I see there are few cat molds on AliExpress. It looks like the next bomb in buttonmaking. My daughter would kill for them. Has anyone tried them? Unfortunately, as of now, the molds are too expensive for hobbyists. I hope they drop in price eventually. But the fun part is that they even have paper cutters for this.

How is everyone printing photos to make buttons on demand? Like at a market/event? I'll be printing single images at a time so it doesn't feel appropriate to print one image per printer paper size. I have a cannon Selphy I could use but is that cost effective?

Hi guys! New to this button making topic. Trying to create a good set for birthday present for my daughter. But the Chinese sellers have done their usual best and mixed something up, so I received molds 56mm of good quality but without plastic baseplate that is needed to install them to the Vevor-like classic press. I got refund but that does not help, since not much time left till birthday and next shipment won't come in time.

So, my question is, can I make these molds work for my press machine? They seem to me the exact same mechanism, only that they have individual round metal bases with 2 doted keys instead of one plastic baseplate. I can unscrew them from this metal plates if needed, there is standard 8mm Alan key bolt.

My current ideas so far:

1. 3dprint it. I can use plate from my other molds to take all the sizes, not sure if they are the same though for 25mm/37mm as 56mm.
2. make it myself from wood
3. use them without baseplate. I'm not sure the baseplate is that important after all, if we are talking about making few buttons and not commercial usage
4. buy the cheapest plastic mold for plastic presses and use its baseplate. They seem to be the same form and size on the photos, but I'm not sure if they will fit.
5. find seller who can send me the base plate. So far everyone say they do not sell baseplates separately.

Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

I'm trying to clip this pin on to my shirt and it's too lose and wobbly. I'd like to change the back of it into one of the pin backs on the second slide. Is there a way I can do that? Thanks.

hi! ive been making buttons for a while, had the machine for a year now and completely smooth sailing thus far. i have interchangeable molds for 25, 32 and 58mm, and as of late only the 25 and 32mm have been doing this exactly and giving me trouble and i'm not sure why. the kit i got came with cutting stencils that cut the paper or film i want to use into the exact size no bigger and no smaller that fits inside the mold. i've tried pressing firmly and less so, checking the button maker itself for an issue with something stuck in the molds, making sure the handle/mechanism is intact and sitting where i can properly press it into the mold, using metal vs plastic backs, trying a different film or paper thickness, and every single button turns out the same. :(((( please help!!!!!! (photo of my personal experience in comments)

The part where the metal goes with the picture and cover won't press down. There shouldn't be anything stuck or something, I just got it hours ago.

if you're a beginner like me and you're trying to figure out what's wrong with your machine and why the buttons come perfect sometimes and then the next try you try to make one you mess it up, this is why. this will save you so many headaches and wasted paper. you're welcome

I’m looking for a button maker with changeable sizes to get for Christmas. Awhile ago I got a cheap one off amazon and it broke pretty fast so I want one that will last me a very long time.

Hi! I recently bought a 58mm button pin making machine, meant for metal pins. Its recommended paper weight is listed as 127-159 g/m².

The issue is, I'd really love to make pins with a matte or velvet type of finish, the ones that are nice to touch and not glossy. But I can't figure out how.

I can't find a mylar protective film that's matte. I've thought about laminating the sheet with button designs using matte sheets or pouches, but I've never used a laminator before/don't have one right now, and I've also heard that the final effect could end up too thick/not bendable enough to be properly pressed into a pin. Some blog advised to put two sheet of graphic into a laminator pouch back to back, then cut the edges off to separate them, but I haven't seen anyone use this advice.

How do you get matte/velvety (but still protected) pins? Would printing them with some special technique, and not using additional plastic at all, be a better idea than trying to use a laminator?

I'm also guessing that when a box of laminator pouches list its thickness as X, I should divide it by two if I were only laminating one side, or is that the thickness of one of the sheet?

Also an off topic question - when I use my machine (regular hand operated button maker with two die and a lever) does it matter how fast I press the lever? Like, maybe the first press to attach the picture to the pin's top should be faster, but the next press to combine the top with the pin's back should be slower? My manual said nothing about speed, but I feel like it could matter.

I'd be super thankful for any advice! I plan to mostly make pins for myself and friends, so I won't be making thousands of them, if that changes anything.

I work at a non-profit and have bit of mystery on my hands and wanted to see if anyone had suggestions or advice. We have random dies to go with our button maker that I am trying to figure out how to make work.

In the photo, A is the right size for the 58 mm supplies we bought, but is missing the springs and bottom base below. B is complete with spring/base but the 58 mm supplies are just slightly bigger and they don't fit.

Question: can I get either replacement base and springs for A or should find out supplies that fit B? Is one the standard size?

