Van's Air Force
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Size of nail for close q die??
- Thread starter JeremyL
- Start date
JeremyL
Well Known Member
Good point, although I didn’t know there was a bin of nails there. I was anticipating buying a box of nails?
HFS
Well Known Member
A Suggested Alternative
This is not secret but, steel mandrels of "Pop" type pulled rivets generally work better - for (at least) a couple of reasons.
1. They are made of a higher strength steel - not much of a chance at pulling the "head" off the stem, unlike a low grade alloy commercial nail.
2. Since they are designed with a "frangible" stem that breaks (repeatedly) at a pre-determined force (much higher than a nail), you get good repeatability of the quality of the dimples being developed, especially with thicker skins (.025 & .032).
3. If you have any Pop rivets already in your inventory - you're good to go without leaving the shop.
If you elect to go this route, you may need to slightly enlarge the holes in the dies to accept the nearest rivet mandrel size available to you.
YMMV
FWIW - Many moons ago I contacted a well known pull rivet manufacturer and inquired as to whether I might be able to buy the stems only, in bulk, and then resell or give them away to VAFer's. No Joy - they didn't even want to discuss it - to much projected liability I guess. Oh well.
HFS
This is not secret but, steel mandrels of "Pop" type pulled rivets generally work better - for (at least) a couple of reasons.
1. They are made of a higher strength steel - not much of a chance at pulling the "head" off the stem, unlike a low grade alloy commercial nail.
2. Since they are designed with a "frangible" stem that breaks (repeatedly) at a pre-determined force (much higher than a nail), you get good repeatability of the quality of the dimples being developed, especially with thicker skins (.025 & .032).
3. If you have any Pop rivets already in your inventory - you're good to go without leaving the shop.
If you elect to go this route, you may need to slightly enlarge the holes in the dies to accept the nearest rivet mandrel size available to you.
YMMV
FWIW - Many moons ago I contacted a well known pull rivet manufacturer and inquired as to whether I might be able to buy the stems only, in bulk, and then resell or give them away to VAFer's. No Joy - they didn't even want to discuss it - to much projected liability I guess. Oh well.
HFS
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wirejock
Well Known Member
Nails
Yep. Probably have to buy a box. We have a local hardware store. They still have the old "buy by weight" bulk. They dont break. I get two or three uses out of a nail before it gets trashed. They get scarred up and won't go in the tools.
Yep. Probably have to buy a box. We have a local hardware store. They still have the old "buy by weight" bulk. They dont break. I get two or three uses out of a nail before it gets trashed. They get scarred up and won't go in the tools.
PilotjohnS
Well Known Member
Just me
I didnt have good luck with these "pop" rivet dimplers. I made a jig to hold my rivet set completely flat and then used my rivet gun on a very low setting to hold the mating rivet set. worked like a champ. Here is the picture of the jig. I could adjust the screws to make the dimple die (rivet set) perfectly flat.
I didnt have good luck with these "pop" rivet dimplers. I made a jig to hold my rivet set completely flat and then used my rivet gun on a very low setting to hold the mating rivet set. worked like a champ. Here is the picture of the jig. I could adjust the screws to make the dimple die (rivet set) perfectly flat.
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