Sometimes you need an old-school rivet and they can be hard to come by in the correct size. This simple little instructable shows how to make a rivet anvil so you can quickly make your own

Supplies

A thick piece of metal or metal bar
Grinder or hacksaw
Centre punch
Drill

Step 1: Cut the Metal Bar

Cut a piece of metal bar that's about 10mm longer than you need the rivet to be. If you don't get a perfect cut use a grinder to smooth it out and make sure it's flat.

Step 2: Drill the Holes

Mark the centre and use a centre punch to prepare it for drilling. Drill a hole that is a little smaller than the diameter of the rivet you want to make. This hole needs to go all the way through and will be used to eject the completed rivet.

Now drill a hole that is the diameter of the rivet, this hole can not go all the way through the anvil. So make sure the hole is only as deep as the rivet is long.

Step 3: Make a Rivet

Cut a length of metal rod that is a little longer than the rivet needs to be, this extra metal will be used to form the rivet head.

You can either heat the rivet or do this step cold. Place the rivet on something solid and hit it with a hammer until the rivet head is formed. You can get bad results if the rod is too long, also try using a ball pen hammer to carefully shape the rivet.

Once you are done, flip the anvil over and use a pin punch to eject the rivet.