Hi all!
I've bought a closure that came with nails :
The tool needed for the installation is called "peening tool", very hard to find in the leather craft sphere and expensive (130$ at Rm leather).
After research and diggings, i've found that this tool is used in two spheres essentially : - Jewelry / Watches making - Eyewear (glasses making).
In jewelry, the tool is called "Perloir", very cheap (about 2$) with hard steel, high gloss and polished calotte, but the largest diameter is 1,35mm, which is not what we need.. https://www.vallorbe.com/file.cfm?cmsfile=&contentid=5112
In Eyewear, the tool is called "Bouterolle" (this term exists in jewelry but for a different tool), prices vary from 2$ to 15 :
https://www.otelo.fr/bouterolles-rivets/64111005/SF-ID-00101912/ref-25871.html
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https://www.materiel-optique.fr/pointeaux/614-assortiment-outils-de-choc-sur-socle-en-bois.html
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https://www.essishop.fr/bouterolle-bruni-d-2mm The last one looks like the one used by Hermès at 25mn in this video :
Have some of you tried these tools? What would be the best size between 2mm and and 3mm? And last but not least, how do you manage to protect the front piece of the lock while peening the nails in the back? I thought about doing it on a mattress..
Should i flatten them? They will be under the lining.
Any tips would be great as this subject being not very documented..
Thank you all!
Repeated light taps on the heel of a peening tool (one that is made with the right kind of hardened heat-treated steel) with a steel hammer will work better than using a mallet made from a softer material. This is an exception to the rule of not using a steel hammer to hit a steel tool.
The way that it could be done with a regular nailset is using a dremel and a round bit on the end that can abrade the hardened steel. I was thinking of trying this soon, so I will post a video of that !
You can get a dome with a flat tool by making many flat facets. Basically a lot of flat facets on different angels will look domed if refined enough.
Some news here, Andrea from MMColombo gently sent me this video (i share it here as this is a private forum) :
1 : The tool being used looks like this one (French "bouterolle à rivets") https://www.otelo.fr/bouterolles-rivets/64111003/SF-ID-00101912/ref-25869.html This is a 3mm head tip, is that too big for MMC nails (that are 1.8mm i guess but i need to verify) ? 2: Very interestingly, we can see that the lock is put on an unstable surface, almost like a tiny trampoline, what do you guys think is used here? 3 : A lot of you guys use a nail punch for this task, are they flat at the end or curved like this? :
Most nail punches are flat and i don't understand how can you get a "ball head" with a flat tool.. Greetings!
Hi Nabil!
Nice one on finding the peening tools! It seems that all the version that are marketed for leathercraft (RM, mando, etc) have really expensive ones. I have heard mention in the forum before that you can simply use a nail set tool to do the same job and if you really wanted you could add a small dome in the end of a nail set to make life slightly easier.
I don't have experience in using one as of yet but I do have some locks to install in the near future with pins as well. Some searching around on the forum will give you some answers on how to go about it but I would also recommend checking out some people on Instagram who have shared something about this in their posts.
Off the top of my head:
@deacon_leather
@olenanewyork
@peternitz (also sells the Perloir but it is very expensive)
Please if anybody has more visual sources please add them!
About how to protect your lock when peening, masking tape will do a pretty good job but probably the most important thing is to go slow and precise. If you use a matras you will likely be hammering for the rest of your life since the peening can only happen when there is a sufficient backing to absorb and rebound the hammer energy (if that makes sense). Something soft will flex and absorb all the energy, thus leaving your pins to be unpeened.
Another tip, check out the attaché build, locks with pins are used as well.