Steel Rivet "Look"?

[dcase84]

I'm seeing this type of furniture quite a bit now, but only from a distance. Anyone have any idea what they're using to get the rivet "look"? I don't believe they are full on rivets, at least not anything that I've seen.

To drill holes, and weld from the back side seems like a lot of work just for decorative rivets.

Any ideas?

 

[pepi]

Carriage bolts

 

[DanarchyCustoms]

This is what we use on TV sets all the time, hot glue them in place and then some paint and they look slick. Not sure if it suits your needs but it's what we use.

http://www.craftparts.com/balls-ball-knobs-wooden-split-balls-wooden-c-277_278.html

 

[dcase84]

Unfortunately they will need to stand up to abuse, so the hot glue trick will not work.

Carriage bolts would work, but that would still require drilling a ton of holes. Imagine the picture posted with rivets down the entire surface of the sides.

Still clueless after a few hours of Googling... ugh.

 

[archirelic]

How much abuse will they suffer if they're purely for decorative purposes?

 

[RivennHewn]

To drill holes, and weld from the back side seems like a lot of work just for decorative rivets.

And yet, you wonder why they are so expensive.

 

[dcase84]

To drill holes, and weld from the back side seems like a lot of work just for decorative rivets.

And yet, you wonder why they are so expensive.

Maybe I'm confused, I don't recall expressing any confusion about cost?

 

[dcase84]

How much abuse will they suffer if they're purely for decorative purposes?

Plenty, whatever technique I choose to go with will be applied to several projects. After a few drinks I develop Hulk strength and tend to be a little rough with stuff, so durability is a must.

 

[MarkG]

I'm confused why anything like this would be both welded and bolted. Are the bolts junk or is the welder no good??? :S Yes, I understand it's just 'for looks', but why not imitate the CORRECT way to build stuff, if that's what it is? Stuff like this is designed by furniture designers and not iron workers or good welders/fabricators, I suspect! :S (Come to think of it---why not put a little 'fake glue squeeze-out' on that joint for good measure)

 

[dcase84]

I'm confused why anything like this would be both welded and bolted. Are the bolts junk or is the welder no good??? :S Yes, I understand it's just 'for looks', but why not imitate the CORRECT way to build stuff, if that's what it is? Stuff like this is designed by furniture designers and not iron workers or good welders/fabricators, I suspect! :S (Come to think of it---why not put a little 'fake glue squeeze-out' on that joint for good measure)

My guess is the bolts are not actually functional on the specific piece pictured. Though my application is very different than the picture, I'm essentially trying to achieve the same design element on a larger scale.

 

[PugetDude]

I've done this on a couple of wood/metal projects- use short (~1 to 1-1/4" )x 1/4" carriage bolts, drill ~5/16 holes thru the metal and 3/16 pilot holes in the wood. Just drive them in with a ball peen hammer. The square section of the carriage bolt bites into the slightly undersized round hole, the threaded portion bites into the wood. Never had them back out.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I'm betting you could use a spot welder to do the job. The weld would be between the back of a cut off carriage bolt head and the angle iron frame.

Though for cosmetic purposes, I'd rather see brass rivets in there.

 

[archirelic]

I'm not trying to be an ***, so forgive me if my post seems as such.

Let me get this straight...you want the strength of "legitimate" carriage bolts / rivets, but don't want to put the work in with them / for them...but definitely need something more durable than those split wooden spheres. And I understand that these are going to be purely decorative and not necessarily functional to the piece you'll be working on.

Just trying to put it all into perspective.

You've either got to go with a little bit of elbow grease to get something durable...or rely on something kind of superficial and topical only which would decrease its durability.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Also, I have to say I like that table and might try something like that for my living room. I like the industrial look and it's totally something I could build for myself.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I'm not trying to be an ***, so forgive me if my post seems as such.

Let me get this straight...you want the strength of "legitimate" carriage bolts / rivets, but don't want to put the work in with them / for them...but definitely need something more durable than those split wooden spheres. And I understand that these are going to be purely decorative and not necessarily functional to the piece you'll be working on.

Just trying to put it all into perspective.

You've either got to go with a little bit of elbow grease to get something durable...or rely on something kind of superficial and topical only which would decrease its durability.

Jim

 

[Stephenw]

Here is a table I built. I used solid steel rivets.

 

[lehr]

Here is one I made, I just welded up some button head screw to look like rivets.

 

[HAY YOU]

People that build this type of furniture have pneumatic machines to set the rivets. You get what you pay for.

 

[Makoto]

dang, im seeing lots of cool ideas for coffee tables!

 

[creativecars]

If you were not set on the rivet look it would be easy to plug weld through a nut and make it stick well. It would look similar to this set. You might even be in before the rest, it seems rivets are the rage... today.

 

[hippie2cams]

I don't want to seem like a smart *** , but if you have seen this table from afar and don't know how it was made then you should look a little closer so there will no question about how much work was done to produce this item. Instead of guessing how the item was made

 

[yhprum]

Someplace I have seen metal caps that pop on over a button head screw to give the appearance of a rivet.