Fantastic videos, btw. I've been making jewelry since 1968, and am still learning. You have given me some new ideas, and much inspiration...THANKS!!!
Hello Mark, Thank you for your comments. You are more than welcome. Here are 5 tube cutting jigs: All from Rio Grande Jewelry Supply.....#113839 = $37.39, #113841 = $27.80 , #113071 = $42.90, #113000 = $206.55, #113070 = $122. / I hope this helps you. Good Luck and have fun. Greg Greenwood
I just started up my own jewelrymaking kit and "studio" which basically is the kitchen and whatever small part of the livingroom table I can make free of toys and such (the joys of motherhood 😉) when I find time. Not ideal but it works Collection of tools and such slowely but steadily growing. I have been looking at your channel for a few weeks now, settling on you as my favorite online teacher. Love the clear explanations, enthousiasm. And you are so incredibly likable and a joy to watch. Next project, riviting testing 😁
Hello Frogfairy, When the will is there, nothing can stand in one's way! Even kid toys and limited space. I am very excited for you to be starting jewelry making. It is a fascinating, challenging , and always rewarding art. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to let me know. I am happy to help. Also, Thank you so much for your kind comments. I really appreciate it! "HOMEWORK FOR YOU". 1.) Check out my video " 12 Free Hidden Jewelry Tools and Textures" . 2.) Then go into your kitchen..... Thanks for watching. Greg Greenwood
@@greggreenwood4628 Did this "homework" last week bij chance inspired by said video 😁 Raided my fathers shed when I visited, found lovely textures there in the form of tools, nails, bolts, and not-even-sure-what-they-were-thing that I was allowed to whack a hammer on. Even made a lovely texture with a mesh wire gauze. Also scored a nice little store of pure copper wire and plate to practice with. Made a few nice ear cuffs with the best textures in silver. The copper turned out also good for practising soldering as it becomes abundantly clean when you made a mess of it as silver solder stands out instanty on copper. Though I have a harder time soldering copper then silver. Seems to flow the wrong way more often. Like I have a harder time heating it correctly. Your soldering video really helped me improve as lot suddenly made more sense then just winging it. I also have some alpaca silver to practice which I know holds no actual silver in it. That works even harder for me. And I found out you can't pickle that. So silver is by far my favorite to work with. It would be lovely if you could do a dedicated pliers overview. Like the nice file one. Which are essential, which nice to have, how to use them correctly, tips and tricks.
Hello Frogfairy, Great story! I can see you going thru your father's stuff. LOL Glad to see you are enjoying. Copper can be a good practice metal, but as you have found out it can be difficult to control the solder flow. Why? Copper conducts heat very well and will heat up quickly. The solder is melted by the metal heating up and not the torch, so the solder will flow to the hottest point. This is good because you can tell where you are over heating the metal. You will eventually learn to control your torch to prevent this. ( It takes time.) Thanks for your videos suggestions. Thanks again. Greg Greenwood
I'm not a jeweller or goldsmith, but that was very interesting. Good explanations together with demonstrating the process. Thank you, your enthusiasm is contagious, now I'm going to search the house for copper and something to rivet together.
@@greggreenwood4628 You're very welcome! Thank you for making your videos. I've also watched the videos about buffing and polishing and just finished the one about forging silver. I know this question maybe be trivial for you, but what would you use to polish brass with? (I couldn't resist, having an expert to ask.) Thank you already in advance! Christoph
Hello Christoph, I'm glad you are watching. No, it is not trivial. You can polish brass with any of the compounds and buffs that I demonstrated. Brass is a non-ferrous metal ( no iron) so it acts similar to copper & almost silver. You may enjoy my video "Low Tech Polishing Techniques". Polishing without a polishing machine. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to let me know. Greg Greenwood
@@greggreenwood4628 Thank you very much! I finally found solid copper rivets. All the hardware stores only had pop rivets, finally I found some in a small leather shop. They came together with copper washers. They have a flat head and for some reason the end of the rivet ist tapered on the last few millimetres, the rest is too thick for the washer, so when I cut a rivet to the appropriate length the washer won't fit. So I took a small, round file and made the hole of the washer wider. I used it to rivet two pieces of leather together, but the washer shouldn't be needed when the pieces are metal. It really is fun shaping the copper. I also got a little bar of polishing wax for non-ferrous metals. I still have to find a polishing cloth treated with jeweller's rouge. Again, thank you! I hope you are doing well. Greetings!
