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Riveting

When it is necessary to join multiple flats or iron or to create a moveable joinder of pieces (such as on a pair of tongs or pliers), the smith will use a rivet fastener.

Basic Rivet

A rivet is nothing more than a section of rod that secures one or more independant pieces of iron by travelling through holes bored in the pieces with the ends distended to hold the pieces together. These distended ends are formed by upending the ends of the rod to create shaped heads that rest flush against the outer pieces joined by the rivet.

To make a basic rivet, the pieces to be joined are drilled or punched to a hole size equal to the diameter of the rod. If the rod passes tightly through the holes in a cold state, the diameter is sufficient. Next one of the rod ends is heated to just below welding temperature. The rod is then upended to form the head whose sides should extend over the shaft of the rod at least 1/2 of the radius of the rod. Just below the area to be upended, a continuous nick can be made around the circumferance of the rod shaft. This nick line acts as a fullered area and allows the head to expand without affecting the rod shaft below the nick line. In making heads it is also useful to create a special swage block in which to expand the head. This swage block can be nothing more than a piece of iron that has been ballpeened into the head shape desired.

After the first head is made, the rod should be cooled and the head and shaft checked for fit. Next, the rod should be carefully measured for cutting making sure that enough room is allowed for forming the head. The road should then be marked at the location of the cut and heated. The cutoff should be perpendicular to the rod shaft otherwise the head will not be symmetrical. After the cutoff, the end of the rod should be heated to near welding temperature, inserted through the pieces to be joined and upended to form the head. Forming the head will result in the compression of the rod into the sides of the holes snugging the rivet in place.

Free Rivets

A free rivet is required on certain tools incorporating moveable levers in their design, such as a pair of tongs or a circular traveller. The rivet rotates free of the pieces joined while remaining snug enough to prevent separation or lateral extension of the pieces. This is accomplished by making the hole in the pieces larger than the rod diameter by an amount equal to 1/8 to 1/4 of the radius of the rod. The head should be proportionately increased in diameter to cover the larger gap.

A variation on the free rivet is to join one piece to the rivet free while the other piece is snugged or welded. To snug one end, make the hole in the snugged piece fractionally smaller than the rod diameter. When the heated rod is inserted into the piece and then cooled, the rod will expand with the cooling, forcing the surface of the rod into the surface of the hole. The other piece is drilled for a free rivet and headed accordingly.