Garden Railway Forum

Question for those scratch builders out there. Modelling rivets, how do you do it?

Have heard of dropping drips of glue, but not sure my hands are steady enough. Are there any resellers of those plastic rivet heads out there (like you get in some of the IP engineering kits)? Of anyone got other tips?

Hornby or Peco OO track pins work well.

Cambrian models of Tydd Gote actualy make rivet heads to glue on! Havent actualy glued mine on yet.

What size rivets do you want? You could always get scale rivets?

How I make rivets heads (taken from my 'FBGR Loco No.5'):

Take a piece of plasticard rod, the size to suit the diameter of rivet head required (there are three different sizes used on this loco).
Round or dome the end of the rod by spinning it in the fingers against a fine file.
I then cut the rivet end off the end of the rod – if you are very good at it you may be able to cut the same thickness off each time, but I can’t so I have to go through another stage in order to get the rivet heads all the same height.
In a spare bit of wood I make a dent. Into this dent I insert the cut off domed bit of rod (the dome downwards). I then rub over the back with I fine needle file to rub the back down to the depth of the dent in the timber.
You may need to experiment with the size and depth of the dent in the timber, and you will have got to get used to how much pressure to use on the file without rolling the bit out of the dent. Once I get the dent size/shape right I usually manage about an 80% success rate at making the rivets this way.

For positioning the rivets, I put a tiny spot of glue/solvent on the position where the rivet is to be and I use the back of the point of my knife (scalpel) to pick up the rivet head and position as required, making fine adjustments and then pressing down with the side of the blade or other end of the knife to exclude any air, before wiping away any surplus glue/solvent. I do not dig the end of the knife point into the rivet head to pick it up and sometimes I put the tiniest amount of glue/solvent on the knife point by dipping it in the spot of glue/solvent where the rivet is to go.

Always have some spare rivet heads to hand, as it is easier to position a nice clean rivet-head than to try and recover a gluey one that goes wrong.

Sometimes I use this method for making bolt heads (using hexagonal plasticard rod) but mostly (when I can get a file to the bolt head position) I just stick overlength (up to a mm over length) bit of rod in place and file down to length once the glue/solvent has gone off.

JOhn

I use a hollow punch with a sharp taper point and a discharge outlet in the shaft.
When used on thin plastic sheet, using a lead sheet underneath, it cuts and domes in one go. When enough have been cut they work their way up the shaft and eject themselves through the hole.
It is not a foolproof method as sometimes it blocks and the head has to be unscrewed to push them out. Also, I only have one size but I am perfectly happy with it as it gives a good representation of rivet heads.
Like JOhn, I also use a sharp point to position the rivets in a blob of adhesive. I tend to be less fussy about the mopping-up as the finished article can be rubbed with a glass-fibre pen to smooth away any excess.
It certainly works for me!!!

On sheet material use a relevant means to punch a dot into the material from the back of the sheet.
With plasticard and brass sheet I have found either a light tap on a dot punch or using one of those adjustable spring punches works quite well.

If you decide to use Peco track pin in plastic sheet, a tip: heat each pin to red heat then plunge it into the plastic - works EVEY time!

<tangent>
The 12" scale Isle of Man Railway uses dummy rivets on new loco water tanks.  They are referred to as Chocolate Buttons due to the shape!

Peter in AZ
</tangent>

A rivet punch from Metalsmith Ltd!

There is someone on ebay importing resin rivets and bolt heads from Russia designed for enhancing military kits. He quote various sizes. Not tried them as I am too impatient and used track pins. Not a lot of depth with pins though cheap.

IrishPeter:86601 wrote:The 12" scale Isle of Man Railway uses dummy rivets on new loco water tanks.  They are referred to as Chocolate Buttons due to the shape!

Apropos of nothing at all, there are at least two canal boatbuilders in the UK who produce reproduction vintage-style boats with fake rivets made from steel washers - these are commonly known as "Washer Joshers"!

Yes Brian, I had one

WVLR:86618 wrote:Yes Brian, I had one

A Hudson?

A Roger Fuller, if you don't mind.

WVLR:86620 wrote:A Roger Fuller, if you don't mind.

That's CLASS! (AND he's got his own narrow gauge railway..................)

Yes, He and his brother Martin coined the phrase washer josher, with the
washers being shaped in a custom press to give the correct rivet head shape.