madhouse Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 How do you guys attach the snaps to the pieces of ABS that you glue onto the armor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 How do you guys attach the snaps to the pieces of ABS that you glue onto the armor? Drill a hole in the little ABS/Styrene scraps, put your male snaps in and above the hole, then use the pliers or hammer/anvil to join the snap. This is true for the Tandy line 24 snaps, anyway. Both the male and female portion of the snap will begin as two separate pieces... you have to use the pliers/hammer to close 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThayNerd[TK] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Drill a hole in the little ABS/Styrene scraps, put your male snaps in and above the hole, then use the pliers or hammer/anvil to join the snap.This is true for the Tandy line 24 snaps, anyway. Both the male and female portion of the snap will begin as two separate pieces... you have to use the pliers/hammer to close 'em. Beat me to it Doug. After you have done that heat up the plastic the snaps are attached to alittle and then press them to the armor pieces so they match the curves in the armor after that just glue and wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Beat me to it Doug. I really shouldn't be beating you to anything while I'm at the office But I've hit the wall with a Flash project I'm workin' on, so I'm takin' a breather. Lemme know if my answer made sense, Ray. If not, I can squander some more valuable company time and find ya' some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhouse Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I bought two packs of heavier snaps from home depot because i couldn't find the tandy's at michael's. I don't have a pair of snap fliers though. Do you think i should go get a pair or just use the tool it comes with? Also, how are you heating the plastic up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I bought two packs of heavier snaps from home depot because i couldn't find the tandy's at michael's. I don't have a pair of snap fliers though. Do you think i should go get a pair or just use the tool it comes with? Also, how are you heating the plastic up? I used the setter/anvil thing that came with the snaps. There's something gratifying about smashing the crap out of stuff with a hammer. Typically you want to use a heat gun, but you could probably substitute a hair dyer. Just be *careful*. I would recommend heating the scraps well away from your armor and then press 'em into the armor once they're heated. It's not super difficult to use a heat gun, but it can have pretty catastrophic results if you get too aggressive with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThayNerd[TK] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Heat gun or hair dryer will work for sure. Doug posted some good advice when heating up the plastic, make sure its not anywhere near anything that could get ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Now *that's* what I'm talking about. I had Peter's Flickr set open the whole time I was puttin' my kit together. Enormously helpful-- can't say enough good stuff about it. For the snap tabs, I used styrene scraps I cut from sheets bought at a model railroading store-- they were pretty flexible, so slapping some clamps on 'em was enough pressure to get them to flex right into the curves of the armor. I didn't use a heat gun on anything except the bottom of one my ear pieces that wanted to fly away. The heat gun scares me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThayNerd[TK] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 The heat gun scares me. Same here. I try to use it only when a hair dryer won’t cut it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I had enough cringing, heart-stopping moments with the Dremmel tool-- the last thing I needed was to go all bananas with the heat gun and turn my expensive armor into a Salvidor Dali painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stukatrooper Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 lol i just read this and thought i would make a how-to How to make Snaps and tabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougefresh Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Ask, and the man delivers! You rock, Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThayNerd[TK] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 lol i just read this and thought i would make a how-to How to make Snaps and tabs Nice one, a lot of people will be happy to see this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhouse Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 When you put snaps on the fabric or elastic, do you still put a hole or do you just punch it through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stukatrooper Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 When you put snaps on the fabric or elastic, do you still put a hole or do you just punch it through? Yes i use a soldering iron most of the time ,this way it makes a nice hole and helps the elastic from fraying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThayNerd[TK] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Yes i use a soldering iron most of the time ,this way it makes a nice hole and helps the elastic from fraying I have always used a exacto blade to do this. Nice suggestion Peter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray1134[501st] Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Beat me to it Doug. After you have done that heat up the plastic the snaps are attached to alittle and then press them to the armor pieces so they match the curves in the armor after that just glue and wait. Never would've thought of that, good advice there. Heat Guns are a bit scary, especially if you get ones that are labeled as to exactly how hot you are making things. I did get a little carried away with mine. I've got the wonkiest sniper plate you'll ever see, but it actually does help because it tends to pinch my knee pretty badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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