Hello Christoph, Thanks for sharing. It is always fun finding things that you can use in jewelry making at different stores. Also, you can make your own rivets with different gauges of wire and different materials. Even plastics can be used! I am glad you are enjoying making your projects. Keep it up, keep watching and sharing. Greg Greenwood
Hello Lena, I have a video that shows an example of a stone bead with a tube rivet through the middle. It is "19 Tips For Outside the Box Jewelry Bezel Settings". I don't demonstrate it, but you can use the same method as in the "5 Secrets To Perfect Rivets" for the tube rivets. I hope this helps you. Let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Hello Elizabeth, Thank you for your question. Check out my video "12 Free Hidden Jewelry Tools and Textures" It will give you some interesting ideas. Let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Hello Nora, Thanks for your question. I don't drill all the holes at once. Because the chances of the holes not matching is multiplied. Drill one set of holes and set the rivet, then you can drill all the holes you want. I hope this helps you. Let me know how it goes!! Greg Greenwood
Hello Kim, I am very glad you like my video. I am happy to help you. If you have any questions on any of my other videos, please feel free to let me know. Thank you again. Greg Greenwood
I have a question I have four square 8ga ss wire that I want to use as a separator. I've tried soldering, but it's hard to hold the pieces to solder. Do you think you can use a rivet in to the end of the square wire to hold it in place and then solder?
Hello Liz, From what you have described, the rivet should work for you. Also, check out my video "30+ Silver Soldering Set Ups". One of the set ups in the video may work for you. At least, give you some new ideas for solder jobs. Let me know how it goes. Thanks for your question, I appreciate it. Greg Greenwood
hi! im a young aspiring metals artist… riveting has been a pain, but i do enjoy it. this video is super helpful, too! a question ive had, though, that i cant seem to find any good straight answer to is removing a rivet… if i have a rivet that i need to take out, what is the least destructive way to remove it without widening or warping the drilled hole?? thank you so much!
Hello Riftiee, Thanks for your question. It is a good one. The best way that I have found is to: 1. Center punch your rivet. 2. Drill a smaller hole than your rivet size. If it is center punched, then it will be accurate and not hurt the original hole. If you want, you can start with a small drill bit and work your way up to the larger drill size. 3. As you are drilling, the rivet will become loose and you can pull it out easily. This method does not disturb the original hole. You can replace with the same size rivets to match. Let me know how it goes for you. Greg Greenwood
Can rivets also be used in moving joints? That is to say, make the rivets loose on purpose so the parts move? What issues would this cause, if any? Thanks!
Hello Justin, Absolutely!! This is a great way to introduce movement into your jewelry pieces. You are going to enjoy experimenting with this concept. Have fun, let your imagination go wild and let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Do you worry about corrosion from using different materials? Like using steel rivets in aluminum panels. I use 1 1/2 times the diameter of the rivet to cut the rivet. I think it's close to your method. Now to learn grommets.
So maybe I don’t understand fully how a rivet is domed. Basically stretching the flat edge of metal rivet out and then ‘pulling’ it downward to form a dome. Then how do you strike a flat surface and pull down edges and still not mar the base ?
Hello terp4u2, Thanks for your questions. There are 2 different types of wire or solid rivets. 1. Pre-made: These have the dome or head already on the one end. This is how you get the large rivet domed. 2. Custom rivets made of wire: You can put a "dome" on these wires by balling one end. See my video "How to Ball Sterling Silver Wires & Spheres". Then when it is hammered into place, the balled end will start to flatten and you can shape it with a cupped bur on your flex shaft, making it domed. Your sharp edges on your rivets (from your other comment), are caused by over hammering around the edges of the rivet. Hammer less when hammering the edges and hammer more with your ball pein hammer in the middle of the rivet. This will cause the metal to push out with more volume or thickness and keep your edges from becoming sharp. Also, take a small buff on your flex shaft and soften the edges of the rivet if they get too sharp. Your last question: As you saw in the video, the pre-made domed rivets are perfectly domes before you strike them on a flat surface. There will always be a slight flat spot on the dome after you set the rivet. Take your buff on the flex shaft and round the flat spot off. I hope this helps you with your riveting. It takes practice, so don't be discouraged at first. Practice, practice, practice. Let me know how it goes. Best of luck to you. Greg Greenwood
This tip of having the various holes drilled in the side of your bench pin to hold rivets for sawing is is so cool! Love this!❤
Hello Lena, Yes it is! I've been doing that of over 45 years. Works great!! Greg Greenwood
A great tip. Solves my disasters
Holes on the side of the bench pin is pure genius! Also, the 3D piece WOW!!! Thanks so much💖
Hello Samuella, You are so welcome! Glad you like the ideas. Keep watching. Greg Greenwood
I've already been a bit worried about you not posting anything. Good to see you again.
