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bredlo · 06-08-2016, 10:54 PM

Hey all,

I need to rivet our interior walls to the inside of the door frame., At more than a hundred bucks for only 65 rivets... it seems a bit silly and I don't see where I'm going to need it again in the future (unlike our regular pop rivet tool).

Would anybody be willing to rent me their squeezer and dies for solid buck rivets for a weekend? I'd happily compensate for the trouble (as well as shipping in both directions).

Thanks for considering.

ghaynes755 · 06-09-2016, 09:45 AM

Might be wrong but buck rivets don't use a squeezer. Bucking bar held against the end of the rivet and pneumatic bucking tool for pounding on the head. At least that's the only way I have seen buck rivets installed.

AtomicNo13 · 06-09-2016, 09:47 AM

X2 what he said^

J. Morgan · 06-09-2016, 10:01 AM

To the best of my knowledge ALL Interior walls are held in with pop rivets.

these and the tools can be bought cheap online if a person shops around and buys in bulk.

Superat stultitia.

Dingo Girl · 06-09-2016, 10:18 AM

Colin Hyde mentioned on the VAP that he uses a squeezer for bucked rivets, on the outside skin of the door.
There is no way to buck them on some door frames.

ehodg66 · 06-09-2016, 10:25 AM

Actually, soft buck rivets can be squeezed. I used them to reinstall the hinge plates and closing latch plates on my window refurbishment. I was worried about using my rivet gun and it slipping or vibrating too much around the glass.
You do need access to both sides of the material your "squeezing", so you could squeeze the exterior skin to the door frame with the door removed.

I agree with J. Morgan, all my interior panels were fastened with pop rivets.

pic of rivet squeezer below

AtomicNo13 · 06-09-2016, 10:30 AM

Huh.... i learned something today! Thank you!

bredlo · 06-09-2016, 10:40 AM

Yup - you're all correct! The bars are for the field (think panel replacement), the interiors are all pops, except for the door frame.

That uses the squeezer, since you can take advantage of the yoke (that U-shape on the pic ehodg66 posted) to sit on both inside / outside of the trailer at once. No need for a bar. The heads are placed on the inside where they look pretty... while the squeezed shafts have a nice low profile on the exterior so they'll sit under the weatherstripping that keeps the rain out from the door.

Anyhow... ehodg66's tool is exactly what I'm looking for; including the dies for our rivet profiles, it comes in at around $120 to own one. I'd much prefer to borrow if possible.

Aerowood · 06-09-2016, 10:47 AM

What size throat, and what size rivets. I have pneumatic and manual.

Aerowood · 06-09-2016, 10:55 AM

Here's a pic of the pneumatic

bredlo · 06-09-2016, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerowood

What size throat, and what size rivets. I have pneumatic and manual.

Throat size is anything more than 3/8", I suppose. These 1950s models have fairly thin door frames.

As for the rivets, I bought them long ago and had to look it up again on Vintage Trailer supply. Seems I chose the modified brazier head: 5/32" diameter by 1/2" long. (VTS 826L)

VTS says on their squeezer page that I'll need these dies:
- VTS-690 (cupped/domed shape die)
- VTS-689 (flat/flush shape die)

However, the corresponding page no longer lists those same part numbers, so if you're familiar with these rivets I'd happily defer to your expertise.

bredlo · 06-09-2016, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Here's a pic of the pneumatic

That looks like quite a bigger "argument" than I need, frankly.

However, I think the manual version (assuming you have the correct dies, or I could buy and give them to you) would be fantastic for these 65 little holes around the door.

Aerowood · 06-09-2016, 01:08 PM

I do not have dies for the Brazier head rivets as they are obsolete in the aviation community. They have be replaced with the MS20470 Universal. PM me

truckasaurus · 06-09-2016, 02:48 PM

Whilst I do have a squeezer and all the dies, I found the existing holes were too close to the frame in many places. Luckily I had a plan B which is nice and simple. I used Knipex (AKA super pliers) the medium 10" version, to squeeze the rivets. The head does become deformed (flattened somewhat) but the end result was great. The Knipex are very useful for this type of ad hoc task as the jaws get really really close in to corners and have no problem parallel closing to squish little rivets up to about an 1/8" especially if they are A soft alloy.

bredlo · 06-09-2016, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckasaurus

I used Knipex (AKA super pliers) the medium 10" version, to squeeze the rivets. The head does become deformed (flattened somewhat) but the end result was great...

Wow! Hadn't given that any thought, but it does sound like a good Plan B. Never heard of Knipex, but sounds like it may be a useful tool in the tool box whether I use it for this or not!

truckasaurus · 06-09-2016, 03:35 PM

Yhey are really useful. Disclaimer, I would never use them to tighten bolts on an airplane but they are superb for holding parts whilst working on them and squeezing things because of their parallel jaws.

reinergirl · 06-09-2016, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckasaurus

Whilst I do have a squeezer and all the dies, I found the existing holes were too close to the frame in many places. Luckily I had a plan B which is nice and simple. I used Knipex (AKA super pliers) the medium 10" version, to squeeze the rivets. The head does become deformed (flattened somewhat) but the end result was great. The Knipex are very useful for this type of ad hoc task as the jaws get really really close in to corners and have no problem parallel closing to squish little rivets up to about an 1/8" especially if they are A soft alloy.

My experience was like Truckasaurus. I have the equipment but was unable to use it because the holes were too close to the door frame. In your picture, there is not enough clearance to use this squeezer tool. I bucked mine with a regular bucking gun. The squeezer tool works great around compartment doors and such but not for the door application unless your rivet holes are closer to the inside edge.

ghaynes755 · 06-10-2016, 07:41 PM

Brad, thanks for the info. I've seen those squeezers before but never associated them with bucked rivets.

bredlo · 06-10-2016, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reinergirl

...The squeezer tool works great around compartment doors and such but not for the door application unless your rivet holes are closer to the inside edge.

Wow, thanks for the tip! I did buy a pair of Knipex wrench this afternoon at a local up$cale hardware store, so I'll test out a few tomorrow and see if this wrench will let me clench the solid rivets without deforming the heads too badly.

I'll post an update with photos when I'm happy with the results.