[Shop-talk] Rivets won't pop

[John Innis]

Are you using the correct size rivet for the hole you drilled? (Or
conversely the correct size drill for the rivets you have).  These can
usually only tolerate a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the
rivet shank.

On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 1:10 PM, David Hillman
<hillman at planet-torque.com> wrote:
>   I spent a good chunk of last Friday and Saturday thrashing to get my
> racecar ready to go ice-racing last Sunday.  I made it, and we ran all six
> races, but torn it up a bit in the process.  Looks like I'm going to repeat
> that process tonight and tomorrow.
>
>   A lot of the thrashing resulted from rivets that wouldn't pop.  I have a
> standard Arrow rivet gun... (
> http://www.amazon.com/Arrow-RH200-Fastener-Riveter/dp/B00004Z2JG ) and used
> a lot of different sizes, both steel and aluminum, but I had the same
> problem with most of them.  The mandrel would break, but the blind end
> wouldn't expand enough to become larger than the hole.
>
>   At first, I thought they were just too cold, as I was working in my
> unheated ~30* garage.  I took all the rivets inside overnight, but had the
> same problem in the morning.
>
>   I have never had this happen before.  I used a wide-enough variety of
> rivets that I don't believe all of them could be defective.  I don't
> understand how a problem with the gun could cause this issue.  That only
> leaves operator error, which is possible, but how hard is it to squeeze the
> handle on a rivet gun?  I've riveted some of these same parts together
> before.
>
>   Anyone know what's going on here, before I waste another couple hours and
> a bunch of rivets?  Thanks.
>
> --
>  David Hillman
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