I might have some tipps to go along:
Filing any burrs off a hole: I often use a diamond coated ball burr (a normal fine ball burr will work as well most of the time) in some kind of file handle. This will avoid scratching the surface of the metal and reduce the amount of work to be put into clean-up and polishing.
Brilliant tipp for holding rivets in the bench block. Absolutely logical, but haven't seen that before. I surely will copy that one. :)
I've been missing an important step when using a flush cutter: Using a flush cutter will harden the metal. So either the rivet needs to be annealed again or the cut needs to be treated with a file to remove the hardened metal or else riveting will be a bit inconvenient and probably yield a suboptimal result.
"It will flatten the pre-made side, so be aware of that." Right. I've got a steel block for just that purpose - to avoid flattening the pre-made head. As far as I know, you cannot buy those but it is easy enough to make one yourself using a piece of tool steel (e.g. a 10x10mm piece that is normally used to make punches, anneal it, use ball burrs or punches to make some depressions in which the pre-made rivet head can rest; then harden and temper it). This kind of "riveting anvil" will also act as a perfact spacer and will even shape the other side of the rivet into a domed rivet (e.g. when you're doing a "custom" rivet by balling up one end of the wire).
Hello Torsten, Thank you for your kind comments and I am very happy to be seen again. Your tips are (as always) excellent suggestions. Very nice to hear from you Torsten. I hope more viewers read your comments. Great ideas. Thanks again. Greg Greenwood
Hey Greg great video, leather workers saddle makers use a small hand held punch /die block with 2 dimples of different sizes and a 1/8inch 3/4inch deep hole in 1 end, also 1 through the side for side ways use same 2 dimples on the side also. The hole is used to push a washer down before you cut rivit to length for mushrooming the head.
Wonderful demonstration💕💕
Hello Barbara, Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Keep watching. Greg Greenwood
I don't even know what a rivet is, but I'm so pleasantly amused by Greg's excitement over them haha. How did the youtube algorithm get me here
Hello Krystinatran, Thank you so much for your fun comments. Welcome to the world of designer craftsman jewelry! I invite you to visit my website to see what it is all about. You might find something you like. Have a wonderful day! Greg Greenwood
Incredible introduction! Look, although I'm looking for a solution to a different problem - namely fixing two embossing plates together so that they don't shift when passing through a printing press - the information you provide is essential and you present it in a way that is exciting and easy to understand... so ... rivetting!
Hello Zachar, Thank you for watching and commenting. Glad I can help you. Greg Greenwood
This topic was………riveting? Great videos. Thank you for your thorough explanation
Hello Bunyan, Thank you for your comments. Thanks for watching. Greg Greenwood
Let me be the first to say... riveting!! Thanks Greg! Have missed you and your great tutorials. Always a treat.
Thank You LA Os for your kind comments. I have missed all of you too. Enjoy. See you soon!! Greg Greenwood
I'm not a jeweler but your videos are of great help when I build small parts.... for example tube rivets are very useful to build vintage style custom switches and other electronics parts.
Hello gf, Cool, thanks! It is great to cross over into other fields! Thanks for watching. Greg Greenwood
I needed this to be more comfortable with my riveting process. Thx!
Hello Jill, Glad it helped! You are more than welcome. Greg Greenwood
Just found you and so happy I did! I love how you sound so excited about what you're saying! Great tips...thank you!!!
