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markdoane · 08-16-2004, 07:16 PM

Malcolm,
Not using any shaved rivets.
BUT: I did buy a rivet shaver last year for Ultradog. It was a gift for all the work he did welding my frame together. I'm sure he will let you use it. You need to come to Minneapolis though. . .

funchucky1 · 08-16-2004, 08:06 PM

Here, here!

I'd LOVE to borrow (or rent) a rivet shaver for a few days.
My little Airstream has hundreds or leg-flesh-tearin' rivet spears sticking out of it!

Anyone?

greg176 · 08-16-2004, 08:08 PM

Don , I am not familiar with brazier rivets but you must be right.The 5/32" universal rivet has a head the same diameter as the old rivet.

And Malcolm I am not using any blind rivets so no shaver.I bought a microstop countersink from airpartsinc and they have a shaver that fits it which might work on Olympic rivets.Total cost only about $15.Might be worth a try.

JohnG · 08-16-2004, 11:40 PM

Rivet Shaver - I bought a US Industries Rivet Shaver added a foot piece and it cost me 50 dollars shipping and all on ebay. i just checked and there is one on there that is almost identical to mine right now. Just put "rivet shaver" in the search and it will show you what is available. I posted a picture from one that is on ebay right now so you can get an idea. I use the smaller shaver head and it works great. It is both fast and easy.

Rivet Gun - I use an Ingersol Rand regular air hammer and cut the air presurre down. The one I bought came from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...unction=Search It is 10 dollars cheaper now than when I bought it, I paid 39 for it. The pressure regulator is there too http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36797 I place it in the air line at the tool. It has the male end on one side and the female end on the other side this works so I can set the presurre anytime no matter where I am without having to go back to the compressor.

Pop-rivet Gun - Definately go with an air pop rivet gun. It sets the rivet fast and won't wear your hand out. You can go with one like Bobby pictured above, but I prefer the pistol type because they will get into a tighter area.

Obstruction Finder for use with Olympic Rivets - This is simple. Just take a coat hanger and cut a piece about 9 inches long. now bend one end into a small circle, next bend the other end at a 90 degree angle so it looks like a "L" Make the bend so it is about 1/4" longer than the Olympic Rivet set leg. To Use just hook it into a drilled hole, pull it back so the L end will be up against the inner wall and turn it. If it catchs something then you know you have an obstruction and can set the Olympic Rivet that you have trimmed so it has only 2 legs so that the missing leg of the rivet is facing the obstruction.

Aluminum Solid Rivets - Come in "A" and "AD" hardness. "A" is soft, made from 1100 grade aluminum and have a tensile strength of 16,000 PSI. "AD" is much harder and is also harder to set requiring more bucking. "AD" is made from 2117 aluminum and heat treated to T4 Specs and they have a tensile strength of 38,000 PSI. Airstream uses the softer "A" rivets on my model and most likely on your model too. You can always tell the harder "AD" rivet because it has what looks like a center punched hole (It is small) right in the center of the rivet head which the softer "A" rivet does not have.

Bucking Solid Rivets - Must have 2 people, a riveter and a catcher (the person on the inside) Always make sure the catcher is on the same rivet as you are before you buck it in. Just have them tap agaionst it so you know. If you buck against a rivet without the catcher being on it then the result will be a rivet dent in the panel. You must always apply pressure to the rivet through the rivet hammer or air hammer while riveting. This pressure must be firm so the bucking action of the tool dose not allow it to slip off the rivet head. Use short trigger squeezes until the rivet is set. Also the bucking bar dose not have to be one of those special tools that you see. It can be a small sledge hammer at least 1 pound. You just need something heavy to mushroom the inside part of the rivet while you set it.

Note> The difference between a rivet hammer and an air hammer is that the rivet hammer will hit slower. Instead of the Buck - Buck - Buck - Buck of an air hammer you will get a BucK - - Buck - - Buck with the river hammer. I have used both and don't really think that there is a big difference between them, and as I said you can turn down the air pressure and make the air hammer more controlable.

malconium · 08-17-2004, 01:20 PM

Greg176,

I looked at the Air Parts catalog at the following page:

http://www.airpartsinc.com/catalog2004_pdf.htm

I called them and asked about the rivit shaver there. They told me it was intended for what I needed and that it does fit the microcounterstop on the same page. I decided to give it a try. With the shipping charge the total came to $20.70 which is a pretty good deal if it does the job as advertized. It is coming by UPS ground so it may take a few days. Once it arrives I will give it a try and post my findings here.

Thanks for the pointer,

Malcolm

markdoane · 08-17-2004, 02:09 PM

Malcolm,
Keep us posted. I thought those things only worked with a special drill, with outriggers, like in the bottom picture in JohnG's post?
It would be neat if you can do them cheaply.

malconium · 08-17-2004, 07:00 PM

I guess I will have to see if outriggers are needed. It seems to me that the main thing is to keep the tool from slipping off of the rivit head and grinding a hole in the surrounding metal. Of course it does need to be centered on the rivit. but that doesn't seem like it would be too dificult. I bought one of those rivit drilling tools that was mentioned somewhere in these forums and it does a good job of staying on the rivit when drilling it out. I would suppose that the right type of bit could also work in that tool too. I should check and see if they have something.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...vetremoval.php

I will let everyone know what I find out - and I hope the news is good news.

Malcolm

greg176 · 08-17-2004, 07:51 PM

The tool I have from Airpartsinc is a microstop countersink, it is used for drilling the countersink for flush rivets.The tool has a micrometer-like adjustment to set the depth.You get one countersink right then you can drill all your countersinks and they will be the right depth.They sell a bit that goes in the microstop countersink that is for shaving the heads of flush rivets that did not set quite right,same purpose as JohnG's rivet shaver.You would have to use it in an air drill for the speed.You should not have to center it on the Olympic rivet,just set the depth to save the head.

markdoane · 08-17-2004, 09:13 PM

In for a penny. . . .

