| Author |
Message |
patrickyoung
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 9:42 am: | |
Does anyoneknow the best way to remove rivets without damageing the thingtyhat is riverted? I need to take off the licenxe plate bracket/holder on a Gillig bus, and instead of screws, they have what appears to be a bunch of rivets. they may be pop rivets, but there isn't an obvious indentation in each one in the center like a pop rivet. they just look smooth on the top.
Thanks
Patrick |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 9:58 am: | |
sounds like a rivet and not a pop rivet...centerpunch & drill |
mel 4104
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 10:52 am: | |
as TD says they could be rivits OR they could be pop rivits with caps, try center punching the center of one the use a small drill and drill the center to see if is solid or if there is the core of the pop rivit there if it is solid then just drill the head off flush with the sheeting, if it has a core of a pop rivit then you will have to center drill the heads and then punch back the shank and the sue a larger drill to remove the head . once the heads are off the use a punch just a little smaller than the rivit and punch them out. hope this helps. |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 11:01 am: | |
More Accurately,
Center punch carefully (start with a small dimple and then angle the punch as you tap lightly to make you are centered) and drill with a numerical size drill one step smaller than the rivet shank diameter.
When you drill, (good variable speed drill motor and sharp drill bit) line up first then, keeping the drill still, back away and look at the drill from two angles 90 deg from eachother to make sure you're perpendicular to the skin before you start drilling. Go slow on the start to make sure you don't "walk" the bit off center. If you do, angle the drill back towards the center with short drill bursts and straighten for the final shot.
Then, use a pin punch to pop the shank loose from the head.
Can't emphasize enough the need to be centered and straight!
With practice this speeds up and as you get better/faster you frequently will find that advanced penetration rates of the drill will tear the head loose from the shank, eliminating the need for the pin punch, but don't count on this, it's more important to NOT enlarge the hole! |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 11:02 am: | |
Mel, you posted while I was responding to 2Ds
Marc |
Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 11:20 am: | |
I find it's easier to stay centered by first drilling with a very small drill using Marc's techniques, to make a pilot hole, then follow it with the bigger drill size as Marc mentions. Smaller drill have less tendency to wander in situations like this...
And thanks 2dogs, for your excellent information and help on the subject. |
gusc
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 6:59 pm: | |
To add to what the others have said, standard aircraft practice is if you drill below the bottom of the rivet head the drill should be one number smaller than the rivet shank size. |
jimmci9 #2
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 7:11 pm: | |
whats wrong with using a die grinder type cut-off wheel and "shaving " the head????....it takes a little practice, but lots quicker.... and you don't have to worry about off-center drilling...and you can still center-punch the remaining rivet piece out...i used a 6" grinder to cut off the phillips head screws/bolts that held the chair rail, next to the wall on my mci9..... the heat from the grinding helped loosen the part of the bolt that was left....on some, i just ground it flush.... |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 18, 2005 - 12:06 pm: | |
Using a die grinder poses the very real possibility (and probability) of at least nicking the surface your working on, i.e., polished stainless. |
gusc
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 18, 2005 - 9:15 pm: | |
It's just about impossible to grind a head off without grinding the base metal. Once the polish is gone it is a lot of work getting it back. Also, after grinding you can't tell where the rivet head ends and the shank beginss so you can punch the shank out.
If you really want to grind make the first ones in an inconspicious place. Don't say we didn't warn you! |