Is a pulled rivet without the center stem just as strong as a rivet with the broken stem still in place? The reason I ask is because I punched a few of the stems out after they broke off in the wrong spot, about 3/8 of an inch outside of the rivet. You see, I made a wedge shaped tool to pull the stem at an angle because of obstructions to pulling straight. The tool angle was too big and that caused the stem to break next to the puller instead of next to the rivet's factory head. I did 6 rivets this way before making a new wedge. I did not like the looks of those stems sticking out, so I tapped them back into the rivet and then used a pin punch to drive them all of the way out the back. Now I am wondering about the strength of the rivets. Are they OK or should I drill them out and replace them?
Joe
Joe