1 RIVETS Rivets are a simple method of joining two or more pieces of metal together.

It is particularly useful for joining metal that cannot be soldered (Such as titanium) or simply for decorative effect. Holes are drilled, then Broached out using a small round needle file or a Broach if you have one. A metal peg or piece of chenier is placed through the hole and the end is spread using a punch. A further piece of chenier can be slipped in between the plates if desired. This lifts the two pieces of metal apart creating a gap. You can join as many pieces of metal together in this way. I have used only two in the diagrams for simplicity. VERY BASIC RIVET JOINING TWO SHEETS OF METAL

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

2 Quick way to make the peg:

Take a small amount of round wire. Put it in the reverse action tweezers, dip it in flux, then hold a blow torch up to the bottom end (hot flame), until a ball runs up. Then take a pillar file and flatten the bottom end:

Next, take the file around the top edge of the ball to smooth away the lip, thus:

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

3 Alternative method of making a peg:

Put a length of well annealed wire into the vice with a small length poking out of the top, then use hammer blows to flatten out as necessary. As you get more adventurous, it is possible to put a pattern on the head of the rivet:

Peg size Make the peg for the rivet a bit longer than you need, just in case. The width of wire should be a good fit for the holes you are passing it through. If you want the second piece of metal to swing against the first, then use wire just a shade less than the hole. Please avoid using very fine wire as it bends inside the hole as you apply force to spread the other end of the rivet.

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

4 CHENIER RIVETING A pleasing effect can be achieved by replacing the peg with chenier that is pre-spread at one end only (using a more pointed punch) first. Alternatively one end of the chenier can be soldered to the base plate and only the top end spread into the metal sheet using a punch and hammer.

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

SUGGESTED PROJECT 1 Example of a simple project consisting of two flat plates of metal, one with a cut out design to the middle and four chenier rivets. Light can pass through the chenier rivets.

SUNKEN RIVETS Sunken rivets provide a smoother, more professional finish to your work. The hole to receive the rivet is drilled through both pieces of metal as usual, then take a slightly larger drill bit and drill down a short way into the hole you have already created. This example shows a 1mm hole drilled through both pieces of metal. Then a shallow hole has been drilled with a 1.5mm bit. 1mm round wire is passed through the two plates of metal and flattened using a punch and hammer. As the entrance to the hole is wider than the wire, it provides a recess to accommodate the additional width of the flattened peg.

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

In the above example a length of chenier that is wider than the hole has been inserted between the two sheets of sterling silver. This is done either: A B To create space between the pieces. Where only one rivet is used, movement is created as one sheet of silver can swivel against the other.

It is necessary to put a pad of some sort in between the two plates of metal when applying the punch and hammer. This is to protect the piece of chenier from collapsing.

SUGGESTED PROJECT 2 The following shows a way of setting stones into metal that cannot be soldered. It is often used for decorative purposes as well. It is a simple process as long as you work carefully and follow the instructions step by step.

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)

The bottom punch needs to be held firmly in a vice.

Imogen Waitt (October, 2007)