Blog for Beaders

Riveting metal pieces together in jewelry making is a great alternative to soldering. Riveting is a cold connection method, meaning there is no heat applied. This is useful if using flammable or fragile materials in your design. A rivet looks much like a two-headed nail. The use of rivets provides an easy and inexpensive way to create pieces that are multi-dimensional and also moveable if you so desire.

STEP 1:

Mark where you want to place your rivets using a pen.

STEP 2:

Create the holes with a hole punch in both pieces of metal. For 36 gauge copper metal sheets use a standard hole punch.

For thicker-gauge metal use a heavy-duty hole punch.
STEP 3:

Push the rivet through the two metal pieces you want to connect.

STEP 4:

Turn your piece over and tap the end of the rivet with a hammer until it forms a nail head. The more you tap with the hammer the tighter fit you will achieve.

Your new metal embellishment is now ready to be part of a cool and unique jewelry idea!

-Marissa