Snaps Problem... Backsides of tabs are not flush

[TKittell[501st]]

I'm in the process of making my "snap tabs" using a hammer and kit that comes with the Dritz Heavy Duty Snap Kit (5/8 inch) I bought from JoAnn's Fabric Store.

 

A problem I'm facing is that the metal backing is not flush with the ABS material which will cause a problem when it comes to gluing later on.

 

If I had used the hand-held clamping tool, would that have elimitated the gap? Should I go get the tool? Damn thing costs $22, and I don't want to buy it if it isn't going to fix the gap.

 

I'm thinking of boiling the tabs and letting the plastic settle to eliminate the gap.

 

Any help would be appreciated. I'm planning on using ABS glue to attach them.

 

I tried to upload a pic, but I'm limited to less than 680 bytes.

[white zombie]

I made the tabs on my snap pieces longer than needed, not a perfect square, more rectangular. That helped create a good bond and alot of surface material glued to the armor pieces, hope you know what I mean.

Good Luck.

[TKittell[501st]]

I made some longs ones, but the majority of the ones I made are square, roughly 1 x 1 inch.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I ran into the same issue a while back and came up with this solution. Works great to get more surface area. They work well on snap plates about 1.25" square or 1.5" square.

 

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[bluehickey]

I too had the same problem and tried cutting the stripes longer to give a better area to have the glue stick to, but I was still very worried about them coming undone when I would have to undo a snap getting out of my armor. The solution I came up with was to use white industrial velcro across it, as if it were tape. Knowing how strong the velcro is really got rid of all of my fears about the snaps ever coming undone from the armor. If you can't picture it, let me know and I'll post a photo.

[TKittell[501st]]

Thanks for the link Panda. This is the third idea of yours I'm going to copy. Maybe one day I'll come up with an original fix.

 

Wait! I think I can improve upon Panda's design (I feel a tremor in the force). Instead of pounding down the crap out of the expanded rivet shaft inside the female snap, why not remove the rivet from the "nail" shaft, cut the length down with a dremel, and then reapply it to the shaft. I'll have to try it tomorrow.

[Hammer3246]

Just mount your snaps on your piece of styrene, place them in a old pan on you stove top, low heat . Take them out of the pan when soft enough, place on a smooth flat surface and push down the edges with an oven mit.

[Madmartigan]

I did something different, as well. Mounted my male snaps on 1.5" squares of styrene. Then I took a cheap soldering iron and placed the tip right in the middle of the back of the male snap. After about 10 seconds or so, the snap heats the surrounding plastic enough that you can then push it flush with the rest of the back of the tab. You'll end up with the front of the male snap on a slight "bubble" of plastic.

 

Words of caution: obviously, wear gloves. Second, don't use a soldering iron you are in love with, since this will eventually make the tip less useful for actual soldering. Mine was a $9 Radio Shack cheapie, so I didn't care. Third, don't hold the tip there too long or push the back of the snap too far through or you'll risk pushing it all the way through the back.

 

But, do it right and once it cools, they are solid and perfectly flush. And it only takes about 30 extra seconds per snap.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I found that if you hammer down the rivet on the anvil, the styrene plate conforms and bends in a similar way as described above as well. The only issue is that sometimes, you actually want the plastic to go the other way (concave instead of convex).

[james007bond[TK]]

Gentlemen

 

You will not have a problem with gluing the tabs to the armour even if the metal of the snap is not flush with the tab. If you use E6000, it will srpead evenly and give you a solid bond perhaps 1-2mm thick. If you use a plastic weld glue just have at least a cm on either side of the metal snap and weld this. My tabs/snaps are not flush and my tabs are stuck solid to the armour...

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

I bought the industrial level system 25 bucks and havent looked back, i actual use it for just about everything i can think of!!!!! ( not just costumes)

The hammer and even the hand-held one cant compare with the level one.