Hello Samuella, Welcome to my studio!! I am so glad that you found me. I am here to help you if you need me. Let me know any questions that you may have, Anytime. Thank you for your kind comments, I appreciate it. The best to you. Greg Greenwood
Thank you sir!!!! About to take my first class involving riveting. 😊
Hello Warm, Best of luck! Let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Thank you for your excellent presentation: you've taught me a trick for cutting those little rivets...
In old Europe, where I live, for traditional riveting (for example in cutlery) we let the rivet protrude half its diameter on each side to hammer it.
Here, many riveters don't use a spacer: simply a flat steel plate to be placed on the anvil, with small prepared holes corresponding to the different half diameters of the rivets.
(A thousand apologies for my approximate English).
Be well.
Greetings from Belgium.
Hello Alain, Your English is great! It is always interesting to hear how other craftspeople do different jobs. And always fun to hear where you live. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. Have a wonderful summer. Greg Greenwood
You are awesome. Thanks Greg for all your vids.
Hello Tina, Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate it. Greg Greenwood
Nice tutorial! Thanks!
Hello Kathy, Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Keep watching. Greg Greenwood
Thank you for this wonderful ,insightful video. Stay blessed🙏❤
Hello TheArundathie, You are more than welcome. Thank you. Keep watching. Greg Greenwood
Jeweler of 35yrs hand made ! Love your work you teach the proper way and explain spot on . I have picked up a few things always room to improve and some times you need to go back to basics . Thank you !
Hello Oleg, Thank you very much for your kind comments. You are right, there is always room for improvement. Good Luck and take care. Greg Greenwood
great video! thank you.
Hello Robin, Glad you liked it! You are more than welcome. Keep watching. Greg Greenwood
So useful-great explanations and detailing of the process. Thank you so much!
Hello Deb, Glad it was helpful! Keep watching Greg Greenwood
Excellent instruction! Thank you.
Hello Rusty, Thank you very much for your kind comment. You are more than welcome. Glad to help. Greg Greenwood
Great to see you again!!! I havent done much with rivets but it looks like I need to start experimenting!! I already have an idea for some earrings using rivets. As always thank you for sharing and for the inspiration!! 💙👍💙
Hello JW, It is nice to be seen!!! Glad I have inspired you to do something different with your work. Thank you very much for your wonderful comments. It means a lot to me. Greg Greenwood
that was helpfull
Hello oloololowski, Glad to be able to help you. Greg Greenwood
I've looked far and wide but cannot find your tubing cutting jig. Is this tool still manufactured? Fantastic videos, btw. I've been making jewelry since 1968, and am still learning. You have given me some new ideas, and much inspiration...THANKS!!!
Hello Mark, Thank you for your comments. You are more than welcome. Here are 5 tube cutting jigs: All from Rio Grande Jewelry Supply.....#113839 = $37.39, #113841 = $27.80 , #113071 = $42.90, #113000 = $206.55, #113070 = $122. / I hope this helps you. Good Luck and have fun. Greg Greenwood
Thank you!💖
You’re welcome 😊
I just started up my own jewelrymaking kit and "studio" which basically is the kitchen and whatever small part of the livingroom table I can make free of toys and such (the joys of motherhood 😉) when I find time. Not ideal but it works Collection of tools and such slowely but steadily growing. I have been looking at your channel for a few weeks now, settling on you as my favorite online teacher. Love the clear explanations, enthousiasm. And you are so incredibly likable and a joy to watch. Next project, riviting testing 😁
Hello Frogfairy, When the will is there, nothing can stand in one's way! Even kid toys and limited space. I am very excited for you to be starting jewelry making. It is a fascinating, challenging , and always rewarding art. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to let me know. I am happy to help. Also, Thank you so much for your kind comments. I really appreciate it! "HOMEWORK FOR YOU". 1.) Check out my video " 12 Free Hidden Jewelry Tools and Textures" . 2.) Then go into your kitchen..... Thanks for watching. Greg Greenwood
@@greggreenwood4628 Did this "homework" last week bij chance inspired by said video 😁 Raided my fathers shed when I visited, found lovely textures there in the form of tools, nails, bolts, and not-even-sure-what-they-were-thing that I was allowed to whack a hammer on. Even made a lovely texture with a mesh wire gauze. Also scored a nice little store of pure copper wire and plate to practice with. Made a few nice ear cuffs with the best textures in silver.
