Fastener Selection: What Is a Gypsy Stud?
Details
Details
Most people are familiar with regular snaps including buttons, sockets and studs, but we get a lot of questions surrounding the gypsy stud. As sort of a hybrid of snaps, it can be less intuitive to figure out how to use this snap, but once you do, we think you’ll find it very handy around your boat.
A standard snap set up features a button riveted to a socket, which snaps into either a screw stud or a stud riveted to fabric with an eyelet. A gypsy stud is often called a “double stud” because it is used to attach two or more fabrics to a single stud.
The gypsy stud is the connector portion with a stud on the top and a rivet on the bottom that can be attached to a socket. So, a button and socket assembly can snap into the top of the gypsy stud, and its socket bottom can, in turn, snap on to another stud.
Here’s a diagram that shows how gypsy studs fit into an application.
These studs are great for spots on enclosures where side curtains join each other and need to share a stud or where the side curtain meets the dodger. They can also be used for adding bug screens to your enclosure curtains without drilling more snaps into your boat, for making an overlapping table skirt, or for adding a removable door panel to a boat cover.
Gypsy studs can be installed with a regular snap fastener installation tool, but you have to be very careful when installing it that you don’t damage the rivet portion of the stud. Easier options for installation are to use the SnapRite® System or the Pres-N-Snap Tool. To use the SnapRite System you will have to buy the proprietary SnapRite Gypsy Studs, which have a hole through the center, but then the installation can be done with the basic SnapRite Dies. For installation with the Pres-N-Snap tool, you will need to have the Pres-N-Snap Stud to Gypsy Stud Die.
To read further about the different types of snaps we offer, check out our "Choosing the Right Fastener Type" Fastener Selection post (#300029XHT).
Do you have a great application for gypsy studs? Share your ideas and experiences with us in the comments.