Hand operated rivet snap tool.

**thehomeengineer** · Apr 28, 2018, 01:10 PM

Hi All

When building my first traction engine a 1” scale Minnie Traction Engine some 34 years ago. I decided to make a hand operated rivet snap tool, as there was 300+ 1/16” diameter rivets on the engine.

I have made the tool so the snaps can be replaced so different diameters of rivets can be used. The snaps are made from steel and I felt didn’t need hardening as the rivets I was using were made of copper.

To form the dome in the snaps, I measured the rivet head and ground a twist drill of the same diameter with a full radius to form the cup to accept the head of the rivet and form the other end.

The rivet sits slightly up from the snap so when closed the snap doesn’t bruise the material face.

The tool is also adjustable to suit different sections of material with a threaded snap. The rivets are trimmed to give one and half diameter of the shank protruding through the material to form the rivet head. This is not only a time saving tool but also closes the rivets to give a nice domed head both sides.

I always try and put the formed head so it will be seen from the outside but this is not always possible as with the wheels on the engine.

I cannot claim this as my own design as it was serialised in The Model Engineer some 35 plus years ago but it was well worth building and works well.