Screw in press-studs

[Nick Jackson]

A few years ago I managed to buy some of those press-studs where the male half is screwed down and the female part is stitched on to whatever. I've used them on three consecutive booth coverings and they are incredibly practical.

Does anyone know if these are still available anywhere?

[Chris]

Yes they are Nick, although Velcro has largely made them obselete. Newy (they originally came on cards of six and were called Newy Fasteners) will still make them, but only to order - and you have to order something like 100,000.
However I found something almost identical in a Hobbies Shop - they were made in Germany. The difference was that instead of the screw welded on to the male half, the screw came separate and there was a hole in the stud. But the result was the same - one half screwed to wood, the other stitched to canvas.
Also I found some where you screwed one half to wood and the others riveted onto the cloth (like on a leather jacket) rather than being stitched. I used this kind on my Punch tilt - but found that they tended to tear unless using tough canvas, or reinforcing the attachment area.

So try the Hobbies catalogue, or the Hobby's catalogue (there are two with different spellings)

Also I understand they are still used by people who fit-out caravans and mobile homes, so maybe there's a source there.

[Richard Coombs]

Hello Nick , I saw something similar only the other week in a caravan shop in Burton. I didnt pay too much attention to them as I was looking for something else ; and also as soon as I spotted them I decided that Velcro would do the job better for me.

But as I recall , yes the male part was designed to be screwed on to a solid surface.

I've just seen the end of Chris previous post ..and he suggests Caravan shops too ...Oh well I gues two lots of the same info is better than none LOL

So, yes, they are still out there.

Best Wishes
Richard

[Nick Jackson]

Thanks, both, for your replies.
You're right about Velcro taking over but I find that, use on the corners, they add a little extra tension – useful for outdoor gigs when little hands are tugging away.

[lesclarke]

I use them on my booth, they are are excellent for 'first point' attachment and then letting velcro do most of the holding work. They offer a slightly more accurate alignment, as longs as they are of course fitted accurately.
With velcro attaching a cover out of alignment half an inch may not be a problem, but if you are too casual you have to go back and do the job again. As well as caravan shops they are available in sewing/haberdashery shops, and the ones I have are a german make, and the packaging also says useful for boats, so ... boating supplies?
I've found in sewing shops that if you ask for help they are always willing to give advice and order things.
The type available now are a bit simpler design than the old type of giant press stud with a screw, which were used in the carpet fitting trade and have disappeared due to the introduction of that 'spiky stuff'.

[Professor Eek]

I really am not on commission ...

The type described by Chris, seperate screw, were used on my booth covering by Prima Awnings so they may be another good source.

[Nick Jackson]

I love that fact that a request on here illicits so many replies so quickly. Thank you one and all. If those of you using the German ones remember the name then please let me know – might be able to but them online. I've noticed that many old Newey products (the company Chris mentions) are now for sale as collectables on eBay.

[Chris]

Thanks Les - sewing shops. Yes, of course, I've had them from there too. Probably the easiest source for Nick. I've a feeling that the rivet type ones with hole for separate screw can also be riveted onto cloth. You just discard the backplate if you are screwing to a hard surface.




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[Tony James]

I can't remember the name of the German ones - they put out a whole range of press fasteners including the screw ones.

Retail try the Hobbicraft stores - they carry a big range. Or is it Hobbycraft? I can't remember. Anyway, they are national and a useful source of all sorts of obscure bits and pieces.

Also John Lewis department stores carry some of the range. The Singer Sewing shops also carry some of the range.

I've just found a bag with a few of the original ones which were different. Just oversize press studs called Carpet Fasteners. It really was a big male blob which screwed into timber and a large female for sewing.

These German ones are not like that. The male is a flanged disc and the female a slightly larger flanged disc to receive the male. The female is in two parts (there's a backer, a simple plain domed head) and you hammer them together trapping the fabric between using a hammer (of course!) and a supplied plastic jig which holds both parts in place either side of the fabric.

You have to pierce a hole in the fabric first and they supply a cutter which is also used with the jig. However, I find it is better to simply pierce the fabric with a bradawl making a smaller hole than the cutter makes.

The result is a tighter fasten with less resultant movement and wear.

