i was wondering does anyone know how to remove and where to get the rivets tht are found on the arah joes?

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2613&start=15 try that thread. Ronin mentions a site there.

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You think by now this would be in the JCWiki but it's not (I call this that Chad/Matt method of rivet removal/replacement):

To remove an ARAH elbow rivet (you could probably apply this to shoulders too, haven't tried it):

1. Clamp the arm in a vice tightly enough that it won't pop out, with the concave (where the rivet faces inward) face up.

2. Next you'll need a small nail or a narrow Phillips head screwdriver and a hammer. Insert the tip of the nail/screwdriver into the rivet and tap lightly with the hammer until the rivet pops out. If all goes well it'll form itself onto the end of the nail/driver and you won't lose it. Above all, DON'T LOSE IT! If you do you'll have to get one from another arm but then you'll be stuck with an arm with no rivet.

3. To replace, reinsert the rivet back through the hole (you may need to squeeze with pliers to get it all the way through). Lay the arm down so the head of the rivet is flat against the table or other hard surface.

4. Using a larger nail or screwdriver than in step 2, tap down on the rivet (same as in Step 2 above). This will spread it back out and hold the lower arm in place once more.

I've done this numerous times (mostly to sand the joints between elbow/arm for painting) and it works great. The risk is some older RAH figures have grown brittle and the joint can break when you apply any pressure.

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thanx guys those are a great help i appreciate it. now onto making and fixing figures

G,

I can't vouch for the method which Doc Rob mentioned about rivet removal. But, that is simply because I haven't tried it yet.

The one that I know of involves dremeling out the rivets on the elbows and shoulders using a bit head designed for metal cutting. Once the rivet tops are dremeled off, you can remove the body of the rivet itself.

This make it easier when splitting the upper arms to attempt casting. Also, you can more easily access the inner torso\shoulder socket connector and cast that too.

Once that is done, you have a few options. You can purchase metal rivets from a site like microfasteners.com. They might be slightly larger than the existing Joe rivets but you can mod them to fit and then crimp.

Or you can cast plastic rivets and crimp them. Casting plastic ones is obviously much more cost effective because you can use the leftover product material from your main figure part casting and it doesn't have to be a lot.

The above was detailed to me by Alyosha awhile ago. Have tried it a couple of times so far and I am sold.

There is a third option about rivets which I have also begun to explore on my own. I am trying to get in touch with a local jewelry maker who happens to be retiring. I am trying to see if he can teach me how to perform small part metal casting for the arm rivets and crotch t-hooks.

Once I get that down pact, I think that I can pretty much produce my own ARAH style replica figures without having to re-use any existing ARAH parts.

Hope that helps.

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