How To Rivet Sheet Metal

After selecting the rivet size and placing the sheets the holes must be marked for drilling.

How to rivet sheet metal.

Clamp the sheet metal in place. First set the nose back from the joint about 0 032 1 32 the thickness of the sheet metal. Measure the grip range. Drill your rivet holes through every piece of material that will be riveted while the pieces are clamped securely together if the rivets are going to be installed into new locations.

Use the table below to determine the length of the blind rivet. Leah demonstrates how to use a pop riveter which is a great tool for attaching and repairing metal items of all types. How to rivet sheet metal step 1. The drill diameter depends on the type of rivet in the hole.

Use the box brake to bend the tabs 90 degrees. If there are already rivet holes clamp the pieces together and install your rivets. The tubular rivet body and the setting mandrel. These hole marks should be punched with a center punch just deep enough to start the drilling.

Insert a rivet into the hole. If the punch is too hard the mark will be too large and the metal will be distorted. The grip range corresponds to the total thickness of the materials being joined together. Blind rivets are made of two preassembled pieces.

The greater the diameter of the blind rivet the stronger the join. Next bend each tab making sure that the nose of the brake is right up against the bend line. Drill a 1 8 inch hole through one or more sheets of metal that need to be riveted up to 1 2 inch thick. Choose the appropriate rivet size and capacity for the project for example 1 8 inch diameter and 1 2 inch.

Both pieces are inserted into a hole and a special tool appropriately called a riveter is placed over the mandrel.