I need Pop Rivet information

On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 13:28:00 -0600, Ivan put forth the notion that...

I use pop rivets by the thousands for mounting the components in my phase converter panels. Harbor freight has a pneumatic rivet gun that they put on sale quite often. Once you've tried it, you'll never go back to any kind of mechanical rivet gun again. As for aluminum VS steel rivets, it doesn't really make any difference in my application. Both work equally well in the HF tool.

google-izing Harbor Freight this evening....thanks. Ivan

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mcmaster.com is a good, cheap, no-nonsense place to buy pop rivets. Boxes of 500 for the cost of a hardware store bubble-pack. All sizes, styles and materials including the right back-up washers.

Bob

See Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook, which can be ordered from .

I'll second this suggestion... that book is worth its weight in gold, both for the diatribes on rivets and for the information about bolts and various other methods of holding things together. It will, however, make you want to start shopping at Aircraft Spruce, which can be a very pricey thing to do... you'll be installing some fine bolts and rivets, though!

Probably not the easiest thing to find, but I use an old RAF training manual for aircraft fitters. As I do a lot of shopping in aircraft scrapyards anyway, it's very helpful.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

You don't say much about your requirements. What are you rivetting? How much stress on the joint?

There are blind rivets intended for aircraft construction that are _much_ stronger than hardware POP rivets.

Ted

I forgot to mention: Ron Wanttaja, "Kitplane Construction" TAB Books (McGraw-Hill) ISBN 0-8306-3565-3(p) In library as TL671.2.W26 1990 or 629.134'2-dc20

Excellent reference on construction techniques including rivetting.

Ted

Some years ago I bought quite a good manual rivet setter - KingClik I think, It came with several nozzle sizes, and also some rivet nuts along with the usual "Pop" rivets. The latter are easy enough to find in steel and alloy, but the brass threaded rivet nuts (and the threaded setting bar that is used with them - mine snapped early on) is a different thing. I never see them listed, and haven't a clue where to find them. Not being in "the trade", I'd only want small quantities, not thousands, but they were such useful things, while they lasted..

Dave (UK)

RS

There's a couple of different sorts, but the ones I use sound like the sort you've used. The tool is a Beargrip riveter body, with a threaded mandrel added. Only a little work for a lathe owner to make one.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Depending on what you are riveting, there are different rivets. The regular pop rivet is a hollow rivet with a steel head behind in a long hollow tube. In other words there is nothing to hold the steel head tight to the material and the rivet part in the hole is hollow. For a better rivet, you can use the avex rivet which you can use the same rivet gun. The way the avex rivet is made, as you start squeezing, it expands and fills tight in the hole, the regular pop rivet does not expand in the hole. The way the avex rivet works it closes itself behing the steel head and it cannot fall out like the regular pop rivet. The steel head and part of the shank fills in the hole and it will not come loose like the regular pop rivet. These rivets are used in many kit airplanes but they can be purchased in many fasterner stores. They were originally designed in the UK for washers, dryers, stoves.

Eric