These fastenings are very firm and wind/tension resistant. Velcro is fine for lightweight holding under indirect tension. Put it under direct tension and I find you need to use plenty. Best used in long strips.

The wider widths certainly work well but small pieces of standard inch wide (approx) can pull apart under direct tension and tugging from gusts of wind.

[billywand]

Hi all,

The fastenings Tony describes are exactly the sort I have on my present booth, and as Tony says, if you make a smaller hole in your canvas, they work really well. This I only found out by accident when I lost the cutter !

I sorted the spares I have out for my new Ali frame booth and cover, but am not sure how the best way to fix the male bit to an Ali frame would be.

I am not at the stage to need to know yet, as I am only about half way through making the frame. I assume self tapping screws would be the way to go, but I may need to experiment.

Any ideas ?????

[Tony James]

Personally, I'd bolt them on.

Remember, that steel and aluminium will corrode which is why Eric Sharpe in his book on Punch used aluminium rivets on his ali frame.

So, find a bolt which will fit the male making certain the head is below the surface of the male or it will prevent the female fitting over the male and holding.

I would use a thin plastic washer between the male and the aluminium, a small scrap of plastic tube on the threaded shank of the bolt where it passes through the aluminium and another thin plastic washer on the back of the aluminium between it and the nut.

And rather than a conventional nut I'd use a locking nut which shouldn't work loose and therefore you shouldn't lose.

Or, and this may be much easier, instead of the washers use a small piece of self adhesive plastic tape, insulating tape for example on each side of the hole.

And if you break through the hole you could press with a screwdriver the resulting bits of tape on the edges of the hole, avoiding the need to sleeve the bolt.

Unless some metallurgical expert tells us that in practical terms the corrosion will be insignificant and not to bother.

I'd still use the locking nut, though.

[Nick Jackson]

Again, thanks one and all for so much advice so freely given. Will bear all in mind when shopping around. Have a personal preference for the big old ones – such a satisfying clunk when joined and little chance of the female part ripping from the fabric.

The reason I've been asking so many questions on here is that Punch and I have had a couple of years' sabbatical: changing day job, studing for second degree (23 years after the first one) etc. I'm now gearing up for a return next summer but am giving quite a bit of time this year (oh the joy of academic holidays) to renewing various bits of kit, carving a new policeman etc.

This summer, I'm just doing a couple of parties for friends' children to help me get back into it.

We've had a strange life together over the years: first just working summer seasons, then working full-time for a couple of years, then another seasonal period etc. One thing is certain, once Punch has his claws in you, he will never let go.

Thanks again.

[Tony James]

The old Carpet Fasteners were good, though you needed a very thin blade screwdriver to drive them home. The slot is across the male blob and a very thin slot it is.

The female sewed onto the canvas - quite a job and one that needed regular inspection - but they had strong spring steel in them, essential for the grip on the male.

Ordinary big snap fasteners or Press Studs always were strong and held very well. I rarely had trouble with them. The same goes for old Pop-A-Tape which is press studs already fixed and spaced out along a tape. Like Velcro, you buy it by the length.

But the more recent big snap fasteners and Pop-A-Tape no longer has the grip of the older ones. They look the same but the spring steel in the female - that's what grips the male and does the business - is weaker nowadays and they pull apart far too easily.

So I switched to the flange fasteners which are much more positive and even stronger than the old press studs from thirty years ago. My canvas is acrylic and tough but even so I sewed a strip of tough reinforcing tape to the canvas and hammered the flanged fasteners through the two thicknesses. That spreads the load better.

I wouldn't go back to the traditional style because I find the flange style are much more reliable. And there's no stitching to check and renew.

[billywand]

Many thanks Tony,

I did not know about steel and aluminium reacting badly, as you say it would be interesting to find out how signilficant the corrosion will be in practical terms, but I will be aware of this in selecting screws and other fixings.

My bolts are zinc coated and the hinges are brass, so they should be ok, but on yout advice I have replaced my steel washers. Many thanks

The flange poppers are really good. When I found them ages ago it was in an upholsterers that was closing down, so I bought all they had, in case I needed to replace any. I've not had to do so, but through the years I'v givrn them away to friends, and have now just got enough for my booth with a few left over.

Once again many thanks for your help.