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Sorting Rivets

Ed_Wischmeyer

Ed_Wischmeyer

Well Known Member
So over the years, I've bought packs of unsorted rivets, and sometimes they've provided just what I needed when I needed one or two rivets of some particular size.

It's easy enough to sort them by round, flush and oops head, and by diameter. But when it comes to sorting by length, that's really tedious, and when you get to sorting the 3/32" from the 3.5/32" long, my eyeballs give up in disgust.

Anybody figured out how to do this? Or does everybody else have a life and not waste their time sorting rivets...
 
I pick up the occasional dropped rivet and toss it in a container. Then once in a while I go through and use a digital caliper to measure and sort the rivets. There aren't so many that it's a burden.

Dave
 
I remember the first "oops" rivet kit I ordered from Avery, I think. One day in the shop I knocked the open container off the workbench. I "sorted" all those rivets into the trash can, with sadness in my eyes.
 
No Sympathy

I live in Ridgecrest, CA, with my-8A and workshop at Inyokern (IYK). I was very proud of the fact that I had all my rivets and screws sorted and labeled into around 80 small drawers sitting on top of long shelves. Then a 6.4 earthquake hit, followed the next day by a 7.1 with the epicenters very close to IYK. Ended up with 80 mostly empty dumped bins and a huge bunch of hardware mixed and scattered on the floor - shaken, not stirred. Took a long time with very boring sorting but everything is now restored.
 
Ed_Wischmeyer said:
So over the years, I've bought packs of unsorted rivets, and sometimes they've provided just what I needed when I needed one or two rivets of some particular size.

It's easy enough to sort them by round, flush and oops head, and by diameter. But when it comes to sorting by length, that's really tedious, and when you get to sorting the 3/32" from the 3.5/32" long, my eyeballs give up in disgust.

Anybody figured out how to do this? Or does everybody else have a life and not waste their time sorting rivets...
Click to expand...

Everyone must try once. OK crazy . . . I laid them in a row on the head on glass and put a scale on the aft end. The short ones went one way, tall ones the other. I suppose some double stick tape would just pick them up?? What a major pain. Easier to order.

DO NOT place the lengths in a bin/box in progressive order, I alternate with longer rivets 1-5-2-6-3-7 so when one hops over the little wall they are spotted easily. YMMV :D
 
I'm onto my 6th Vans kit now.

Each time, I empty the brown bags onto the bench, a little soft rock playing and a frosty beverage to hand.

It may take an hour, maybe two, but it's done. All of the hardware are in their little drawers.

Now earthquake chap....OMG ! That would be a real PITA as it was not your doing !

Rivets.... You will be amazed at how intuitive the human eye is after a while. Group them roughly, then sift, then sift and bingo, they are done.
 
With my rivets in plastic water bottles, if they fall, few escape, even with the cap off. They are easy to see besides being labeled. After 7 1/2 years, I'm convinced that this is a very workable, acceptable rivet storage method.

FABXw8I.jpg


The storage bins contain nuts and bolts and other hardware.

Dave
 
Rivet sorting

Good opportunity to get the wife or kids involved. Empty egg cartons and muffin pans work great but labeled small paper mouthwash cups make it easy to pour into other storage containers

In the old days Boeing and Lockheed would sell floor sweepings by the pound for serial sorters

Guilty!
 
Vern said:
In the old days Boeing and Lockheed would sell floor sweepings by the pound for serial sorters.
Click to expand...

There's a Lockheed plant within walking distance of my house. They auction (or at least used to auction) their surplus stuff periodically. One of my penny pinching airplane friends bought several 55 gallon drums of floor sweepings at auction. He kept them in his hangar.

His policy was "Go dig through the drums. If you find what you need, take it." Everyone loved him.

But as far as Ed's question goes... I keep a jar of MSP (miscellaneous small parts). Loose rivets, screws, nuts, etc. When I need one of anything, that's the first place I look. But as far as re-sorting rivets. That would be a last re-sort for me. ;-)
 
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