Michael Burbidge

Michael Burbidge

Well Known Member
I need to drill out a 1/8 rivet. I no longer have access to the manufactured head. I have good access to the shop head. Any advice on how to do this?

I will replace with a cherry max.

Thanks Michael
 
If there is sufficient room, I would try grinding the shop head off with a dremel cut-off disk. Then punch the rivet out. For this kind of job, I usually stack two disks together.

As always, be careful with the cut-off disk as they can shatter in a heartbeat. Wear safety glasses and don't have any part of your body in line with the disk.
 
In addition to what Mel said. Take a small piece of .016, drill a hole in it just large enough to go over the offending shop head. Tape it down tight and then when you grind with the dremel, ( I like the sanding discs myself) there will be very little chance to damage surrounding material. Center drill and remove like normal.Good luck. Just take your time.
 
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You can successfully drill them. The key is too insure that you do not drill beyond the thickness of the shop head and to drill as perfectly in the center of the shop head as possible. Take a pin punch and carefully snap the shop head off with light side pressure. If it does not easily pop off, stop and grind it off as mentioned.
Keep in mind, you drill as close to center as you can, but that does not mean it is in the center of the hole. Shop heads drift. So, make sure you do not drill any deeper than the shop head.
Never drill through a rivet to remove it, factory or shop head.
 
Drill It

How are you going to grind enough without getting into sheetmetal? Drill it just enough to pop the head off then punch it out.
 
DRILLING SHOP HEAD

Since the discussion is drilling from the shop head side of a the rivet for removal let me throw this one out. Is it possible to drill the rivet, so that you remove the entire rivet and then replace it with a larger rivet. An exaple would be if the the offending rivet is sandwiched between two layers of sheeting and you cant get the seperation needed to remove the finished head.
 
Possible, but very difficult. It is almost impossible to tell how far off center the shop head has drifted. You may end up with a significanly larger hole than you anticipate.
 
Carefully center punch the shop head.
Carefully drill with #40 to the top of the part.
Carefully enlarge with #31 to the top of the part.
Very carefully enlarge with #30 to the top of the part if needed.
Snap off the shop head with a 1/8 punch and remove rivet.
 
Drill the back side

Drill the back side #40 and chisel off the shop head. It only has to be weak enough to allow the chisel to work. The chisel needs to be ground almost like a wood chisel. Also round the corners and polish it. If should leave a mark no worse than scotch brite when dragged across metal. I do drill past the surface to relieve internal stresses on a rivet, BUT I don't use a nominal size, only undersize, and after the head (shop or factory ) is off so I can see what I am doing.
I have successfully removed thousands of rivets this way in all contitions, but what comes to mind is Cessna Caravan seat rails, Five of them about 16 feet long held in with #5 rivets @1.5", done with a 90 degree drill and a mirror. Whats funny is I can do that, but I have a really hard time pushing an airplane with a tug:D
 
Andrew M said:
Drill the back side #40 and chisel off the shop head. It only has to be weak enough to allow the chisel to work. The chisel needs to be ground almost like a wood chisel. Also round the corners and polish it. If should leave a mark no worse than scotch brite when dragged across metal. I do drill past the surface to relieve internal stresses on a rivet, BUT I don't use a nominal size, only undersize, and after the head (shop or factory ) is off so I can see what I am doing.
I have successfully removed thousands of rivets this way in all contitions, but what comes to mind is Cessna Caravan seat rails, Five of them about 16 feet long held in with #5 rivets @1.5", done with a 90 degree drill and a mirror. Whats funny is I can do that, but I have a really hard time pushing an airplane with a tug:D
Click to expand...

Andrew, I use your method as well, however, a word of caution to those that have not had the experience of removing thousands of rivets. Be very careful with the chisel method when removing a rivet that does not have solid structure under it, like overlapping .025 skins. It is really easy to bend the skin. If you have a longeron, spar cap, or something solid, the chisel method works great. To save time, I will use a larger diameter punch laid flat to do the same thing, just be careful not to gouge the skin.
 
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