Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

[mhorowit]

After listening to the group I went to e-Bay and purchased a rivet gun with some accessories. See attached. It's a Chicago Pneumatic 4x (I'll have to tone it down)(1), six rivet sets, bucking bar, hammer, two as yet undefinable pieces (which may be dimpling tools). Rivets ordered last week so when it comes in I can start practicing.

Anyone who can ident the undefined pieces, describe how the not-so-obvious rivet sets are used, suggestions for reducing the pulse rate, how to avoid hitting my thumb with the hammer or any other constructive (or not) comments is invited to jump right in. I can use any/all advice.

Happy Labor Day. - MikeH

(1) - by reducing the flow to the gun; either by turning down my secondary regulator or putting a flow reducer in line with the gun. Either build or buy .

[mulwyk]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Mike:
Unidentified pieces: That long thing on the left looks like a hammer.

[rcefird]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

I agree. The thing on the left is most likely a hammer. LOL
Randy

[N96337]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Good for you Mike! Yep, an adjustable "regulator" valve at the end of the handle of the rivet gun is very handy...in fact a MUST in my opinion.
From what I can see, the other two parts sort of look like dimple dies...but it's tough to tell without being able to see them from all angles.
You're on the right track.
John

[mhorowit]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Mike:
Unidentified pieces: That long thing on the left looks like a hammer.

OK - that's the one we don't apply to thumb, correct?

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

A 4x gun even turned down will hit hard. Be careful on light stuff with it. The 2 long pieces on the bottom are hole center punches.

[N96337]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

The 2 long pieces on the bottom are hole center punches.

Now that you say that, they DO look like transfer punches!
John

[fearofpavement]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Congrats on the acquisition. The 4x gun is versatile in that it will buck any rivet you are likely to encounter. If you measure the barrel of the gun you will find it to be about 4" long. A 3x gun has about a 3" long barrel and a 2x gun has about a 2" long barrel. (I don't have any idea if the barrel length is how they came up with the 2x, 3x, 4x, 6x designation, that is just an observation I have made by looking at our different guns.)

Anyway, bucking a #3 rivet with a 4x gun is a bit like pounding nails with a sledge hammer. It can certainly be done but you will want to practice a lot first. Rivets are very cheap, get a 1/4 pound and a few pieces of scrap aluminum that are similar to the material you want to repair and buck away.

One suggestion is that you need to get a heavier bucking bar. If the bar weight is not appropriate to the size of the gun you will pound the rivet head and the surrounding material down (ie, dent)

A 4x gun does not have a higher cycle rate (blows ber minute: bpm) but just the opposite. ie the bigger the gun the slower (and harder) it hits. To visualize this picture holding a hammer two inches above a nail and trying to drive it in. Now hold the hammer 8" above the nail and hit it. Now hold it two feet and so forth. So the longer stroke gun "hits" the rivet harder and thus will flatten it with a smaller number of blows.

Just so I don't give you the impression you bought the wrong size gun, if I only had one a 4x is what I would own. Happy riveting (wear hearing protection)

[mhorowit]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Congrats on the acquisition. The 4x gun is versatile in that it will buck any rivet you are likely to encounter. If you measure the barrel of the gun you will find it to be about 4" long. A 3x gun has about a 3" long barrel and a 2x gun has about a 2" long barrel. (I don't have any idea if the barrel length is how they came up with the 2x, 3x, 4x, 6x designation, that is just an observation I have made by looking at our different guns.)

Anyway, bucking a #3 rivet with a 4x gun is a bit like pounding nails with a sledge hammer. It can certainly be done but you will want to practice a lot first. Rivets are very cheap, get a 1/4 pound and a few pieces of scrap aluminum that are similar to the material you want to repair and buck away.

One suggestion is that you need to get a heavier bucking bar. If the bar weight is not appropriate to the size of the gun you will pound the rivet head and the surrounding material down (ie, dent)

A 4x gun does not have a higher cycle rate (blows ber minute: bpm) but just the opposite. ie the bigger the gun the slower (and harder) it hits. To visualize this picture holding a hammer two inches above a nail and trying to drive it in. Now hold the hammer 8" above the nail and hit it. Now hold it two feet and so forth. So the longer stroke gun "hits" the rivet harder and thus will flatten it with a smaller number of blows.

Just so I don't give you the impression you bought the wrong size gun, if I only had one a 4x is what I would own. Happy riveting (wear hearing protection)

So what was some talk I heard about a device for restricting the flow to the gun? - MikeH

[Steve Morgan]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

The only rivet gun I own is a 4x gun, probably the exact same Chicago one you have.
Yes, I agree with the above statements IT HITS HARD.... but I had no problem driving #4 (1/8" dia) perfectly with a nice short burst from the gun and a nice heavy bucking bar. With a little practice on scrap, the same thickness and diameter rivets as the repair needs, you will do fine and be very proud of your craftsmanship.

[mhorowit]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

From what I've seen/read on bucking bars there is an infinite variety; almost as if you need to be able to build one for each application; or is it like a french curve where you may have to look for the bearing surface, but it's there?

OTOH, if you have a favorite shape 'dolly' (is that the same as a bucking bar?) would you please dress her up in tights, take a pic and show us/me what the more useful shapes are? - MikeH

[astjp2]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Here is the style regulator that I use, I have about a dozen or so...Tim

http://www.browntool.com/productselect.asp?ProductID=430

[mhorowit]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

thanks - if it doesn't change the 'beat', is it changin the strength? - Mike

[astjp2]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

It slows down the blows per second rate, when i am in practice, I can hit single blows with any one of mine..

[fearofpavement]

Re: Mike's purchased a rivet gun!

Mike, regarding bucking bars there are a variety of styles and sizes. There are a few versatile ones that will meet the majority of needs. If you look at some tool catalogs that sell riveting sets, take a look at the usually three or so bars in there that are pretty common to all the riveting sets. There is nothing special about a bucking bar. It is basically a piece of steel or cast iron that is smooth at the rivet contact area. You can make your own if you have the materials. A piece of 1" rebar makes a good bar. (about 6" long) smooth the end off well and polish it up on a fine grain belt sander. (or whatever) The head of a large ball pein hammer works well (sans the handle). We have probably 30 different bucking bars in our collection and many of them were made for a particular application. We recently made a trip overseas to do some sheet metal work and had to be very selective in what we brought (weight wise) and I brought just a couple bars and we were able to do everything with those. (we also brought a squeezer).

A bumping dolly is not a good choice because it has too much contact area. It is great for bumping out dents but with the bucking bar you need to be able to hit just the targeted rivet. (and consider the diameter of the bar when you have a continuous row you don't want to be hitting already installed rivets.)

Riveting is part science and part art. Falls into the same category as welding. You can read up about it and you want to do that but until you actually start doing it you won't acquire the skill. It does take some practice so don't get discouraged. And don't do three good ones in a row and figure you're ready to go. You want to be able to score in the high 90's...

If you make your own bars, you don't want the finished end to be completely flat, almost but with a bit of radius. (look at a few hammer head faces for approximately the correct shape). Ready to start making noise?