Using Tiles on Tube Rivets and Eyelets

by Judy Larson

Today we finish up our series of Tips from Judy Larson on Eyelet and Rivet Tools: Tip #3: Make a Tube Spreader Tool & #4 is How to Use the Tile and Nails on Rivets and Eyelets. These two tips go hand in hand!

Instructions

Pro Tip: Make a Tube Spreader Tool

Step 1

Find a few nails that are slightly larger in diameter than the tubes of the rivets or eyelets you use most often.

Most local lumberyards sell nails by the pound in open bins.

You can usually buy just a few for only a few cents.

Step 2

File the tips of the nails to a shallow, sharp point to create an instant setting tool for tube rivets and eyelets.

These can be shaped on an electric grindstone, but a hand file works too it just takes more time.

You cannot use nails straight out of the box.

Their tips are too long and not properly rounded.

Pro Tip: Tip 4: How to Use The Tile and Nails On Tube Rivets and Eyelets

Step 1

Punch the appropriate size holes in the pieces you will be attaching your rivets or eyelets to.

Step 2

If your rivet or eyelet doesn't fit, you may need to enlarge the hole slightly.

In this example, a leftover fold-formed piece had a hole created when dimpling pliers broke through the metal.

A bead reamer was used to widen the hole just enough to fit a small 3mm brass eyelet or a domed head rivet with a tube-style back.

Step 3

Place the tube rivet or eyelet through the pieces you are securing it to.

Then put two tiles on the rivet using the hole that best fits.

Use a file the file off the excess tube until it is flush with, and not more than a hair above, with the tile.

Do not cut the tube with a flush cutter. It will squash the sides together.

Note: In the following step, if you use a bench block under your piece when using a hammer with your tool to spread out the tube on the back of your piece, the face or your rivet or eyelet will be flattened out. The face of your rivets and eyelets will not be as easily damaged or flattened if you use a notepad or magazine instead of a bench block.

Step 4

Place the tip of the nail in the tube on the back of the rivet or eyelet.

Gently hammer the nail until the tube starts to spread out.

Once the top of the tube is spread enough that it cannot be removed from the hole, you can then use a domed face or ball hammer to finish spreading the tube out and flatten it.

Hint: A 1.8mm hole punch is not quite large enough for small diameter tube rivets and eyelets.

Use a bead reamer to make the hole slightly larger.

Judy Larson's Using Tiles on Tube Rivets and Eyelets - , Metalwork, How To Punch Holes, Hole Punching, Punch A Hole, Riveting, Riveting Techniques, Wire Rivets, Design, Tools, Hole punch pliers

Hint: Rivet and eyelet setters are a good investment if you will be using a lot of eyelets and tube rivets in your jewelry

Materials

Sheet

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12mm Copper Rivet - Pack of 25

A5-512

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Tools

Deluxe 3-Hole Punch

PUN-420.03

PUN-420.03
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Euro Tool Metal Hole Punch Pliers, 1.8 Millimeters

PLR-133.50

PLR-133.50
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Cordless Bead Reamer

HDP-380.00

HDP-380.00
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Riveting Hammer

HAM-200.00

HAM-200.00
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Chasing Hammer with Wooden Handle, 1 1/8 Inch Face

G3-27

G3-27
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Price: $13.95
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Bench Block Helper with Steel and Nylon Blocks

DAP-500.30

DAP-500.30
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Price: $29.95
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6 Piece Assorted File Set with Wooden Handle

G14-7

G14-7
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Price: $5.57
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Category: Metalwork
Technique(s): Hole Punching, Riveting, Design, Tools

Reviews

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Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!