[dbhill916]

Hi all,

Newbie here. Does anyone know how to use this thing?

I figured I'd end up removing a bunch of rivets (and so far, I've already exceeded my wildest dreams), so I couldn't resist this Rivet Removal Tool from Aircraft Spruce.

Clues, comments, questions or laughter are all appreciated.

-dbh

 

[AltonD]

Yup, choose the head for the size of the universal rivet head. Choose the drill bit in the same way. Set the depth of the drill. Center it up, square it up on the rivet head and drill. It makes drilling out universal rivets (round heads) painless.
Once the rivet is drilled, it is just like drilling out any other rivet, snap off the head and knock out the tail.

BTW, this is only good with round head rivets, not flush rivets.

 

[DaleB]

I was all set to buy one of those until I noticed it was only for universal heads. It's usually the flush ones that give me fits.

 

[bruceh]

I've certainly got my use out of this tool. Very handy! I've only used it on the -4 rivets, so setting the correct depth is a one time task. It drills down centered on the rivet head just to the base of the hole. Then you can use a punch to snap off the head and push out the shank of the rivet.

 

[N941WR]

I bought one, tried it on a few rivets and put it away. I drilled all of my rivets by hand.

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Came in handy when I had to disassemble the rear spar/fork on a wing but for normal builders, the number of universal rivets you'll drill out is pretty small and it's still possible to drill off center with this.

Which reminds me: I should add this tool to the list of tools I've been meaning to put up for sale one of these days.