How to Use an Eyelet Setter

We're going to show you how to set an eyelet.

In an earlier video, or a different video depending on what order you're watching these, we showed you how to set a grommet. This is a grommet. Eyelets and grommets come in all different sizes this one happens to be larger than the eyelet we'll be using. It's not the physical size that matters it's the back side. A gromet has this washer it's a lot sturdier than an eyelet but it also is a lot stiffer. It's not as suitable for things that need to flex. Tight lacing and so forth. In a situation like that an eyelet is a better choice. And this is how you set an eyelet.

We're going to need eyelet Setter and matching anvil. Again, like with gromets, the size of the tool must match the size of the eyelet. So we're using a 3/16 eyelet, this is a 3/16 setter this is a anvil. We'll need a hole punch. We'll talk about what size in a minute. We need a hammer and as I always mention in our videos we do use a steel hammer because it's less tiring on the hands day in and day out, but it's not good on cutting tools. It does make a mess but we only use it on inexpensive tools, and it does tend to wear them out but I'd rather wear out a tool a little bit faster than an arm. We'll need an anvil and our pounding board.

The first thing we need to do is determine what size hole we need need. This is identical to the grommets in the way we size it. We take our punch and we slide it over the eyelet that we going to set. It needs to fit on there and bottom out. The next size smaller hole punch needs to not fit, in that case you have the right size. v We're just going to take our leather, punch a hole in it, move the poundo board out of the way. Now an eyelet has definitely one good and one bad side. There's never going to be a finished backside in an eyelet so you make sure that you put your eyelet through the good side of your leather or a good side of your fabric. You set the anvil down and turn your eyelet over. Move it around a little bit to make sure it's centered, and it is. Set your tool on there, move my finger here in a second so that it sits right on that. The whole thing should now move as a unit. It's all nice and lined up.

Slide your finger down a little bit to hold the leather in place. Strike gently to begin with because you're rounding over the metal you're not squashing it. Once it starts to set you can finish it up and you'll notice that you've got a nice smooth finish on the back side, no washer, and you have your finished front side.

The reason, again, that you would choose this: This is not as sturdy and not as long lasting as a grommet but it is a much smaller footprint than a grommet so as a result even in a bigger size you have a lot more flexibility.