Your go to bar?

[ghostflyer]

For a good rivet gun I went to craftsman [sears] and bought a gun from them ,then it was off to aero harbor freight to buy a flow/pressure reducer for about $10 bucks and screwed in the airline entry at the end of the gun. This controls the guns hammering. Be warned it can really buck a rivet hard. It takes a little getting used to but will buck any rivet. Any rivet mandrel and spring will fit. Plus found the craftsman springs the best.

[edbooth]

For a good rivet gun I went to craftsman [sears] and bought a gun from them ,then it was off to aero harbor freight to buy a flow/pressure reducer for about $10 bucks and screwed in the airline entry at the end of the gun. This controls the guns hammering. Be warned it can really buck a rivet hard. It takes a little getting used to but will buck any rivet. Any rivet mandrel and spring will fit. Plus found the craftsman springs the best.

I beg to differ, but IMHO this is like using a sledge hammer for watch repair. For good metal work you need a gun that has a good teasing trigger. That is, you can precisely control each beat of the gun. Even guns of the same manufacturer are not created equal. I went through several guns before I found one to my liking. Air pressure control is also critical....go from setting 3/16 rivets to 3/32 rivets without adjusting the pressure down and see what happens.

[gfeher]

Thanks Ed and Ghostflyer. Ed, Any suggestions on make and/or model? I haven't bucked rivets in ages, so I haven't used any current models. I don't have a project in mind (yet) but I'm thinking about getting a 3x to play with and get my skills back up. What prompted this was I saw that ATS has a bunch of guns on sale now. So it got me thinking. But I have no idea about the quality of their guns.

If anyone else has any recommendations, please don't hesitate to chime in.

[edbooth]

Thanks Ed and Ghostflyer. Ed, Any suggestions on make and/or model? I haven't bucked rivets in ages, so I haven't used any current models. I don't have a project in mind (yet) but I'm thinking about getting a 3x to play with and get my skills back up. What prompted this was I saw that ATS has a bunch of guns on sale now. So it got me thinking. But I have no idea about the quality of their guns.

If anyone else has any recommendations, please don't hesitate to chime in.

Hi Gene, there are a lot of good guns out there, ATS, Sioux, Chicago pneumatic, etc. The one I have used for about the last 25 years is an ATS Pro 3X. It just feels right and does the job for me. I have a regulator on the compressor and the small one on the gun. You might check with "The Yard" in Wichita, KS. Sometimes they have good deals on used guns. I bought a lot of stuff from them (clecos, nut plate drilling fixtures, micrometers, bucking bars, drill bits, etc) when I was living in Kansas a few years ago. It's a great place to browse through. They aquire a lot of surplus from the aviation industry around there.

[gfeher]

Thanks Ed. Good info. I am considering the ATS Pro 3X so I'm glad to hear that you like it. I've seen The Yard on the Internet. It does seem like a good resource. Thanks again.

[bagarre]

Next up...rivet guns

Dave, Just curious. Did you settle on a rivet gun?

https://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/deta ... T_ID=2602A
My dad and several other folks said its a very good first guy that will do everything I'm looking to do.

Got that one but haven't had a chance to use it.

Long story short: while on vacation in Italy, I herniated my back New Year's Day.
Got an MRI and Spent the next two weeks on massive meds to survive a direct flight to the states.
Ambulance to Rome, Nonstop to JFK, ambulance to ER, surgery last night. Hell of a ride but they think they will release me today to hang out in a hotel for a few days before strong enough to make the trip back to DC.

[gfeher]

Dave, I'm really sorry to hear that about your back. I'm a tall guy and I had a herniated disk about 20 years ago, so I know how bad it is. You have my sympathy. I had to learn how to do things differently after that. But you get through it. Get well.

[DWood]

David
Get well soon !
Dan

[bagarre]

David
Get well soon !
Dan

Thanks. Resting up in a hotel for a few days now. Glad to be walking again but right leg strength says no tailwheel for a while. Good thing I have a new rivet gun and a project to play with.
Cheers

[edbooth]

David
Get well soon !
Dan

Thanks. Resting up in a hotel for a few days now. Glad to be walking again but right leg strength says no tailwheel for a while. Good thing I have a new rivet gun and a project to play with.
Cheers

Wow talk about a vacation to remember..... