Eyelet

The question is: How do you install an eyelet? Answer: Carefully. Very carefully.

Let us first assume that you have been to JoAnn Fabric, or some similar box store, or your friendly neighborhood 'Sew & Vac', and have purchased a package of Dritz 5/32 Eyelets and the Setting Tool for said eyelets.

So far, so good. Now, the intention is to set an eyelet somewhere on a large by huge surface, of, say, a Rokkaku kite. If you are following the Rokkaku Plans, you have cut your patches and sewn them in place.

Below is a sample of sewing the patch: This is just a piece of scrap, not an actual kite.

Patch is sewn in its desired position. Below is a picture of a patch, an eyelet, the eyelet setting tool, and a template the I use to center the hole for the eyelet.

Below is a picture of all the tools required:

In the pic above, top to bottom and left to right, a rawhide hammer, patch, eyelet & eyelet tool, centering template, and on the bottom a #3 drive punch.

Your mileage may vary. In the foreground of the pic above is a #3 drive punch. I use it because I had it already. It gives a nice, clean hole that is slightly smaller than the eyelet. Plus, it requires the same hammer that will be used to set the eyelet.

Having said that, many people use their Wood Burner with the Dot Tip to burn the hole. This is one of the first tools that aspiring kite makers buy. It is a hot knife for hot cutting, and with an additional spring it becomes a Hot Tacker.

Okay - patch is sewn on and we need to make the hole. I use a drive punch on a 1/4" rubber mat. The Centering Template is placed on the patch, and the hole is punched. See below:

Okay, now we have our hole. Let us introduce the eyelet to the hole.

Below, the eyelet is placed in the direction that it will be inserted in to the hole.

Below, the eyelet is placed in the hole.

Blow, what it looks like on the business end of things.

In a perfect world, I like to use the Eyelet Setting Tool against a piece of scrap wood. In this case, I used this 1/4" rubber mat. The softer surface makes the face of the eyelet bulge, which some kite makers find undesirable. In Kite Making Workshops we usually use a small piece of 2 x 4 to pound the eyelets.

Below, the Eyelet Tool is set in the eyelet.

Just hit it with a hammer.

Hitting it with the hammer flares out the sides of the eyelet. Rub your finger over this and you will see that it is kind of rough. I give those teeth another light tap with the hammer to flatten them out.

And, thar she be, an eyelet set for all the world to see.