RIVETS.
The making of rivets is quite important as it is impossible to find in the market the variety in size and shape of head that each piece of work demands. Where rivets with a wire 1/8" or less are needed, they may be made as follows: Take a piece of iron or steel A, [Plate 50], thicker than the desired length of the rivet and drill a hole through it having its diameter a little greater than the wire of the rivet. Take a piece of copper wire of the required diameter and about 1/8" longer than the thickness of the iron. Place the wire in the hole and the iron on some smooth metal surface, B. With a hammer make a burr of the wire that projects above the iron. Then reverse the iron and drive out the rivets. This gives what is shown at D. The rivet is then cut off the required length, placed in position and headed up. The head may be made conical, I, hemispherical, J, pyramidal, K, or square, L, in shape. It may be headed up simply with the hammer, or with a rivet header, M.
When necessary, the process may be reversed and the head made first; but when made in this way, a rivet block is needed to rest the head in while making the burr.
The rivet may be made more of a decorative feature by sawing out of sheet metal some suitable design as shown at P, Q, R. Drill a hole in the center the size of the rivet and then use any ordinary rivet head. Nails may be made by the same process, headed and pointed as at S and O.
Plate 50.