Grommet Setter. What am I doing wrong?

[Omega Leather Works]

I had planned to buy a quality grommet setter, but I was at a knife show day before yesterday and they had some supplies. I bought a sheet of Kydex, the setter and anvil and 1/4" eyelets. Problem is they are just crushing and deforming in the setter.

Am I doing something wrong? I cross referenced the tool number to make sure it's the right size, but the tool just says "8095" and the websites say "8095-00" I suppose the "-00" is the critical part that tells the size... Can anyone look at their tool and tell me if I've got the right one?

So far I enjoyed working with Kydex. I doubt it'll ever go further than making a couple of slips for kitchen knives, but still, I don't want a crappy sheath.

Btw, I tried my dead blow and it did nothing so I used a fairly heavy ball peen. It still takes a few whacks so I don't think the hammer is at fault.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[S.Alexander]

That's the set up that I am using for kydex right now. 8095-00 is the right part number, but yours looks too big for some reason. It's hard to tell, but does the eyelet fit in the setter precisely?

https://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8094-301.aspx

Here's what mine looks like:



As for the hammer strikes, I use a ball pein hammer on my rail track anvil. Usually 6 medium strikes will set the eyelet well. Don't move your setter around, strike it at 90 degrees.

I would also suggest practising on scrap pieces until you get the hang of how many strikes are required etc.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Thanks bud. Yup, looks like I was sold the wrong kit.

(not sure why my phone turned the pic sideways)

The setter fits just fine though.

I practiced on a few, but I got to wondering if maybe they needed to be in the Kydex to work right. I've got zero experience with this. You're right though, I should have cut off a couple of pieces and tried it that way. I drilled out the bad one, no harm done at least. I wasn't happy with the fit either so it went back in the oven and few times until I got it right. The stuff is kinda neat since it can be redone.

Alright, well I guess I'll order more eyelets or a new or better tool.

Thanks again.

 

[S.Alexander]

There are some pretty cool combinations you can do with leathe and kydex too. I'll bet you could come up with some cool designs.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Thanks man. Maybe one day I'll give it a go.

So I sat there kinda miserable. I don't like when my tools don't work for me. I got to looking at how the setter works and tried the anvil from my line 24 snap setter, it worked great.

The bottom grommet looks weird in the pic, but they are all good.

It's just a little sleeve for a nice little Santoku that I bought my wife at the same knife show.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[DAVE_M]

The hand setters work well for small jobs. Once I had a fixed setup for the flaring dies, I'd never go back to hand setting.

I may have my hand setters lying around somewhere. If I find them, I may just give them away.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

The hand setters work well for small jobs. Once I had a fixed setup for the flaring dies, I'd never go back to hand setting.

I may have my hand setters lying around somewhere. If I find them, I may just give them away.

That's one of the reasons why I love this place. The spirit of generosity is unparalleled. I'm sure someone will be happy to take them.

I'm not sure what size my set is meant to fit but it's nice knowing it can accommodate more than one.

One thing I don't get. The dies for a press are basically the same as the hand setter, only smaller. Is this correct? I guess I could drill the ram on an arbor press to fit the hand setter. Maybe cut a couple of inches off the hand setter and use the proper anvil underneath. Would this work, or am I way off track?

 

[DAVE_M]

That's one of the reasons why I love this place. The spirit of generosity is unparalleled. I'm sure someone will be happy to take them.

I'm not sure what size my set is meant to fit but it's nice knowing it can accommodate more than one.

One thing I don't get. The dies for a press are basically the same as the hand setter, only smaller. Is this correct? I guess I could drill the ram on an arbor press to fit the hand setter. Maybe cut a couple of inches off the hand setter and use the proper anvil underneath. Would this work, or am I way off track?

The flaring dies essentially do the same thing, but they flare the eyelets 'mo betta'. If you hooked the hand setter up in a jig, you could probably get the same result. The only difference would be that the flaring dies have a male and female part to align properly.

 

[DAVE_M]

That's one of the reasons why I love this place. The spirit of generosity is unparalleled. I'm sure someone will be happy to take them.

I'm not sure what size my set is meant to fit but it's nice knowing it can accommodate more than one.

One thing I don't get. The dies for a press are basically the same as the hand setter, only smaller. Is this correct? I guess I could drill the ram on an arbor press to fit the hand setter. Maybe cut a couple of inches off the hand setter and use the proper anvil underneath. Would this work, or am I way off track?

The flaring dies essentially do the same thing, but they flare the eyelets 'mo betta'. If you hooked the hand setter up in a jig, you could probably get the same result. The only difference would be that the flaring dies have a male and female part to align properly.

 

[sonil]

That's one of the reasons why I love this place. The spirit of generosity is unparalleled. I'm sure someone will be happy to take them.

I'm not sure what size my set is meant to fit but it's nice knowing it can accommodate more than one.

One thing I don't get. The dies for a press are basically the same as the hand setter, only smaller. Is this correct? I guess I could drill the ram on an arbor press to fit the hand setter. Maybe cut a couple of inches off the hand setter and use the proper anvil underneath. Would this work, or am I way off track?

no the male die goes through the female

 

[shinyedges]

DAVE_M
If you do decide to give them away I would gratefully take them off your hands.

The hand setters work well for small jobs. Once I had a fixed setup for the flaring dies, I'd never go back to hand setting.

I may have my hand setters lying around somewhere. If I find them, I may just give them away.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

no the male die goes through the female

Those look great. I think the hand setter would work with pressure (versus impact), but those look foolproof.

 

[Skystorm]

You can also use the dies without a machine and set them by hand, just takes a couple light taps to set them without splitting. We do that on hard to reach places and just take the die out of the machine. Good/proper tools = Good results.

I did say that those tandy eyelet, rivet and snap setters are crap. Not that I'd say I told ya so...

 

[Omega Leather Works]

You can also use the dies without a machine and set them by hand, just takes a couple light taps to set them without splitting. We do that on hard to reach places and just take the die out of the machine. Good/proper tools = Good results.

I did say that those tandy eyelet, rivet and snap setters are crap. Not that I'd say I told ya so...

Haha yeah I know. I didn't have high hopes for it, but it was a bird in the hand. I've gotten over my aversion to online ordering for the most part, but I'm still inclined to buy on the spot if the opportunity presents itself. Honestly, it's entirely possible that I'll use it once or twice more and never set another grommet so I'll make do.

 

[DAVE_M]

DAVE_M
If you do decide to give them away I would gratefully take them off your hands.

I found the #8 (1/4" rivets) hand setter set. Idk what I did with the others. If you still want it/can use it, shoot me a PM.

 

[willyd6869@gmail.com]

I had the same issue with my hand setter-the same as yours. I realized that you had to walk the setter around the edge giving it little taps to give the initial flare to the back side of the rivet. Once the rivet had a little flare to it, you can set it with a hammer strike. It is hard to describe in words. You basically tap around the rivet at about 70 degrees to the horizontal surface, spinning the setter at that angle giving it little hammer taps until you establish the initial flare.