Right after I accumulated everything I needed for my set up, this machine, die cutter, small stash of supplies and lubricant popped up on Toronto (Canada)’s Facebook marketplace, and it’s a great price! I just don’t need two. I haven’t checked it out myself.

Link here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DpD7mxYhn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I’m happy to talk about making proxy buy arrangements, I know these don’t often pop up on the secondhand market!

i have a button/badge/pin/whatever maker and it works great but i dont know how to size my images to make sure that they print out in the correct size and fit perfectly into the maker, any help?

(btw im a total noob at printing and computer stuff. as much clarification would be great)

i've got a metal red vevor badge maker but the only mould i have is a 58mm which is pretty big and i'd really like to find some 32mm/28mm. vevors official moulds seem to be discontinued from what i can tell and i've found a couple of other moulds on amazon, but i'm worried about spending the money because they're different brands and while they look pretty much identical i'm afraid they won't work. anyone know if these amazon moulds will work or if there's anywhere i could get official vevor ones? thanks

I found one for $75 but realized it only works with a different machine. It cuts 46mm to make their version of a 1.25"

Does anyone have a 40mm cutter that works? My hand cutter one makes my hands hurt and it went dull. (Literally a piece of junk I grabbed in craft stuff, not meant for this at ALL.)

please help

can anyone recommend which one of these is best? the panda i believe is new and seems like a better deal but i worry about quality. the others i have seen good reviews for but im unsure which size would be better for my business.

I’m currently in AP microeconomics for a project and my “business” is to make plush pins. I tried using a basic happizza pin maker and it did not go well. I’m using some foam from amazon and minky fabric as the coating. Please let me know a button making machine that can handle minky fabric, or if all of it is too expensive please recommend me a different fabric that I could use compatible with a cheaper machine. I’ve been looking at Vevor and Chibutton machines. I don’t necessarily have a price range, but $200+ might not be where I want to go.

Run down:
- I’m not using this permanently
- This is for a year long AP project
- Money is covered by me and my school
- 2.25 in (58mm) sized buttons preferred
- Using minky fabric cover (with easycolorDTV to attach a design on top)
- Using foam from amazon that I can easily shave down

My daughter spent her hard earned money on a recollections machine from Michael's. It came with supplies for 10 buttons and we failed most of them. We did see it had poor reviews but she thought it would still be usable.

We ended up returning it and getting the chibuttons (b400) machine.

She has made at least 40-50 buttons in 2 days and had no failures. It's a pricey machine but well worth it as far as build quality and the quality of the buttons we are making.

I’m using a vevor pinmaker and my top piece is stuck pretty bad !! It’s really sealed together, I’ve even tried picking out what’s keeping it jammed but it’s so stuck that that’s even hard
I tried following YouTube videos and none of the suggestions worked, like pressing the handle down a ton, or banging it on the ground

I’m not sure what to do any suggestions will help
Thank you!!!!

I recently purchased a 1.25 button maker from American Button Machines as well as materials for pinbacks, magnets, and zipper pulls.

What have you found to be good storage/organization solutions for button making materials?

Currently, I’m keeping everything in the bags/boxes these items came in but would love a good storage solution.

Behold, a button my husband made when he was in 11th grade by taking apart another button, cutting up a zine and using saran wrap. It has rusted through, which looks pretty cool. Btw - he’s 64 now, and first saw the Sex Pistols on the Filthy Lucre tour.

He’s off to see them tonight with our 22 year-old daughter. The last time she saw the Sex Pistols was with both of us, her in utero.🤰

Tonight I used my new 1” Tecre machine for the first time, it was my birthday gift back in July. I also bought the less expensive circle cutter from Button Boy, and I love it. It doesn’t match the aesthetic as well, but it works perfectly and it’s a good price.

The opening band, Panic Shack, is fantastic (I recommend Tits School) I’m a huge fan, but I’m an adult who works a night shift as a caregiver and can’t take off. So I’m sending a handful of buttons with them as freebies, figuring that punk rock buttons have to start somewhere.

Hey all! I'm the creator of MagFlow and I see people occasionally asking questions about templates or button and magnet softwares, so I figured I'd remind you all that www.magflowme.com is an option and doing really well! I have a very active community on FB and hundreds of users in the software. You can do event management, a website, create your own templates, photo booths, photographer integration, a design studio to make fun designs your customers can make their own on the spot, and so much more! Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want more info or check out my 10 day free trial (no cc required) :)

You can use it for buttons, magnets, flexible magnets, and so much more

Any good recommendations on JUST the adhesive magnets for 1" buttons (looks like .75"). Does anyone know the thickness needed for these?

I've seen some on amazon at .8" diameter but mixed reviews on their strength.

It looks like Tecre just sells them in whole kits and I just don't need quite that many at this point until I have more customers interested. Thanx again for any input.

https://www.instagram.com/manoverboardbuttons/