Forging rivet headers - blacksmithing tools
Rivets are ideal fasteners for many projects in the blacksmith shop. To cleanly form a rivet head you will need a heading tool or header for each size rivet you might use.
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The following list provides just a few resources to help you find supplies and equipment for blacksmithing.
www.piehtoolco.com/
www.centaurforge.com/
www.blacksmithsdepot.com/
www.blacksmithbolt.com/
www.oldworldanvils.com/
www.nimbaanvils.com/
fontaninianvilandtool.com/
www.abana.org/
www.mcmaster.com
kensironstore.com/
Blacksmithing and related activities can be hazardous. These videos are not a substitute for competent professional instruction. Your safety is your sole responsibility. Always use appropriate safety equipment including eye and ear protection when working in the shop. Follow manufactures safety guidelines for the use of all equipment. In the event something shown in one of these videos seems unsafe, it is up to you to make the appropriate changes to protect yourself.
Every time I start a project, tool build, etc, I always check your page first. "Lemme just check to see if Black Bear has a video before I get started..." NINE HOURS LATER..... project delayed haha
For years my own inner voice was the one that reminded me to wear my safety glasses. Today it was yours 🧐
Thank you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for communication, capacity, how to tips, extras. A pleasure to learn from you and I will be creating my own, from hardened stock. Cheers!
Another great video! For the final rounding of the tool, I actually ended up using a ball bearing and a couple good whacks to set it. Worked like a charm, still using it to this day.
Sweet rivet setter.
You Know you are a real inspiration to us newbes out there I find your videos well explained clear and concise When a mistake crops up you keep calm and move on I have been a welder for 40 years plus But really it is very little help to the art of blacksmithing So many thanks to your desire to share your knowledge/ ability
Hello John 2 years old but still brand new Very usefull i like it Yours Frank
Well done Blackbear forge, That will be my next project. I got some coil springs so a few chissles and other punches will be a project for whenever i reciver from my stomache op....
great vid! i now have to go make some tools! always a good way to spend a sunday. learn in the morning and make in the afternoon
Lame joke coming..... This is definitely a way to get "a head" in our riveting game. :D Thanks for the video! Great, great work!
Been looking forward to this video! Loved it.
You taught me something today. Thank you
Wonderful video, John. Your selection of subjects and your teaching style are great. In fact, in all my years in schools, only one professor in my freshman year in college was as good as you are, and I appreciate you as much as I appreciate him. Thank you!
Wow! Thank you
I'll be making a rivet header in the morning. Great refresher!!
Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
Thanks for the info and lessons...
Will be on with making a set of these tomorrow! Great video, thanks for uploading!
Great little tool, will be making one soon.
I’ve got a set from Ken’s Custom Iron that are fantastic! I’ve never thought of making them with different head designs, so I guess I’ve got a new project!
Thank You, well done.
Great video. Thanks
Your videos are awesome John. Thanks for all you do.
I just love your Straight Forward way of discussing things. Funny enough I was Just watching Kens Custom Iron when I noticed this on the follow up recommendations Wish we lived close.
Lovely demo!!!
Very handy, thank you!
Another great video. The most comprehensive channel. All the good stuff is right here! John you rock!
Fabulous !!! Very, very, very helpful, thank you !
I love these videos, so informational. Thank you!
Thank you, Sir. This is exactly what I needed for my current project.
Another great video 👍
You've gotten really good at explaining *process*, John. And this is one of your best -- enjoyed it. Clyde
Good Fun, thank you for sharing.....
Thanks John.
Good info.
John, I have been scouring the TUBE looking for videos on tools to make, when I finally get my milk barn turned into a shop... This Video is an oldie but goodie. I hope others check it out. I can't wait to make rivet headers of my own. (I have succor rod sitting in the corner) Army SE Oregon
You have great instructional videos. Glad you are preserving and sharing this knowledge with others.
Your videos have been very helpful and inspirational for me as a new hobby blacksmith. I hope to see many more to come! Cheers!! :)
Thanks. This has been very helpful. Very much appreciated!!! 👍
Thank you John
A rivet driver for a rivet gun would work well also they are very hard
Been looking to make a rivet header this is just the video that helped me! Thanks
Thank you very much !!
Good practical video. Thanks for posting. Jerry
Liked that john, have made one for myself but still picked up some good points.
I am going to make some of these. Great video.
I like the bandaid on your finger. Makes it appear as though you actually work for a living. Not just make videos for profit. Great video. Enjoyed it.
I will mention that to the costume designer.
You should thank your costume designer for coming up with that. Keep up the good work Sir.
I moved to an anvil with a 30mm hardy hole and I found some square tube to put a sleeve on the hardy tools to bring them up to 30mm. Worked well for me and would be easy to reverse.
....thank YOU very much !!! You evxplain always soooo good !!! kind regards from Switzerland !!!
