Copper rivets and burrs are among the most dependable fastenings in leatherwork. They are useful where stitching may be strained or rubbed: the fold of a belt loop, the mouth of a sheath, a tool-roll strap, a bag handle, or a repair to old harness leather.
Unlike capped rivets, a copper rivet and burr are set from solid metal. The rivet passes through the leather; the burr is driven down the shank; the projecting end is then cut and peened into a small head. The result is plain, strong, and easy to inspect. Most failures come not from the metal, but from a loose hole, an unsuitable rivet length, or a hurried peen.
What you need
Gather the work before starting, since a partly set burr is awkward to remove without marking the leather.
- Vegetable-tanned leather, or another firm leather suitable for a mechanical fastening
- Copper rivets with matching burrs
- A drive punch close to the rivet shank diameter
- A firm cutting surface for punching
- A rivet setter with a straight bore for driving the burr
- End-cutting nippers or diagonal nippers suitable for copper
- A riveting hammer or small smooth-faced hammer
- A steel plate, anvil, or other solid steel backing surface
- A ruler or dividers for marking
A purpose-made setter is useful because it drives the burr down without striking and bending the rivet shank. Its rounded end is also shaped to form the final peened head. A small ball-peen hammer can help begin the mushrooming if needed, but the smooth, cupped face of a rivet setter usually leaves a neater finish.
Photo by Alexander Kirov on Unsplash.
Choose the rivet before making the hole
Rivet size is governed by two things: the thickness of the assembled leather and the diameter of the rivet shank.
Stack the leather pieces exactly as they will sit in the finished article. Measure the combined thickness, including any lining, reinforcement, or folded edge. Choose a rivet long enough to pass through this stack and leave a small amount of shank beyond the burr after it has been seated. A rivet that is much too long can still be trimmed, but it gives more opportunity for the shank to bend while the burr is being driven. A rivet that is too short cannot form a secure peened head.
The hole should fit the shank closely. If the hole is oversized, the rivet can lean within the leather, the burr may seat unevenly, and the finished joint may rock under load. If the hole is too tight, forcing the rivet through can stretch or crack dry leather. Make a test setting in scraps of the same leather thickness before working on the finished piece, especially when using an unfamiliar rivet size.
For a strap or sheath, place the rivet far enough from the edge that the leather has sound material around it. A rivet set too near an edge can tear through under a pull, however well the metal itself is peened.
Prepare the leather and backing
Mark the rivet position on the visible face of the work. Where several rivets are used, check the spacing with a ruler or dividers before punching. Small alignment errors become conspicuous on a straight strap or a shaped flap.
Lay the leather pieces together in their final order and punch through all layers at once. Punching each layer separately often creates holes that are slightly offset, which forces the rivet to sit at an angle. Keep the punch vertical and use a clean, decisive strike on an appropriate backing board.
If the leather is very dry or brittle, do not rely on the rivet to compress it into submission. Leather that is cracking at a punched hole needs attention before hardware is installed. A clean hole in sound leather is the beginning of a durable setting.
Place the head of the copper rivet on the face side of the project and pass the shank through the holes. Set the rivet head on a polished steel surface. The backing must be hard and stable. Wood, a soft bench top, or an uneven bit of metal can leave a distorted mark in the rivet head and can absorb the force needed to seat the burr.
Photo by Hikmet on Unsplash.
Set the burr
Slide a matching burr onto the exposed shank. The burr is a small copper washer with a central hole; it may feel tight at first, which is normal. It should lie flat against the leather before being driven down.
Place the straight, hollow end of the rivet setter over the shank, resting it on the burr. Hold the setter upright. Give it a firm, controlled blow with the hammer, then inspect the result. Continue with light blows as needed until the burr sits snugly against the leather.
The aim is a seated burr, not crushed leather. It should have no meaningful gap beneath it, but it should not be driven so hard that it deeply compresses the grain or cuts into the surface. On a thick strap, check that the leather layers remain aligned as the burr is driven down.
