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Oversize Rivets

mosquito

Well Known Member
Hi,

Newbie riveter question. I was squeezing some an4 universal rivets, some through nutplates and some not, so some -5 and some -6 lengths. I had one bend over and realized I had used the incorrect length. Oops! Examining the piece I realized I had set a couple of others with rivets from the wrong pile, but they looked well set, not bent over at all. Diameter gauged perfect, but they are of course a bit tall.

Obviously I drilled out and replaced the bent rivet, and obviously I'll be more careful in the future... but should I drill out the "not bent but long rivets", or are they fine? Just trying to rectify the advise I've read about unnecessary drill-outs vs. perfectionism.

Thanks!

-jon
 
Yes, good advice. As a newbie, you might look into using NAS rivets for most, or all, of your nut plates. They have a step size smaller head than standard.

Read this: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=56010

And get you pencil out and make a list of all the sizes you might need and order some of each for a good set. You won't be sorry.

I built my RV-10 without using a single standard rivet on a nutplate. No dimpling nutplates, even the thinnest parts can be countersunk. I had a dedicated micro stop set up for the NAS head. A lot were csk with a deburring tool, just two or three turns.

I saved hours using these. The instructions have a single line that says that NAS rivets are acceptable for all nutplates. Used about 1/4 lb of -3.5, 1/8 of -3. -4, some -5.
 
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