New Railway Modellers Forums

hiya lads now about to start making my first o gauge loco, first thing, how do you lads dimple rivets? thanks glen

I've never done it myself but I have seen articles in magazines which recommend using a specialist tool such as this gravity riveter from Eileen's Emporium.

Hi Glen. Do I understand that you are enquiring about the method of 'popping' etched dimples into rivets on the reversed side, which is actually the front side of the part. If that is the case, you would need a fine but slightly blunt Point otherwise you will go right through if you use, for instance, a scriber, as I recommended in our Email.

Hi Phil, have the scribe, just seeing how others do it before I bite the bullet lol, also now have the how to build dvd too

I use a riveting tool like the one linked to on Eileen's. IMHO it's the cheapest option for getting consistent size and shape rivets. Worth the £12.

Using a scriber or other simple pointy thing and a hammer it's very very difficult to get a consistent result. I wouldn't recommend that approach myself.

If you have a deep pocket there are much more sophisticated tools that make it easier and also allow you to punch plain sheet when scratch building.

Cheers
Dave

However you do it, you need a female or "anvil" to press into. This keeps the rivet self-contained and sharp. I've used a dip hammered in the top of a vice as an anvil, but you need to mark where it is so you can hit the dip every time. I also value the Jewellers' staking tool which I got from an antique shop for 30 quid, but then I found a real, beautifully made rivetting tool complete with sliding fence and engraved divisions and 2 different punch and anvil sets for a princey 2 quid at the Sunday Market. The old boy (who was not above charging a small fortune for a single iffy chisel) had no idea what it was, so asked low. I bit his hand off! I have since made more anvils and punches for it, too. Up to about 15 thou. Nickel silver, a dip somewhere and a scriber used in the hand, no hammer is usually more than enough, but the regularity is entirely down to you, so mark it out carefully on the back first.

Good luck.....it can look lovely.
I make evreything I can, as I'm way too tight to buy kits!

Scratchbuilder.

A dress makers pattern tool is commonly used. One runs the tool over the reverse side of a thin (say 0.010") styrene overlay which is then glued to the model. One could easily do a thin strip of rivets to represent a rivetted strap.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BOYE-GERMANY ... SwImRYGixX