The hand-plier type of snap/grommet tool is NOT what you want for doing snaps on diapers. The snaps that you buy locally don't have long enough prongs and will pull out of the diapers. They are also *really* expensive. One package I bought at Joann Fabrics was $4.99 for 6 sets of snaps (for what they call "heavy duty", and I had to hammer one half instead of using the snap pliers).
If you want metal snaps for a particular reason, you want to order from
http://www.snapsource.com/ They sell "long-prong" metal snaps and a tool to hammer them on with. But they are also expensive. Size 20 snaps (the most popular size for diapers) are $11.00 for 50 sets.
What diaper-makers use is a plastic (polyacetal resin) snaps and snap press. You can get them here:
http://www.diapershop.com/index.php/...d/18/subid/90/
and here:
http://thesnapstore.com/catalog/inde...20564b360d0ea6
The plastic snaps are about $5.00 for 100 sets. The snap press is a little more expensive than the SnapSetter tool, but you will quickly make up the difference in the price of snaps, and snap presses have good resale value. If you have access to a drill press, you can also apply plastic snaps with it by getting just the plastic snap die set and using the die pieces in the drill press.
Keep in mind that even with the cost of the snap press and dies (or just the dies if you use them with a drill press), you will save money on the snaps themselves, and it adds up quickly. The way I make my size medium diapers and covers, they have 12 studs on the front "tummy" panel, one stud on each wing as a crossover snap, and two sockets on each wing. That means that to get metal snaps locally at Joann or WalMart, I'd have to buy three of those packages of 6 sets of snaps to have enough to do one diaper--for $14.97! And I'd use up almost all the studs but have two whole packages worth of sockets left. If I ordered metal snaps from The Snap Store, I'd get 3 diapers worth of snaps from a package of 50 sets, for $11.00. But with plastic snaps (I get mine from One Stop Diaper Shop), I get 7 diapers worth of snaps from a package of 100 sets, for $5.00.
I hope this helps! Let me know if anything wasn't clear!
