[Inland RV Center, In]

Malcomb.

The olympic rivet when pulled, will split into thirds.

When one on those "thirds" hits a stiffner, a main bow or a horizontal stringer, the pin will break below the rivet head, since that obstruction will not allow the rivet to properly compress.

The fix?

Drill out the bad rivet. Cut one third of the rivet shank away. Place that side of the rivet next to the hidden obstruction, and set it.

You will now have a rivet that was set correctly.

The cause?

Sometimes the rivet holes are very close to a main bow, etc. Not a problem if you buck rivet. But when you use the olympic rivets, then that's another story, some times.

Caution. Do not keep the rivet that had it's pin break off short, as it has not properly compressed to hold the metal together.

Using an "air chisel is Ok, provided that you cut the air pressure "down." If you don't the air chisel will beat the metal to death.
Andy