Ordered my 'tools' a few minutes ago from Aircraft Tool supply.
Got the 2602 rivet gun, two bucking bars, set of sets (?), two bags of 5/32 rivets, 75 Clecos and pliers, pressure regulator, deburring tools. Total was $236., with free shipping.

So if anyone needs something riveted in Minneapolis, give me a call. I want something to practice on before I start working on my own trailer.

74Argosy24MH · 08-17-2004, 09:32 PM

Ear plugs
Ear muffs

John

greg176 · 08-17-2004, 10:23 PM

When I was in school we practiced on one foot square pieces of aluminum.I must of installed over a thousand rivets that way.I did the same with my wife to get us up to speed, except we only did about 20 rivets as I was paying for them this time.We moved from there to the rivets that go under the belt line as any mistakes would be covered up.

JohnG · 08-17-2004, 10:35 PM

Pratice makes perfect.

It does take a little while to get used to the way a rivet hammer will drive a rivet. Even a pro always uses short trigger burst. Just make sure your catcher is in tune with you cause if they remove the bucking bar the rivet hammer is going to dent the metal.

Ken J · 08-18-2004, 07:27 PM

Dumb question - are the olympics as good as the bucks? If not, why not

Ken

Inland RV Center, In · 08-19-2004, 08:52 AM

Ken J.

Structurally, olympic rivets are OK compared to buck rivets.

In practice, they are superior, since you really don't need special tools, unless you want to, so as to save labor time, when performing metal replacement.

With respect to cost, olympics are terrible, compared to bucks. You can usually obtain about 50 to 75 buck rivets, for the price of one olympic rivet.

Bottom line? Olympics have proven themselves in time, to withstand the punishment that we give them, provided that you use those WITHOUT, washers.

The washer type olympics are not designed for long term use.

They are designed to assist those that chose to do less than top quality repair. Olympics with washers, do not, and will not hold up when exposed to hot temperatures, such as we have in our California deserts. How do we know?

We have replaced thousands of them.

Andy

Pat McSween · 08-19-2004, 12:10 PM

Hello,

I am restoring a 64 Bambi II. Body on floor replacement. Sealing the outside before interior work starts. After overhauling all the windows and sealing all the seams, I am reinstalling the drip-cap over the front window. My question is, I got a rivet shaver from Airstream Dreams and I can't seem to get the cutter adjusted shallow enough to reach the rivet heads. Instructions seem fairly simple, but try as I might, I can't reach the rivet.
I just know one of you has run into this before. Help!

Pat McSween

http://members.cox.net/pamcsween/

markdoane · 08-19-2004, 03:48 PM

I'd call Airstream Dreams. If you followed the directions (with the adjusting collar and all that stuff) and it still doesn't work, it may be defective.

thenewkid64 · 08-19-2004, 04:57 PM

To adjust the shaver:

Back the retaining ring off a minimum of 1/2 inch

Slide the collar (under the retaining ring) back and hold.

Turn the tip in or out. The tip will stop in 1/8 th turn increments.

Remember to spin the retaining ring back down to hold the collar.

Pat McSween · 08-20-2004, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thenewkid64

To adjust the shaver:

Back the retaining ring off a minimum of 1/2 inch

Slide the collar (under the retaining ring) back and hold.

Turn the tip in or out. The tip will stop in 1/8 th turn increments.

Remember to spin the retaining ring back down to hold the collar.

Brett,

Thanks to Brett and Don for responded to my question about adjusting the rivet shaver. The problem was that I wasn't pushing hard enough. The mechanism was quite stiff the first few times. Once it loosened up, the tool works smoothly.

Once again, thanks

Pat

Simplyspent · 08-22-2004, 11:12 PM

Two tid-bits here:
I have popped hundreds upon hundreds of rivits, blind and otherwise with a hand rivit tool from Stanley. It has a moveable head for tight spaces. I paid about $30.00 for it and just bought a Harbor Freight version for $8.00. I must be missing something by going pneumatic...
As for removing the "tits" off of an olympic rivet, I use a dremel tool and my steady hand and the results are pretty clean. The rivet shaver is a nice tool, but I am morally opposed to paying $179.00 for it when the results are slightly cleaner than the Dremel method. How often do you receive compliments on your rivets anyway?

uwe · 08-23-2004, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplyspent

Two tid-bits here:
I have popped hundreds upon hundreds of rivits, blind and otherwise with a hand rivit tool from Stanley. It has a moveable head for tight spaces. I paid about $30.00 for it and just bought a Harbor Freight version for $8.00. I must be missing something by going pneumatic...
As for removing the "tits" off of an olympic rivet, I use a dremel tool and my steady hand and the results are pretty clean. The rivet shaver is a nice tool, but I am morally opposed to paying $179.00 for it when the results are slightly cleaner than the Dremel method. How often do you receive compliments on your rivets anyway?

It's like this: If you have time and big arms, use the hand riveter. I take mine out whenever it's a small job, like 10 or so rivets. Anything more, and the compressor comes on, because my arm gets tired, and the rivet job is not as neat as with the pneumatic riveter. Try it - you might just like it.
Speaking of neat:
I have repaired panels on my 63, obviously done with a dremel or similar tool and it does not look very good. I wish they had used a rivet shaver, or taken more time to do it right, because now I will have to re-do it. A shaver works consistent, making the repair look nice and professional, all the wau down the line. Again, I would not buy it for 2-3 rivets, but for a large panel, I believe it's worth it.