rivets

No problem.

Very interesting, I didn't realize that blind rivets could be water tight. But the manufacturer states that closed end blind rivets are. Have you ever used these rivets?

search on 'rivet setter' at

tool is $20, the solid aluminum rivets are $6 per hundred, your choice of sizes.

You could make your own setter by do> I need to replace about 6 rivets on my aluminum boat. What's the

Chuck,

You are making a big problem out of a small one. Rivets are cheap and setting them is not exactly rocket science. If you want to use plain rivets, make yourself a set or just use ordinary pop rivets and apply some silicone or epoxy to seal the hole.

If you were building the boar from scratch and had a lot of riveting to do, then quick and fancy might be goals worth perusing, but for six holes you could get acceptable results with one person holding a block of steel on the outside and one guy tapping the shank of the rivet with a ball peen hammer on the inside until the rivet smooshed down to create a seal.

The rivets that I need to replace have one head broken off. I may be able to punch them through, then measure the hole.

FWIW the dot markings are specific to the rivet material.

The best to fix a boat with, for corrosion issues, would be 1100 (pure Al.) rivets. They usually have no marking on the head. 2117 rivets, (one dot) would be the next best, as they do not age or suffer too much from poor driving technique. Other markings usually denote rivets that require a heat treat, and subzero cold storage up till use (or non aluminum materials). PITA to drive if not heat treated, and subject to falling apart under good circumstances, if driven without heat treat, as they work harden like a SOB. Quick and dirty anneal (not for aircraft work!) is to soot them and burn the soot off with a propane torch.

Cheers Trevor Jones

You first have to determine the size rivet you will need. You will also have to drill out the old rivets. Drilling out the old rivets is not as easy as you may think, unless you want to go to the next size rivet. If the rivets are only leaking, you might just try resetting them by putting a heavy block of iron on the back side and getting the proper rivet set and tapping it with a hammer. Make sure you hold the set perfectly straight or you will have a 'happy' rivet, a crescent shaped mark on one side of the rivet. Do not use aircraft rivet, AN-470's because they are too hard and you will have a hard or impossible time setting them. Use a soft commercial rivet, SO type.

I would dip the rivet in some sealer before you shoot it. Permatex comes to mind since it remains flexible and will adhere very well to everything. Unless the metal is perfectly clean. rtv is not the sealant of choice. Look on ebay for a rivet set unless you know an aircraft mechanic. If you do take the whole boat to him and let him do it. :) A properly set rivet has the finish diameter 1.5 x the hole diameter of the rivet. Also the rivet should protrude 1.5 x the diameter of the rivet before you shoot it. If you cut the rivet to the right length, bevel the edge a little and it will shoot a lot better.

John

I see McMasters sells the 100F Al. Rivets. I need 3/16, I don't know the length yet, I'll get the 3/16 rivet set and I'll be good to go, (I hope) thanks.

I meant McMasters sells the 1100F, not 100F sorry

I'd like to thank everyone for their help with my topic.

Punching them through is desirable because you do minumum damage to the hole. You want the rivet to be snug in the hole before you shoot it so it expands in the hole and fills all the voids. Aircraft rivets are sized in 32nds. I am not sure about commercial rivets. Aircraft rivets will have a dot in the center or a couple of dots on the side of the head. They will not work well for your application unless you had a very heavy rivet gun, 8x, to shoot a quarter inch rivet.

John

Also, if the rivets that you are replacing are all in a row, the order that you shoot them is determined by splitting the distance between each end of the row so you don't bunch up the metal to one side and put a wave in it. x x x x x x 5 3 1 6 2 4

John

What he said - BUT........ Timing is very important. Do the job at the crack-o-dawn on a Sunday morning. This will guarantee that you will wake up that obnoxious neighbour who partied all the night before and now has a splitting handover. Payback. Gotta love it.

Ken. PS: Don't do this if *you* have a hangover. Read noise - and lots of it.

I have made a few by plunging with a ball end mill.