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Back Riveting Plate

Still in the tool acquisition stage. Was looking for some advice on a back riveting plate. After a lot of reading I think I would like to do as much back riveting as possible for a clean flush rivet look. Or is there not much opportunity for that to make a big difference?

Any suggestions on what the preferred thickness of steel plate is for back riveting? Was wanting it to be fairly sizeable to do several rivets in a row but not too heavy to set on and off the bench. Was thinking maybe 4" wide by 2 or 3 feet long but was unsure on thickness needed.
I have a very sturdy rolling metal working bench made of steel that I installed a nice table top onto for the smooth surface and it's pretty darn solid but I'm concerned the rivets will eventually pulverize it.
Thanks for all your advice.
 
I decided on a 200mm x 600mm plate 6mm thick, and that was fine for most back-riveting that I did. I did get the guy I bought that off to surface grind the plate (mostly since I wanted the mill scale removed and a super flat surface). Possibly when it came to ailerons or flap TE's it would've been nice to have something longer, but that's not a show-stopper.

I didn't submerge this into bench like a lot of others do. I just move it around as needed and pack up the parts on 6mm MDF so they're flat on the table. It's heavy, but not unmanageably so.
 
I found a local blacksmith near me that had all kinds of steel plates available. He was actually a body shop guy that also did blacksmithing. Any good old welder business should also be able to help you out. My guy sold me a piece of flat steel that was smooth on one side, about 3/8-1/2” thick, 8” wide X 16” long, and I had him countersink 4 beveled holes in the corners for flush screws. I mounted in into the top of my work bench with shims so it was flush with the top surface of the plywood bench (2 layers of 1/2” plywood). I’ve been using it for about 24 years, and it has served its purpose well. I think that steel plate cost me about 20 bucks.
 
Back rivet plate

Mine came wiith my used tools. Whatever Avery sold. Probably 4"X12"X1/4". It was fune for the limited amount of back riveting. I do recommend some sort of alignmenf lines so you can't pound a rivet off the edge !:eek:
I found lots of uses for it. I use it to finely polish parts very flat.
I probably back riveted more with the back rivet bucking bar.
 
Mine came wiith my used tools. Whatever Avery sold. Probably 4"X12"X1/4". It was fune for the limited amount of back riveting. I do recommend some sort of alignmenf lines so you can't pound a rivet off the edge !:eek:
I found lots of uses for it. I use it to finely polish parts very flat.
I probably back riveted more with the back rivet bucking bar.

And I just learned something, I didn't know there was a back riveting bucking bar. Sounds expensive in tungsten.

Thanks everyone!
 
I will go out on a limb and say I don't like back riveting.

I had never done it when I started the Vans kits, so I bought a big piece of steel plate and the fancy rivet sets, but no mater how much I practiced or played with air pressure or whatnot, I struggled to get good consistent shop heads and was glad when it was done. I also find it cumbersome to have to constantly move whatever I'm working on.

Also, at the risk of starting another primer war; my opinion is that back riveting probably doesn't swell the rivet in the hole as effectively as a conventional rivet gun operation. Again, that's my opinion only, but when I think about what's happening there, it seems like it would have to be that way.
 
I have a fairly large plate. 12" by 30". The problem. Is its 1/4" mild steel, so it flexes very slightly under riveting. Means the rivets take a long time to set, or I turn up the pressure. Rarely use it.

I have a smaller bar thats 4" x 5" x 1.5", and it's fantastic for back riveting. Quite small, but also very solid. PITA for working on a workbench due to the small area. Using 2x4 blocks (same 1.5" thickness) to hold work pieces. It was actually quite good for wing top spins as it can be held against the top skin while somebody back rivets from inside.

Bought it at a bulk metal supplier for dirt cheap.
 
I bought a piece of flat steel bar from Home Depot. It is 1/4" thick x 2" wide x 36" long. I had to remove some surface rust, using sandpaper and a block, before it was ready for back rivet duty.
I used 1/4" masonite to raise the control surface up to the level of the back rivet tool instead of milling out a 1/4" deep pocket in the top of my workbench.
 
I will go out on a limb and say I don't like back riveting.

I had never done it when I started the Vans kits, so I bought a big piece of steel plate and the fancy rivet sets, but no mater how much I practiced or played with air pressure or whatnot, I struggled to get good consistent shop heads and was glad when it was done. I also find it cumbersome to have to constantly move whatever I'm working on.

Also, at the risk of starting another primer war; my opinion is that back riveting probably doesn't swell the rivet in the hole as effectively as a conventional rivet gun operation. Again, that's my opinion only, but when I think about what's happening there, it seems like it would have to be that way.


Using a back rivet plate with sufficient mass will yield the same result as using a bucking bar and rivet set.

I found that the best place to back rivet was the skin stiffeners, and it was quite easy to make consistent shop heads.

The “fancy” rivet sets are no more than a regular set outfitted with a plastic, spring loaded sleeve. The sleeve holds the material pieces together outside of the rivet then the set drives the rivet. It works quite well but it won’t be useable on a good portion of the rivets; a tungsten bar is a must have.

I used 1/2” x 8 x 16 steel plate recessed into my table top. Worked great.
 
I purchased a piece of hard steel 1/2" x6" x6' had it cut in half length wise and then blanchard ground. Routed out the top one of my benches for a flush fit, works great. I have the other 3 foot piece wrapped up and will donate it to anyone in the Albany, NY area, way to heavy to ship.
 
I have a table saw in my shop. it was a great back riveting plate. Just have to be careful as table saws have grooves across for miter tools.
 
I've riveted off the side of the back rivet plate 2x, ruining parts, so don't use the plate unless the job is small enough I can see all the edges of the plate.

I use the 12" Back Rivet Set in a C-Frame instead, and now don't worry about that.
 
I ran off mine too, began using a magnet. It slowed me down too, no more get-er-done. :D

The bar should be as long as the cord of what is being riveted. My Avery is machined, so it is smooth. Pretty sure it started as 3/8" and is more like 5/16 now.

Recommendation - 3' X 6" X 3/8"-1/2" This is about 31#.
 
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