• Modelers Alliance has updated the forum software on our website. We have migrated all post, content and user accounts but we could not migrate the passwords.
    This requires that you manually reset your password.
    Please click here, http://modelersalliance.org/forums/login to go to logon page and use the "Forgot your Password" option.

CHEAP HOMEMADE RIVET MAKER

alex

Member
IT IS SAID THAT NECCESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTIONS AND THIS IS TRUE. NOW IM NOT SAYING THAT THIS IDEA IS ORIGINAL BUT IT WORKS .

anybody who has seen my scratchbuilt models will notice that they are full of rivets. i do have a love hate relationship with rivets, i hate them but i cant live without them.......heard this before as regards to you men out there know what. anyway my venerqable and well loved waldron punch and die has been worked to complete worn out. waldron punch and die sets are very hard to get by these days i know there are other makes but i needed rivets im addicted to rivets give me rivets so i decided to try and make my own riveter AND SURPRISE SURPRISE IT worked

all you need are two peices of clear 5mm acryllic/perspex sheet 8mm would do fine if not better.
in between sandwich two strips of 1mm pastic card at the edges

2008_07240015.jpg


2008_07240016.jpg


2008_07240017.jpg


add some clearance underneath and drill holes through both sheet, making shure they are as vertical as possible, preferably using a small bench drill

2008_07240018.jpg


for the punches you can use the back end of the drill bit used to cut the holes or my preferd hypodermic needles. both of which are given a flat end using a disc cutter but i suppose you could judt sand the edges just as well.

2008_07240019.jpg


2008_07240020.jpg


2008_07240021.jpg


2008_07240022.jpg


2008_07240023.jpg


one other thing i do is fix a small spring just above the needle tip to quicken punching.

i hope this can be of use to anybody out there. anyway i though id share it with you guys and gals out there. it worked for me, maybe it can work for you too.
 
thanks for the tip
will try it out as I still dont have a punch set
 
Thats cool Alex.

Btw, Your fascination with rivets reminds me of a guy I knew once that Scratchbuilt a 1/4 scale R/C Stuka Bomber. He wanted and did make and install every rivet on the plane. It looked awesome but after all that work he was afraid to fly it so it hung from his shop ceiling :lol:

Tim
 
thanks
this will only work for round rivets but if you need specific resin bolts i would suggest master club resin bolts i get mine from this guy link below

http://www.historicahobbies.com/Master-Club-Bolts_bymfg_116-0-1.html
 
Great SBS tutorial and certainly negates the need to buy expensive commercial punch and die sets.
You don't even need to have some perspex lying around. I use a couple of scrap bits of evergreen sheet and just put a little extra care in lining the punch up to compensate for the styrene being softer. Naturally you have to replace it more often but when you don't bother to square it all off and whack it together with glue it does not take much time out of your modelling.
Saving old blunt and broken drill bits saves me buying other items to use as the punch. I just turn the drill bit on end knowing that it is going to be a perfect match for the hole I have drilled.
 
and it does work! i just cobbled one from spare parts, punched the rivet out with a bit and a smal ball peen hammer head
 
Back
Top