Rivet bucking techniques

[John Loftus]

Within the next week I will need to reattach the rear shroud which includes bucking the solid aluminum rivets along the bottom edge. I have heard of the following techniques:

1. aircraft rivet hand tool (squeeze type)

2. vise grips with head recess ground in one jaw

3. dolly type piece of metal with head recess and small hammer to expand the rivet

4. dolly type piece of metal with head recess and air hammer/chisel to expand the rivet

I'm leaning towards trying method #4 but wanted to see what technique others have used and to see if anyone in the So. California area has access to an aircraft rivet hand tool?

Cheers,
John

 

[Keoke]

Hi John, Most of us use the heavy duty aluminum pop rivits. The heads can be filled to create the solid look if that is important.--FWIW---Keoke

 

[John Loftus]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi John, Most of us use the heavy duty aluminum pop rivits. The heads can be filled to create the solid look if that is important.--FWIW---Keoke

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Keoke but I'm going concours on this restoration so the above method is out.

Cheers,
John

 

[Skip & Lynne]

John go to the web site for Aircraft Spruce and Speciality and get some dead soft aluminum rivets not hard ones of the right diameter. I used a rivet squeezer that I have but it is an expensive tool for a one time use. You could make a bucking bar from a piece of square steel block and drill a small dimple in it and use that to hold the round head of the rivet and set the backside with a small hammer. Skip

 

[Randy Forbes]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hi John, Most of us use the heavy duty aluminum pop rivits. The heads can be filled to create the solid look if that is important.--FWIW---Keoke

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Keoke but I'm going concours on this restoration so the above method is out.

Cheers,
John

[/ QUOTE ]

On my non-concours project, I used "cherry" aircraft pop-rivets with round heads on the lower flange. They have a hand bucked appearance without going through any extra effort (not cheap though).

 

[Keoke]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif Randy!

Don't care about the price where you git em???--
Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

 

[Dave Russell]

Keoke,
You can get them here.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ha/rivets.html

The problem is, that even though the shank breaks fairly close to the head, there is still a small gap to be filled to make it look the same as a bucked rivet. A "Cherry" rivet is just a more precise version of the pop rivet. In fact, it is the original "pop" rivet. I guess putty & paint would fill the gap but I'm not sure that it would stand up to a concours inspection as John wants.
D

 

[John Loftus]

Yes, I looked at the "Cherry" rivets when investigating the tools at Aircraft Spruce but the shape of the head is not quite correct. I have already bought the correct solid aluminum rivets from British Car Specialists that have a completely flat head. They are a fairly soft aluminum so a custom bucking dolly and ball peen hammer should work o.k. I have experimented a bit and it should work well if I shorten the rivets slightly. The length of the tail that is exposed after inserting the rivet between the two panels should be about .187" (1.5 x rivet dia. of .125"). These rivets are about twice that length but cutting them down will be easy. I just found out that I may get acess to some real rivet tools through an aircraft repair friend of mine. Where's Rosie when you need her?

 

[Keoke]

I took a look at the site Dave those rivets look just like the ones I used ,just did not know they had a special name---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Hangtown Healey]

On the 100S, I used a air hammer and made a polished tool for it to be in contact with the rivet head. For the upset side of the rivet, use a body dolly or bucking bar. I don't think a hand hammer will give you the control you need and might not be powerful enough anyway.

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Ken,

Speaking of your 100S, I just got the latest Austin Healey magazine with the article on AHS 3706 ... very cool!

I visited the panel beater who did the metal work on my Healey today and he showed me his technique for setting the rivets with hammer and dolly. I practiced this a few more times and it really seems like it will work out just fine. These aluminum rivets are very soft and as long as the length is cut right they are easy to work with. Here's a little sample piece showing the tail side (on left) and head side.

 

[Johnny]

John, I used a tool I made just for that job. However, I lost track of it and don't know where it is. It was very easy to make yourself though. I used 1/2 inch copper pipe cut to length, about ten inches (to clear the lower section of the trunk.) Inside the tube I fashioned a plunger made out of a large nail (used for nailing railroad ties, can be bought at any hardware store) with the sharp end cutoff square. Place rubber tubing over the nail (to secure/center in the copper pipe). With the tool in hand and someone (my wife, who isn't available BTW) holds a dolly on the head of the rivet. One or two sharp blows leaves a very nice secure rivet. A little practice and you'll be quite efficent. BTW, the tool can also be used to replace, or tighten, nails hanging gutters in place on your house. I heard you can buy this tool at some of the larger hardware stores but really, it wasn't hard to make.
Good Luck.

 

[John Loftus]

Johnny, Thanks for the tip. I have noticed that the factory holes wander a bit on the flange with some of them higher which might hinder access with the body hammer. So it's basically a punch with an oversized/sliding handle for comfort and control. Nice idea.

Cheers,
John