Precision Rivet Removal Tools

[rv4007]

I have been doing aircraft construction and repairs for over 30 years. Some people are better with tools than others. If you are handy with tools and always get better than average results, then drilling by hand with a 135 degree split point bit should be fine for you. If not, the rivet removal tool is a great investment and saves frustration and almost all mistakes.

Condition of the rivet head also makes a difference. Unpolished, perfectly formed rivets will be easier to start the bit on than polished, or poorly set rivets.

TIP: When drilling by hand, you will occasionally have a rivet spin on you before the head breaks free. I use a small pair of needle nosed Vice-Grip pliers to grip the outside edge of the rivet head to hold it from spinning while completing the drilling.

[rv4007]

If the mandrel is still in the center of the pop rivet, it can be difficult to keep the bit centered while drilling. Use a punch to push it backward until it pops out the back. Now the drill bit is automatically centered and ensures effortless removal unless it spins. If it spins, just use the Vice-Grips as described above.

[rv4007]

Several people in the AS community have mentioned rivet shavers costing $500+. These are dedicated units manufactured for high volume production. If I had thousands of rivets to shave, I might consider one. For the smaller number of rivets that most of us will encounter on an Airstream, a Microstop Countersink cage with a rivet shaver cutter installed will work perfectly. All aircraft tool suppliers carry various models. Aircraft Tool Supply has a nice one:

Microstop Countersink Cage
Part Number: 133
Category: CUTTERS
Microstop Countersink, 1/4" Shank, 1/4x28 Female Thread. Fits any air or electric drill. Accepts rivet shaver bit or pilot cutter up to 1/2" diameter. Overall length: 2". 1 lbs (0.5Kg) shipping weight.
Price: $25.95


CARBIDE RIVET SHAVER BIT (p/n 3000-1/2)
1/2" Diameter. Overall length 1". Solid carbide tip for long life. 1/4X28 thread. Fits standard microstops
Price: $38.95

As stated above, if you only have a few to shave. A Dremel will work fine.

[CDMDB]

The first thing I thought of when considering how to remove a bucked rivet was these, which I already had a couple of in my tool stash:



Vix-Bit Drill Bits

Which are made for centering from the outside (like pre-drilling through a hinge plate into wood) , but I can imagine that the hole in the tool would center on the crown of the rivet also. Also comes in several sizes. It's spring loaded so it would be pretty fast. BUT: I haven't tried it, still contemplating our project.

A little search showed a couple old threads, but no results of use.

[rumrunner]

the rivet removal tool sold by VTS, brown tool and others is fairly similar but has interchangeable size bits and collets. well worth the money.
tim

[perryg114]

What do you mean by split tip? Are you refering to a normal spiral twist type drill bit?

Perry

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Practice, Practice, Practice. I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that I have probably drilled out more rivets then anyone else on the forums, maybe, and I do not own a rivet removal tool. They work well but I have found they just slow me down. One of the reasons that they do work well is the type of drill bits they use. They are 135 degree split tip type bits. Using the same type split tip high quality bits, that are not threaded, in a 2500 - 3000 rpm drill will give equal results.

[NJtoNC]

we use none of the above.

so far i have replaced 2end curved panels on my dad's safari, a panel on my GT and are working on replacing an entire exterior end cap of a 67 overlander. we also had to go pull the new end cap of the donor trailer, so we have had a lot of rivet removal to do.

the FASTEST, EASIEST way is to use a putty knife and a hammer between panels to break the buck rivet in half....insert knife under top panel, hit with hammer and the head pops off. be very careful not to scratch the good panel when inserting / removing the knife.

I drill out rivets and husband uses above technique ; he is way faster with no scratches compared to me, where i slip maybe one every 40 or 50 rivets.

also, yes, buy the rivet shaver if you're doing over 20 rivets...i started w/ dreamel and the tool is sooo worth it.

[Trvlmn]

Check out www.odmrv.com if your looking to rent a rivet shaver.......