Great vid,loads of useful info!👍
I was waiting till I could get some better tool steel. Like you said they take a beating and I finally found some. Great video John I'm going to have to watch it about three more times probably
Great video as always and very helpful, thank you sir have a blessed day
very good video sir thank you.
Truly wonderful and useful video
Great video
Love the tool making videos. Videos on tools for making art type work, as in eyes, veining, and punches for dragons heads, rams heads etc. Would be nice too.
thanks John, last set I made, I ground the head of a bolt to the shape I wanted the rivet head to be, and used that the same way you used yout ball end punch!
Made a rivet and riveted my first pair of tongs made for round stock tonight - it was quite a pain in the butt without a rivet header! It would certainly have come out much better with one, I'll be making a set of these very soon, thanks for the video!
Great Video ! I have a Project In the next few Weeks . The first one , The first one I Need is the 1/4 " Rivet ! Thank you again for the Knowledge and Inspiration ! Be Safe and Take care ! Keep Hammering
This video was really good i couldn’t look away you might say it was.........riveting......
i need to make some now i see how was gonna use a drill bit to do it
Thank you I'm just starting out God bless
Nice. VideoWhen I built mine for setting the rivets in my Ken's tongs I drilled a hole in some plate then rounded it out with a rivet. I held mine with some scrolling tongs tho and bent the crap out of the rivet in the process. Had to straighten it out three or four times. Didn't think of building a monkey tool to hold it.
Great video. I was going to ask about rivet length just as you started to cover it at the end of the video.
Thank you, this was nice and useful video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fordom makes a small drill press station that is angle adjustable for both the work and the tool( handpiece). A 6mm-6.5mm chuck (.244-.248 inches) will allow a vast selection of burs and bits. the tool even allows for wet cutting,so you can cut hardened metal without ruining it , grind and polish glass , gemstones , ect. There is even a gravers tool for decorating like doing inlay and a hammer tip for burnishing ,swaging and peening. ...or work requiring a VERY small jackhammer. Like cleaning up a gold nugget from hard rock matrix . I recently saw a set of dies for cutting inlays , basically it's a flat sheet of tool steel, with the outline of the image secured flush onto wood or soft metal ,or some stones like jade . A set of spring steel cutters are made so they have a flat cutting surface with scooped sides like a flat shovel shape, extends beyond the plate to 1/8th inch or whatever you need, a plain round shank spans the die and a toolstop/ depth gauge rides the die face. The pair are connected at the opposite end and spread about an inch at the cutters, and a shank is made to go into a Jacobs chuck On a drill . Whatever shape the die is , complex with both angular and rounded edges or simple , straight cuts, they will follow it and cut the shape. Obviously the harder the material intended to be cut will require harder cutting surfaces . If anybody that reads this concept has interest, I will point you to the video to show it being made and at work.
I actually just made a few bottom rivet sets this week, before seeing this. I thought I would share a couple of my tricks I came up with. For the bottom sets, I found a bunch of structural connection bolts at work, meant for bolting together red iron in construction. The ones I have are 3/4" by around 2" long, grade 5. I ground the markings off the heads, then drilled a divot into them and rounded it like you suggested. I have an old gear with a 3/4" shaft hole that I use as a "washer" to drop them into, then into the hardy hole so they don't slide around too much. I could probably find 1" bolts, too, but they're less common. My second tip is for making rounded ends for punches or forms. If you make them from round bar small enough to fit a drill chuck, you can use the drill to spin them against a grinder while moving the drill side to side. Essentially using the drill like a lathe. It takes a bit of practice, but works great for shaping round punches, drifts, etc.
Thanks again John. I’ve been wondering how to make these for the last few weeks. I don’t have any bought rivets, so I was wondering how to get the right depression in the punch. I’ll just make a round punch to punch the header punch and bottom. Natmat
NIce video, as usual ,love those tongs, hope your finger gets better,saw where you changed the bandage couple times.you always get cut , mashed finger,burned.its part of the job, See Ya
I have rounded a drill in a pinch and was careful to grind a bevel similar to the original drill angle. It worked pretty good and in the drill press did not chatter as I had relieved most of the material from the cut. If you are going to cut rather than forge, a ball cutter is the best as it's geometry is made for both plunge cuts and milling cuts. I also have made elliptical and tear drop depressions that were used to form sterling silver for riveting to fancy horse bit cheeks. Essentially by doing exactly what you did for the rivet set then cleaning the recess with a creep tool and crates point, followed by felt point with polish compound.
I have what looks like a little rivet set in the end of my bick already. I figure that is what it would probably be for but its right at the end of my flat bick in a fairly awkward spot! :D
Thank you KCB 👍 (Carpenter) aka wannabe “cooper” UK🇬🇧
Спасибо очень нужное видео!
Riveting video mate. 😜
Another good example of things riveted together is the Titanic.......er maybe not too good. Could steel balls be used in conjunction with a press?
Just bought 4 used jack hammer bits from my friend for 0$, that my friend got at a swap meet. Ready to forge that Bick. Waiting for video so I can copy procedure without screwing up!
