General Tools 3/8"-1/2" Grommet Kit - Rustproof Solid Brass Grommets for Tarp Repair, Reinforcing Canvases, and Fabric Rings

I bought this kit to put some grommets into 1" nylon webbing straps, the sort you use for camping or tieing down things on the roof of a car. I needed 3/8" grommets, but wasn't sure, so was happy to have the possibility of using a larger 1/2" grommet if needed (the 3/8" ended up working just fine). I watched the video as to how to do the punching and grommeting, and t worked perfectly the first time and everytime after that. The punch is not all that sharp, but with enough pounding *about 10-5 hard hammers) it punched through the webbing. I am sure it would be easier on thinner conventional tarp material. The results look professional, and I haven't had any problems with stress tears or fraying or anything like that. Great product!

I see mixed reviews about this product but I think the main problem is that people don't use a big enough hammer. I used a 5lb mallet and it was about 3-5 whacks to cut through 4 layers of fabric, then 3 whacks to sear the grommet. My advice is to get rid of the wood that comes with the kit and use a piece of scrap 1x or bigger. Use the mallet and drive that cutter through the fabric and into the wood. For me this gave me a clean cut. Then I stick the grommet through from the bottom and set it on the seat from the kit, from there it was simple to get a tight well seated grommet.

I had one of these kits years ago, from the same company. It was much higher quality than this kit. Still, this might be the best (or one of the best) manual grommet kits on the market now. The grommets themselves are still heavy-duty and well made. The kit works well, except for the hole cutters which were very cheaply made. In my case, even with thin fabric, I had to hammer the cutter quite a lot and reposition it several times to finally put a hole in the material. Overall, even with the drawbacks, still likely the best choice out there. That is certainly true in terms of the quality of the grommets themselves.

Took a few minutes to get the hang of it, but was able to use the entire kit, plus a refill kit to repair my pool cover. I initially didn't realize there were punches to make the size hole for the grommet and was just hammering the grommet together which wasn't working great. Once I found the punches (one small and one larger) I was golden and easily finished the task.

First, if you order kit you will also need a hammer, a poly mallet (hammer), a poly (cutting) board and a ruler. A sturdy work surface (not your kitchen counter top!) Is highly recommended.If you have never used a grommet setter, I recommend you find a video on how to use the set.For the money, it is a great little set. The tools are new with oil from the factory still on them. If you are using them for fabric or raw leather, I recommend cleaning the oil off them to prevent staining materials.I would not use the little wooden block that comes with the set, I would use a poly board or plastic cutting board. Only reason I would not use the wooden block is because it is small and if it is not exactly centered under your item, you may have issues cutting your materials and setting your grommets.The metal hole punch is sharp on one end-the slightly tapered end. That is the end you should use to cut your material. I would have liked to have seen a handle for the punch, however the punch did cut through cleanly. Make sure you use a poly mallet ( or even a wooden mallet) and not a metal hammer when hitting the hole punch to prevent damage to the punch.I practiced on an old belt I had to get the feel of the tools. Kit worked exactly as it should.

Don't depend on getting the sets of brass grommets.Just received the kit today.Kit was sealed so maybe someone at the factory can't count?4 sets and one stand-alone 1/2" grommets (should be 6 complete sets)4 sets and one stand-alone 3/8" washer (should be 6 complete sets).The tool / dies themselves appear to be sturdy and machined well albeit the inside of the anvil needed some light work to make it smooth in order to eliminate the risk of the washer not seating correctly.The punches are sharp and sized correctly.The 3 stars may seem harsh but it's getting old receiving items that are damaged, missing parts or so delayed that you go buy elsewhere.All in all the tool performs as described and is a good buy regardless.

In "Use Enough Gun" Robert Ruark castigates sportsman who use small caliber weapons to hunt big game and leave dying and crippled animals behind. If you have broken and malformed grommets the answer is to use a bigger hammer. Delivering kinetic energy to the mandrel depends on hammer mass and the velocity squared. Using weekend carpentry skills and the household hammer there is reluctance to strike the mandrel swiftly because your fingers are very close. As you decrease the velocity of the hammer stroke due to caution the power drops exponentially. So you hit it again but the mandrel has moved slightly and you end with a malformed grommet. Using a 2lb hammer at a reasonable speed improves accuracy and usually a single stroke is all that is required.

Thers is really just one weakness... the hole punches. I should add that only one end is tapered for punching holes, which was not the issue. I used this to add grommets to a thin, single layer nylon flag. The hole punch could get through the fabric, but not the stitches. I ended up trimming the holes out with scissors. The grommets seem to be decent quality and the flaring tools and anvil actually seem pretty well made. This kit did what I needed it to do and for a good price. If I thought I would use it more than once a year I might opt for a better kit.