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Over59 · 09-13-2004, 11:09 AM

OK... Someone please explain rivets for those of us who don't get it. I take it a butt rivet is like a hammered rivet working from both side. But are all hand rivets pop rivets. I have some that have three legs the spread out and others that a little ball is pulled through a tube against the sheet metal. I have found aluminum, shiney aluminum and stainless. Some seem thin and others have thicker metal. So... whats the story. I thinks I get the drill hole size thing but the rivets come in a wide range of lengths.

Wardinbb · 09-13-2004, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over59

OK... Someone please explain rivets for those of us who don't get it. I take it a butt rivet is like a hammered rivet working from both side. But are all hand rivets pop rivets. I have some that have three legs the spread out and others that a little ball is pulled through a tube against the sheet metal. I have found aluminum, shiney aluminum and stainless. Some seem thin and others have thicker metal. So... whats the story. I thinks I get the drill hole size thing but the rivets come in a wide range of lengths.

The 'bucked' rivets are factory installed. The Olympic shaving head leg style pop rivet is used to replace the bucked. The ball or bulb style aluminum or steel rivets are also pop rivets. Their length is their grip range.
The Olympic's come in one length for the 5/32" diameter. The standard (non-shavable head) come in various lengths and diameters. Which length to use is dependant on how much material your going to sandwich together. What diameter to use is how much strength is required to hold the thing your working on securely in place.

As a side note, I made a serious error in judgement when I replaced the frig vent cover. The new covers (from Inland RV) come 28" in length to replace a 24" original. I simply cut the vent and slid the halfs 4" together and riveted them together. For some unknown reason I used a 3/16" diameter pop rivet. The end result is it looks terrible as the rivets I used were way overkill. The pop rivet heads are larger than the Olympic's as seen on the rest of the coach and now I've got a small Sherman Tank frig vent!
Hope this helps.
Ed

Over59 · 09-13-2004, 05:20 PM

So do the three leg rivets come in difference hardnesses. The ones I have sure seem soft.

markdoane · 09-13-2004, 06:23 PM

Has anyone used Cherrymax blind rivets? They would seem to be a good alternative to Olympic rivets where higher strength is required.
http://www.textronfasteningsystems.c...uct/rivets.htm

Over59 · 09-13-2004, 06:32 PM

Now those are some fancy rivets. Real cool animation to.

InsideOut · 09-13-2004, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Has anyone used Cherrymax blind rivets?

After looking at the catalog briefly, I believe the rivet head comes in aluminum, but the shank does not. It's either Alloy Steel or Iconel 600. I also think they are more expensive than Olympic rivets.

Could be a couple of reasons they aren't used on Airstreams...

Shari

Rick Alston · 09-13-2004, 07:06 PM

I think a rivet that has a steel shank and aluminum head would be real useful for the belly pan!

Rick

p.s. Shari, you impress me with your use of technical jargon.

greg176 · 09-13-2004, 09:22 PM

Cherrymax rivets are the blind rivet used in aviation.They are quite expensive and have a steel shank.They are difficult to drill out.I'm sticking with aluminum pop rivets for the belly pan.

Wardinbb · 09-13-2004, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over59

So do the three leg rivets come in difference hardnesses. The ones I have sure seem soft.

I don't believe so. One hardness fits all. Its like your 400 ft-lb. model. I think what it comes down to is that the Olympic Bulb Tite is the closest match for OEM. The OEM equal is a bucked rivet. Your choice.

Ed

InsideOut · 09-13-2004, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Alston

p.s. Shari, you impress me with your use of technical jargon.

Don't be impressed...just repeating what I read ~ I look at this kinda technical spec stuff all the time in my business

Shari

JohnG · 09-13-2004, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wardinbb

I don't believe so. One hardness fits all. Its like your 400 ft-lb. model. I think what it comes down to is that the Olympic Bulb Tite is the closest match for OEM. The OEM equal is a bucked rivet. Your choice.

Ed

Ed,
Olympic = OEM >> Not So.
AS uses Soft Rivets. Soft rivets have a tensile strength of 16,000 PSI.
Hard rivets have a tensile strength of 38,000 PSI.
Olympic Rivets have a tensile strength of 245 PSI. This according to their website. http://www.boltproducts.com/marson/...-bulb-tite.html This makes sense because if they had the same high tensile strength as bucked rivets then you wouldn't be able to put them in with a pop rivet gun. They would just be too strong to be workable.

The soft rivet would be the choice to replace with if it weren't for the fact that you have to remove so much inner panel to be able to buck them.This is why Olympic Rivets are suggested for replacement.

wahoonc · 09-14-2004, 03:27 AM

which gives the appearance of a bucked rivet. This is another advantage of the Olympic rivets. I don't think this would be feasible with a steel center pin. Also FWIW not sure if it was factory, though I suspect it was, they used steel rivets to install the banana wraps on my unit, and left the center pins hanging out, which made it a major pain to remove them.

Aaron

markdoane · 09-14-2004, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

Ed,
Olympic = OEM >> Not So.
AS uses Soft Rivets. Soft rivets have a tensile strength of 16,000 PSI.

John,

Do you know when AS switched to soft rivets? Mine ('59) are all hardened, with the dimple.

Over59 · 09-14-2004, 08:41 AM

What about inside for the interior panels. Olympic or bulb or something else?

wahoonc · 09-14-2004, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over59

What about inside for the interior panels. Olympic or bulb or something else?

The interior rivets are a painted pop rivet. Kind of an ivory color. I use unpainted ones and hit them with a dab of model paint. If for some reason the hole has gotten enlarged you can use an Olympic rivet or an over sized pop rivet or a washer under the rivet. Or! you can do like my wife does and hang a picture over it.

Aaron

Over59 · 09-14-2004, 12:55 PM

Many of the interior rivets were missing in the back. Good excuse to buy new axels. Since this trailer will be for long trips in far away places with lots of dirt and gravel roads I was thinking the interior panels and overall structure needs something stronger than the ones I removed. Is there a downside to using the olympic style rivets inside. We are planning to spray paint the inside Por 15 Sterling Silver for adhesion and durability.

markdoane · 09-14-2004, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over59

We are planning to spray paint the inside Por 15 Sterling Silver for adhesion and durability.

What are you going to use for a tie coat or primer?

Over59 · 09-14-2004, 01:28 PM

I was going to use the Tie Coat but I am still in planning stage. I do know I'm not going after the Zolatone. That is on good and see no reason to do more than clean, lightly sand, and clean again.
It's so easy to just spray the whole thing when it's empty I want to use something that's going to last. Easy being a relative expression of course. Like it's easier to clean the topside of the belly pan with the floor off.

JohnG · 09-15-2004, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markdoane

John,

Do you know when AS switched to soft rivets? Mine ('59) are all hardened, with the dimple.

That's a good question. My 75 has mostly soft rivets. It does have hard rivets in the front, the double row behind the LP tanks. That's all I know about so far.
To answer your question; I have no idea.
Maybe Andy from Inland RV knows for sure.