Guide Pop Rivets

One of the easiest ways to join two pieces of material. The pop rivet is a great way to hold things together. Here are some pics of my first experience with this method of assembly.

At the store, there are a few things to keep in mind, the size rivet you want,
the length of the rivet (short,medium,long), the material (alumunum,steel) and the finish (metal, white etc.) you might be able to see from the pic that I got short/white and they happen to be aluminum.

I also picked a slightly more expensive ($30US) rivet tool which is multi-size and has a swivel head to allow for getting into tight places with those rivets. Hey, you never know when you'll need that feature right?

First get some scrap


Once you pick out the size rivet you are using, drill some holes,
For my example, I have used 1/8" rivets so I have drilled 1/8" holes in the
pieces.

Here we are ready to go:


Now, align up two holes on the pieces and slip the rivetthrough both holes.
then grab the tail (long piece that looks like a finishing nail) with the rivet tool. Push the rivet tool all the way down on the rivet so it looks kinda like this:


Then Squeeze the handles, If the rivet does not pop on the first squeeze, release carefully, slide the rivet tool all the way down again, and give it another squeeze. You will hear a decent <pop> when the tail breaks off the rivet. That sound means you are done.

Here is the result:


Here is an example of how they look in a real project I am working on

These are joining some aluminum angle on the inside with fiberboard covered
with simulated aluminum on the outside.

Now, go out and pop some for yourself

 

Nice guide. Really useful way of attaching things.
-aaron

 

Thank you I was wondering how to use Pop Rivets

 

Good guide man, And I like how you put your case in there that your working on, showing those who havent used pop rivets before, That so long as you use a lil gray matter it turns out just as good as any other joining method, and depending on the kind of styling you want may even look better than some other method

 

Does anybody know where I could get my hands on countersunk pop rivets? They would solve quite a few problems.

 

I would try a specialty construction store.... theres a chain of em around in the us but I cant think of the name off hand...... Ill edit this if I remember. And Im pretty sure they do have them

here found this using google, you can order em online it appears http://www.aerocraftparts.com/Categories.aspx?Category=0d041034-c501-4322-bc5b-52c3faa5d1bd

 

Great guide, but I'd say it's worth mentioning that you should slip a washer over the end of rivet which expands, in order to get a better hold.

 

Tanks for the link, Noob4ever! That one looks like a handy place to get them.

 

This is a great guide if you don't know how to rivet

 

Also available in the UK, so check Google for a closer source.

 

A year ago I installed a plexi window with extra long 1/8" diameter rivets. I left a half inch of window past where the rivet went in, and tightened the riveter slowly to keep the plexi from cracking. I spaced the rivets an inch apart for appearance.

 

The tools of that beautiful than I