I will plan on doing that this week
Good video as always I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I noticed you had stock sitting right on the screw box of your vise & hit it with a hammer. I'd think that would not be healthy for the vise?
The more i watch,the more i need.I would join your facebook group but i swore off social media,except you tube.My few rivets i have used in my two pair of tongs could use a heading tool,i am putting it on my list now.Shop addition in full swing,now i have some space to fill with hand made tools.
I certainly understand swearing off social media. But I find it to be a highly effective tool for my business.
Black Bear Forge ,roger that,over.
ball nose endmill works for me
riveting tools - somehow I saw THAT one coming! ;-)Good idea, though - I need to make at least one set for tongs, and I need to make a wrench for my angle grinders. I believe in English they are called "adjustable face spanners" (?).
Thomas Bögel If its the tool i’m thing of I call them multi grips!
Hi John, a great presentation once again, I have gotten a series of ball bearings in differing sizes an I drive that into center punch hole. Bearing suppliers charge cents for the balls or one can smash apart old ball bearings wrapped in a cloth in the vice so you don't lose the bearings
I was comparing the bearing one suppliers had with the rivet head sizes and they didn't quite match, but they would come very close.
👍👍
I bought steel balls I plan to heat up what i am making the tool from and using the steel ball to make the half dome
Hi, I live in South Africa, I have been watching your video's and enjoying it so much that i want to start my own blacksmith home shop. Is it possible to give the mesurements in metric as well as I dont ( as many ) dont understand imperial. Thanks Steffen
You mentioned grinding a drill bit and wondering how well it would drill. When grinding the round end the trick is to have no "dead" spot in the centre of the bit by grinding just slightly asymmetrically. Also drill at slower revs than what would normally be recommended for that size drill and material. In another life I used the same principles to sharpen tungsten carbide drills, as used for masonry, for drilling into hardened tool steel for those times when a toolmaker forgot to dill a hole before sending the tool for hardening. It's slow work but a lot faster than annealing and re-hardening.
Thanks, I will need to try that
When the rivet is done correctly is it water proof. Will it seal the hole completely or do u need something in there to seal it
Very nice . What about aluminium rivets ? Show me to make aluminium rivets please .
Excellent video... Any chance you could make a video on how to make an anvil horn rivet set for riveting scrolls and hard to reach places?
Great suggestion!
I have a 7/8 hardy in my anvil. I'd be delighted to adopt that bick.... ;) In all honesty, my rivet headers started out just drilled. When the heads came out a bit conical, just tap the tip down with a hammer. Over time, they softened (mild steel) so by now they're pretty much round.
That should work. You know I don't actually use that bick anymore since it doesn't fit.
What would you like for it?
How about $10 for the bick, just to see it go where it can be used. It's nothing special.
Just emailed you
I'm hoping to see a new hammer in your shop soon.
Sounds like I better go and watch
Sorry to ask a dumb question. But I'm presuming you don't need to hardening the rivit setting tools? Since you didn't cover it here. Thanks. Great video, I kept wondering how to make these. Surprisingly simple.
The Titanic was built with rivets too! So rivets should work fine, as least so long as you don't have to deal with icebergs.... 😝
True, but so were lots of other ships.
Could you not weld a piece of round bar to the small piece so it fits in the anvil doesn’t roll away
Is the header tool an easy to make tool? I've been using a piece of leaf spring to do the same thing but don't have the top part for making the other end of the revit.
Harder than making a punch, but not bad
@ 12:40 like I say "don't take long to look at"
any link to formula so i cancalculate how long the rivet needs to be for a perfect dome? had some info on it 2 years back but seems it is unfindable
1 1/2 times the diameter of the rivet sticking out of the hole for each head. Thats just a starting point and should be tested and fine tuned.
Me again. Thank you for the video. What diameter does the rivet head must have in relation with the diameter of the rivet itself? Here I can't find rivets of the hardware stores. Thank you for your answer.
rivetsinstock.com/rivets/solid-rivets/small-solid-rivets/round-head-solid-rivets.html
Of no use in my country, unless you have money to spare, thank you.
Your question was regarding head sizes for rivets. The link provided was for a chart showing standard rivet sizes with their corresponding head sizes.
Oh, I am sorry, I misunderstood your intention, I thought you were providing me with a link to purchase. Thank you very much for the information!! I will make a search over there.
I have a question. Can I make a riveting tools from coil spring that I have? The coil spring I have has never been put on a car.
Yes, that should work
@@BlackBearForge Thank you
1/4 inch carriage bolt? to form header.
Hi John, Where can you buy the round head rivets? I'm making armor for my Viking suit and I'm in need of a lot of round head rivets From JESSE
www.rivetsonline.com/solid-rivets/solid-steel-rivets#1
Black Bear Forge . Thank you a million this helps me so much
If I am just getting started what four tongs do I need to have?
The tongs need to fit the work you are doing, so its hard to recommend something without knowing what you are making