Riveting is process that allows a jewelry maker to connect pieces of metal, such as metal sheet, together without the use of a torch. This is why it is often referred to as cold connecting. The basic idea of a rivet is that a small tube-shaped piece of metal is inserted through holes in metal sheet and then the tube-shaped metal is flattened on both ends to secure the metal sheet together. It's a pretty basic idea but not necessarily that easy to do without some significant practice. That is one reason this tool system is so interesting; it does a lot of the work for you.
How It Works
This tool system does two things: pierces holes and secures rivets. One one side of the tool is a hole puncher. You simple put the metal piece under it and screw down the punch until you have a hole in the metal.
The other side of the tool is a flaring tool. After creating the hole, you can put a rivet in the hole, place it under the flaring side, twist the T-shaped handle, and this will push the rivet out and against the metal plate, thus sealing the rivet against the plate.
Normally, you would need to hammer the rivet, but the flare side of the tool does all that work for you. One draw back, though, is that the metal sheet should not be any thicker than 22-gauge.
Other Parts of the Tool
Along with the basic hole punch and flare tool, there are a number of other elements to the system. Of course, there are the rivets, some of which are flat on one side and open on the other. Others are tube-shaped and open on both ends.
The base is also set up to be interchangeable, which is why a key is included so you can unscrew parts of it and replace them to change into different sizes. The original comes with a 1/16th inch hole piercer. There is also a 3/32 inch piercing set available as well.
Final Thoughts
The basics of this tool are pretty easy to figure out, but at the same time, it opens up a lot of possibilities as more parts become available. Those who have wanted to work more with metal but have not wanted to work with a torch that much will find this is a way to created metal connections without heat as well as make some interesting finished to jewelry pieces.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
