Dot Fasteners made History
Added 27.10.20
DOT® Fasteners were one of the first products offered by JET PRESS when we became a distributor in 1985. Durable™ Snap Fasteners, Pull-the-DOT® Fasteners, Lift-the-DOT® and Common Sense® Turn Buttons are still popular items. DOT® Fasteners play a role in our lives in many ways. They are used for seats in modern cars and soft tops in classic cars. Boats of all sizes use DOT® Fasteners and they feature on clothing like motorcycle wear and military kit.
Because we sell DOT® Fasteners to classic car restorers, we know they’ve been used by car designers for many years. But dig a little deeper and they turn up in some surprising places throughout history.
The first lift the dot fasteners
As far as we can establish, lift the dot fasteners were first used to hold curtains back on horse drawn carriages. The military saw how strong and versatile these fasteners were and used them for satchel bags and gun holsters – where they are still used today. The marine industry adopted them as well and we still sell many DOT® Fasteners to boat builders and chandlers.
Cars and planes
Over a hundred years ago the people who were building cars and aircraft made good use of DOT® Fasteners. By the time of the Second World War DOT® Fasteners were an integral part of many aircraft.
We found these ads on the Database of British Aviation Advertisements. The Blackburn Skua featured in the first advert was used by the Fleet Air Arm. It was the first monoplane to fly from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers and sank the German cruiser Konigsberg in Norway early in the war. At this time the fasteners will have been manufactured in the the UK. Production later moved to the USA.
Then into space
On July 21, 1969 Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. The spacesuit he wore incorporated DOT® Fasteners. This was the A7L suit made by ILC Dover a division of Playtex, better known for making bras. The A7L suit is a later version of the A5L which won a competition run by NASA to find the best pressure suit for the astronauts in the Apollo programme.
And back to earth
To the best of our knowledge, all the DOT® Fasteners we sell stay on planet earth. They are generally used to attach fabrics, including leather, to other fabrics or different materials. Pull-the-DOT Fastener Press Studs are the most popular but there are a range of DOT® Fasteners for specific applications.
Common Sense® Turn Buttons are designed so they don’t open accidentally. They have a spring mechanism holding the fastener in place until you give it a quarter turn. They come with various fixing options for different surfaces.
Durable™ DOT® Snap Fasteners are self-piercing and offer a firm hold. You will be familiar with the firm snap when you use them on clothing, tents, luggage and many other everyday items. They come in a range of sizes with different fixings.
Lift-the-DOT® Directional Fasteners can only be released when lifted in the correct direction. This makes them very useful in a range of applications like holsters so they can’t easily be undone by accident. They also have a far greater shear strength than press studs.
In most cases it’s best to use specialist tools for attaching DOT® Fasteners. We can supply a Hand Tool Bed & Punch for use on a bench. The M840 Snapmaster is handheld so it’s useful for repairs and working in restricted spaces. When you want to attach large volumes of DOT® Fasteners, we can supply a Manual Foot Press. You can expect to attach 400-900 parts per hour using this tool.
DOT® Fasteners have played their part in history. We are confident they also have a role in the future. If you think we could help with your project get in touch with JET PRESS team. Please call +44 1623 551 800 email [email protected] or contact us online.
