The Rivet Buck Helper

I recently made a monogram boot scraper for a client.  He will mount it on a heavy rock of Flint Hills limestone from his property and present it to a friend in Colorado to whom the VA lettering applies.

The client had prepared a sketch which I only slightly modified to suite my construction plans.  The changes were mostly based on strength considerations.

The light surface texturing, rust patina and rivets were added to enhance a rustic appearance.  I like the rust finish color with our limestone rock and it is essentially maintenance free.  The finish was created with my standard hydrochloric acid/hydrogen peroxide treatment, washed, and coated with a quick drying satin polyurethane.  My final sealer coat is something of a “shop secret”, although not a highly guarded one.

There is some hidden interior MIG welding in the construction to make it easier to handle the collection of pieces before drilling the rivet holes.  I only have a helper for a couple of hours a day so we have to work fast to get everything done which needs doing.  In this case I wanted to get all the rivets placed in advance so, when Ken came, I could light the torch and we could finish the peening quickly.

I put the appropriate rivet buck in the vise and built a socket around it and added a support arm.  That allowed me to rest the boot scraper on the support arm and position each rivet hole over the buck.  Then I could insert the 1/4” x 1” rivet and peen it just enough that it couldn’t slip back out.  The plan worked slick as a whistle. 

Rivet buck and set.

Rivet buck helper.

Rivet buck helper in position.

Helper detached from the buck.

The helper at work.