Rivet gun use

[rockwoodrv9]

I bought a nice pneumatic rivet gun, but didn't order the rivet sets, so I was unable to use it until this evening. I was all excited when the rivet sets came today. I tried it on a AN470AD 4-6 to squeeze together the HS-911 hinge bracket with bearing. I squeezed and it didn't squish the rivet even a little. I have close quarters and regular squeezer sets - nothing.

The rivet gun did not come with a manual and I have never seen one used for rivets, so I am open to any info I can get. I have used it to dimple and it is one heck of a dimpling machine. I know I must not be doing something correct, but I do not know what it is. I tried it from 80lbs to 145 lbs. Same thing.

Any ideas? I guess I can wait until Monday to call the supplier, but would like to be the rivet king tomorrow!

Thanks, rockwood

[mannanj]

What pressure were you using? 1/8th rivets usually require 60-80 psi at the gun to set them.

[airguy]

You are talking about a pneumatic squeezer, not a rivet gun, correct?

Squeezers operate using a ram and cam assembly, it does not generate much force in the early part of its stroke but generates tremendous force in the last portion of the stroke. If you don't have the distance set correctly (are you using the adjustable set?) it can close on the rivet but not have enough force to squeeze it.

To use it correctly, you will want to hit the trigger on the squeezer to activate it, then while holding the trigger in spin the adjustable rivet set to raise/lower the ram to close the gap to the distance the final set rivet will occupy - this ensures that the required force will take place in the last bit of travel of the ram where it can be generated - now go squeeze your rivet. I usually run my squeezer on full inlet pressure from my compressor of 120 psi.

One other item of note - you want to occasionally oil rivet GUNS and air-drills, but not squeezers. Squeezers use greased leather inside and oil injected in the air stream will dilute that grease, run them straight on clean air without an inline oiler.

[fatherson]

Also assuming you are talking about a squeezer and not a gun, Rockwood, here is the adjustable set holder from Avery that I have. It works just like Greg described. If you don't have one, you'll definitely want to order one, but in the mean time, you can shim up the sets to the desired distance apart by using washers between the squeezer and the set; that technique works, but it's harder to fine tune.

If you were, in fact, meaning a rivet gun (like an air hammer, but with a feathering trigger), then you'll want to get a hands-on lesson and a lot of practice on some scrap. The set goes in the gun, the pressure is usually turned down to about 40 psi for a -3 or 60 for a -4, and you use a bucking bar on the shop side of the rivet. There are good YouTube and EAA videos that show some of the techniques. I think you aren't talking about a gun though.

--
Stephen

[rockwoodrv9]

Thanks for the info. I just tried a shorter die and it made all the difference. The squeezer is not even close to easy to use. I tried what should be easy rivets on the rudder spar reinforcement plates. Trying to home it and use the gun with the other hand - not easy. It did the job, but I still must not be using it correctly. I don't like not having the dies touching both sides of the rivet. It is very easy to have the die slip off the rivet when you push the trigger. From my 5 minutes of using the squeezer, that trigger is about the poorest design I think they could have come up with. I understand safety, but that thing is a danger itself.

Im going to search some more for a video of someone using the squeezer. EAA didn't have much, but I did learn about the pop rivet dies I just got!

Thanks again guys, I appreciate it.

rockwood

[rockwoodrv9]

That adjustable set looks better than what I got. The set I got has about 8 different lengths. It is a pain to put in and then take out to get the correct length. I will order the one you have the link for. Thanks.

[Flyguytki]

Be patient with it and practice with it on scrap, it takes some getting used to but once you learn to use it properly it is by far the best tool to have when assembling the airframe, you will find a way to use it anywhere and everywhere.

-david