The copper turned out also good for practising soldering as it becomes abundantly clean when you made a mess of it as silver solder stands out instanty on copper. Though I have a harder time soldering copper then silver. Seems to flow the wrong way more often. Like I have a harder time heating it correctly. Your soldering video really helped me improve as lot suddenly made more sense then just winging it.
I also have some alpaca silver to practice which I know holds no actual silver in it. That works even harder for me. And I found out you can't pickle that. So silver is by far my favorite to work with.
It would be lovely if you could do a dedicated pliers overview. Like the nice file one. Which are essential, which nice to have, how to use them correctly, tips and tricks.
Hello Frogfairy, Great story! I can see you going thru your father's stuff. LOL Glad to see you are enjoying. Copper can be a good practice metal, but as you have found out it can be difficult to control the solder flow. Why? Copper conducts heat very well and will heat up quickly. The solder is melted by the metal heating up and not the torch, so the solder will flow to the hottest point. This is good because you can tell where you are over heating the metal. You will eventually learn to control your torch to prevent this. ( It takes time.) Thanks for your videos suggestions. Thanks again. Greg Greenwood
Excellent! Thanks for this!
Hello Mary, Nice to hear from you. Thank you and have fun. Greg Greenwood
Amazing video as always!
Thanks Crimson, I appreciate your comments. Keep watching for more. Greg Greenwood
I'm not a jeweller or goldsmith, but that was very interesting. Good explanations together with demonstrating the process. Thank you, your enthusiasm is contagious, now I'm going to search the house for copper and something to rivet together.
Hello Christoph, Thank you for your kind comments. Have fun riveting. Keep watching! Thanks again. Enjoy. Greg Greenwood
@@greggreenwood4628 You're very welcome! Thank you for making your videos. I've also watched the videos about buffing and polishing and just finished the one about forging silver.
I know this question maybe be trivial for you, but what would you use to polish brass with? (I couldn't resist, having an expert to ask.)
Thank you already in advance!
Christoph
Hello Christoph, I'm glad you are watching. No, it is not trivial. You can polish brass with any of the compounds and buffs that I demonstrated. Brass is a non-ferrous metal ( no iron) so it acts similar to copper & almost silver. You may enjoy my video "Low Tech Polishing Techniques". Polishing without a polishing machine. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to let me know. Greg Greenwood
@@greggreenwood4628 Thank you very much! I finally found solid copper rivets. All the hardware stores only had pop rivets, finally I found some in a small leather shop. They came together with copper washers. They have a flat head and for some reason the end of the rivet ist tapered on the last few millimetres, the rest is too thick for the washer, so when I cut a rivet to the appropriate length the washer won't fit. So I took a small, round file and made the hole of the washer wider. I used it to rivet two pieces of leather together, but the washer shouldn't be needed when the pieces are metal. It really is fun shaping the copper. I also got a little bar of polishing wax for non-ferrous metals. I still have to find a polishing cloth treated with jeweller's rouge. Again, thank you! I hope you are doing well. Greetings!
Hello Christoph, Thanks for sharing. It is always fun finding things that you can use in jewelry making at different stores. Also, you can make your own rivets with different gauges of wire and different materials. Even plastics can be used! I am glad you are enjoying making your projects. Keep it up, keep watching and sharing. Greg Greenwood
I need to tube rivet a larger hollow saucer bead. Anything I need to do differently? Do you by chance have a tutorial?
Hello Lena, I have a video that shows an example of a stone bead with a tube rivet through the middle. It is "19 Tips For Outside the Box Jewelry Bezel Settings". I don't demonstrate it, but you can use the same method as in the "5 Secrets To Perfect Rivets" for the tube rivets. I hope this helps you. Let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Can you please make a video on texturizing metal ? Thank you.
Hello Elizabeth, Thank you for your question. Check out my video "12 Free Hidden Jewelry Tools and Textures" It will give you some interesting ideas. Let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Thank you so much!
You're welcome!
if you need to have more than one rivet to connect two (or more) pieces, do you drill all the holes at once?
