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Tip: Drilling out flush rivets

N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
My steps for drilling out flush rivets.

1. Center punch the rivet. There should be a dimple there but not always. Besides, it doesn't hurt to make the dimple bigger.

2. Start drilling.

3. Remove the drill and look at the hole, if it is off center, "push" it over with the drill.

4. Once the hole is about as deep as the dimple, take an old drill bit of the same size, turn it around and put the shaft in the hole. Bend the drill bit over and the rivet head should pop off. Hint, use an old drill bit because you can bend #40 bit very easily. (Same goes for setting the drill down, be careful not to set it down bit first. If you do, you will bend the bit.)

5. Drill the remainder of the rivet out.

By the time you get to the fuselage you should be able to drill out an entire wing panel w/o buggering up any holes.

Pop or Pull rivets:

1. Find a nail the size of the hole in the rivet.

2. Grind off the point.

3. Put the modified nail in the hole and hit it lightly with a hammer. This will drive out the "pin". (If you don?t drive the ?pin? out the drill bit will wonder off center when it hits it as it is harder than the aluminum rivet.)

4. Drill out the rivet using the appropriate drill bit. (If the rivet starts to spin, try a little JB weld on it to keep it from moving. Just a little, because you will have to remove the rivet head later.)
 
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Good info! I do exactly the same except I use a slightly smaller drill bit (like #42 or 43) to give me a little leeway in drilling.
That is, if I ever had to drill out any rivets :D :D

Thomas
-8 wings
 
Drilling flush rivits

Bill. I used to follow your method until I watched an old pro and I'm doing it a little differently now. When you get to Step 5, instead of drilling the rest of the rivet and risk enlarging the original hole, try this:
Take a spare set of side-cutter pliars, grind the smooth side until you have a sharp edge that will let you grip the shop head on the bucked side and work it out that direction, kinda like pulling a tooth. It may take a little longer but it sure reduces the risk of using more Oops rivets.
I learned this while helping to reskin spamcan control surfaces.
 
Punch 'em

N941WR said:
By the time you get to the fuselage you should be able to drill out an entire wing panel w/o buggering up any holes.
Click to expand...
Perhaps the next person that gets this far would like to try it and let me know how it goes?:D

I use a similar method but I punch the rivet out using a suitably sized punch. Sometimes I will drill straight through the centre of the rivet using a significantly smaller drill bit to ease the pressure (like a #40 bit on a 1/8 rivet). If there is a flange on the shop head size, then I try to place a suitably sized socket [wrench] over the rivet before I punch; helps prevent the tab being bent outward and also catches the rivet!

I'm getting quite good at it now (drilling out rivets!)

Cheers,
 
I'd also add......

When conditions warrant, it is perfectly acceptable to drill, or Dremel or shave off the SHOP head of an offending rivet to facilitate its removal. Much more care must be exercised though so as not to damage the surrounding structure. Such techniques are usually not practical on dimpled holes but can be just the ticket in other situations.
 
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Automatic Punch

The only thing for me to add is the ease of using an automatic center punch (the one you used to put that first mark on the head, right?) to punch out the solid rivet body after breaking off the head. One (usually) or two snaps and out it comes.
 
Totally agree on the center punch, as long as it's a thin one with a body like a pencil, and not the cheap one with a body the size of a magic marker. The thin one punches the shank through the hole, and the fat one catches a lot of the dimple or skin.
 
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