If the rivet begins to lean, stop. Do not attempt to correct a pronounced bend by striking harder. A crooked shank can produce a thin, off-centre peen with a sharp edge. It is usually better to remove the faulty hardware, assess the leather, and begin again with a fresh rivet.
Trim the shank to a useful length
After seating the burr, the rivet shank should project only a short distance beyond it. About 1/8 inch, or roughly 3 mm, is a practical allowance for many common leatherwork rivets. It gives enough copper to spread over the burr without leaving an oversized, untidy head.
Use nippers to cut the shank. Keep the cutting jaws close to the burr, but do not let them bite into it or the leather. Cover the work lightly with one hand or a cloth as you cut: the small offcut can fly away.
A cut that is slightly angled is not a disaster, because peening will round the end, but a clean and square cut makes the final head easier to form. If the shank was cut nearly flush with the burr, there may not be enough material to lock the pieces together. If it stands much higher than 1/8 inch, trim it again rather than trying to flatten all of the excess copper in one operation.
Peen the rivet head
Place the rounded or cupped end of the setter over the trimmed shank. Keep the work supported on steel, with the original rivet head resting flat beneath. Strike the setter squarely and moderately. The copper should begin to spread outward over the burr, forming a low rounded head.
Turn the work often enough to inspect it. A good peen is centred, smooth, and broad enough to retain the burr. It need not be perfectly domed; a sound, even lock matters more than a decorative finish.
If the copper begins spreading more heavily to one side, pause and make sure the setter is vertical. Gentle corrective taps may bring the shape back, but repeated heavy blows will often make the edge thinner and sharper. Avoid pounding until the rivet head becomes broad and flat. Over-peening can strain the copper and press an unnecessary hard ring into the leather around the burr.
Photo by Henry Chuy on Unsplash.
Check the finished fastening
When the rivet has cooled from the brief work of hammering, inspect both sides.
On the face side, the original head should sit flat without a deep impression in the leather. On the back, the burr should lie close to the surface and the peened head should cover its centre evenly. Run a fingertip around the peened edge. It should not catch sharply on skin, cloth, or a tool roll.
Hold the leather pieces and flex them in the direction they will be used. The rivet should not turn in its hole, the burr should not lift, and the leather should not show a spreading split from the hole toward an edge. This is a check, not a reason to abuse the new joint; a properly placed rivet is meant to hold ordinary working strain without movement.
Common mistakes and their remedies
The hole is loose
A loose hole allows the shank to tilt before the burr is seated. Use a punch that more nearly matches the shank on the next setting. On an existing piece, do not expect a large peened head alone to cure a badly oversized hole; the leather around the rivet still lacks support.
The burr will not go down evenly
Make sure the burr matches the rivet size, sits flat, and is being driven with a vertical setter. An angled setter can bind the burr against the shank. Do not strike directly on the burr with an ordinary hammer unless its surface and the work demand it; the blow can deform the washer before it is seated.
The shank bends while setting
This usually points to a loose hole, an overly long rivet, misaligned leather layers, or a setter held off square. Remove and replace the rivet where possible. Trying to peen a bent shank tends to create a lopsided and unreliable head.
The peened head has a sharp rim
The shank may have been left too long or struck off-centre. A few light, centred blows with the cupped setter may soften a slight edge. If the head is thin, badly skewed, or likely to abrade nearby material, replace the fastening rather than trusting it in a load-bearing place.
The leather cracks around the rivet
The rivet may be too close to the edge, the hole may have been forced open, or the leather may be dry and weakened. Move the fastening farther into sound leather where the design allows. For a repair, a small leather reinforcement patch may provide a better new foundation than setting another rivet beside a failed hole.
A copper rivet and burr is a modest fastening, but it asks for orderly work: a close hole, a flat burr, a short trimmed shank, and a controlled peen. Once these proportions become familiar, it is one of the simplest ways to give a leather object a durable, serviceable joint.