Hello Nora, Thanks for your question. I don't drill all the holes at once. Because the chances of the holes not matching is multiplied. Drill one set of holes and set the rivet, then you can drill all the holes you want. I hope this helps you. Let me know how it goes!! Greg Greenwood
Love this video! I have always wanted to know how to do this..🙂
Hello Kim, I am very glad you like my video. I am happy to help you. If you have any questions on any of my other videos, please feel free to let me know. Thank you again. Greg Greenwood
I have a question I have four square 8ga ss wire that I want to use as a separator. I've tried soldering, but it's hard to hold the pieces to solder. Do you think you can use a rivet in to the end of the square wire to hold it in place and then solder?
Hello Liz, From what you have described, the rivet should work for you. Also, check out my video "30+ Silver Soldering Set Ups". One of the set ups in the video may work for you. At least, give you some new ideas for solder jobs. Let me know how it goes. Thanks for your question, I appreciate it. Greg Greenwood
hi! im a young aspiring metals artist… riveting has been a pain, but i do enjoy it. this video is super helpful, too!
a question ive had, though, that i cant seem to find any good straight answer to is removing a rivet… if i have a rivet that i need to take out, what is the least destructive way to remove it without widening or warping the drilled hole??
thank you so much!
Hello Riftiee, Thanks for your question. It is a good one. The best way that I have found is to: 1. Center punch your rivet. 2. Drill a smaller hole than your rivet size. If it is center punched, then it will be accurate and not hurt the original hole. If you want, you can start with a small drill bit and work your way up to the larger drill size. 3. As you are drilling, the rivet will become loose and you can pull it out easily. This method does not disturb the original hole. You can replace with the same size rivets to match. Let me know how it goes for you. Greg Greenwood
What about riveting metal to leather? For example a bezel set stone with a copper or silver backplate riveted to a leather bracelet?
Hello Colette, Absolutely! Rivets and metal on leather is fantastic. I love the look. Thanks for watching. Greg Greenwod
Can rivets also be used in moving joints? That is to say, make the rivets loose on purpose so the parts move? What issues would this cause, if any? Thanks!
Hello Justin, Absolutely!! This is a great way to introduce movement into your jewelry pieces. You are going to enjoy experimenting with this concept. Have fun, let your imagination go wild and let me know how it goes. Greg Greenwood
Thanks Greg! What gauge is your spacer?
Hello Ann, The gauge is 18 gauge. Thanks for your question. I am happy to help. Greg Greenwood
Do you worry about corrosion from using different materials? Like using steel rivets in aluminum panels. I use 1 1/2 times the diameter of the rivet to cut the rivet. I think it's close to your method. Now to learn grommets.
Hello Steven, I don't get too concerned about the corrosion. I usually don't mix the ones that will corrode. Thanks for asking. Greg Greenwood
I use the 1 1/2 time diameter as well, learnt from blacksmithing.
So maybe I don’t understand fully how a rivet is domed. Basically stretching the flat edge of metal rivet out and then ‘pulling’ it downward to form a dome. Then how do you strike a flat surface and pull down edges and still not mar the base ?
Hello terp4u2, Thanks for your questions. There are 2 different types of wire or solid rivets. 1. Pre-made: These have the dome or head already on the one end. This is how you get the large rivet domed. 2. Custom rivets made of wire: You can put a "dome" on these wires by balling one end. See my video "How to Ball Sterling Silver Wires & Spheres". Then when it is hammered into place, the balled end will start to flatten and you can shape it with a cupped bur on your flex shaft, making it domed.
Your sharp edges on your rivets (from your other comment), are caused by over hammering around the edges of the rivet. Hammer less when hammering the edges and hammer more with your ball pein hammer in the middle of the rivet. This will cause the metal to push out with more volume or thickness and keep your edges from becoming sharp. Also, take a small buff on your flex shaft and soften the edges of the rivet if they get too sharp. Your last question: As you saw in the video, the pre-made domed rivets are perfectly domes before you strike them on a flat surface. There will always be a slight flat spot on the dome after you set the rivet. Take your buff on the flex shaft and round the flat spot off. I hope this helps you with your riveting. It takes practice, so don't be discouraged at first. Practice, practice, practice. Let me know how it goes. Best of luck to you. Greg Greenwood
All my rivets are sharp edged
Hello terp4u2. See your other comment. I answered in that comment. Greg Greenwood
Thank you!
Hello 12, You are more than welcome. Thank you for watching. Greg Greenwood