How To Rivet Sheet Metal

Squeezing the grips together causes the mandrel to be pulled into the rivet body which expands on the other side of the material.

How to rivet sheet metal.

Blind rivets are made of two preassembled pieces. Leah demonstrates how to use a pop riveter which is a great tool for attaching and repairing metal items of all types. Drill your rivet holes through every piece of material that will be riveted while the pieces are clamped securely together if the rivets are going to be installed into new locations. The grip range corresponds to the total thickness of the materials being joined together.

Insert a rivet into the hole. These hole marks should be punched with a center punch just deep enough to start the drilling. Links to pop riveter rivets. Use the table below to determine the length of the blind rivet.

After selecting the rivet size and placing the sheets the holes must be marked for drilling. Next bend each tab making sure that the nose of the brake is right up against the bend line. If the punch is too hard the mark will be too large and the metal will be distorted. Use the box brake to bend the tabs 90 degrees.

Choose the appropriate rivet size and capacity for the project for example 1 8 inch diameter and 1 2 inch. The drill diameter depends on the type of rivet in the hole. If there are already rivet holes clamp the pieces together and install your rivets. Clamp the sheet metal in place.

Drill a 1 8 inch hole through one or more sheets of metal that need to be riveted up to 1 2 inch thick. First set the nose back from the joint about 0 032 1 32 the thickness of the sheet metal. It s best to use one corner of the brake bend one tab turn the piece bend the next tab and so on. Both pieces are inserted into a hole and a special tool appropriately called a riveter is placed over the mandrel.

The greater the diameter of the blind rivet the stronger the join.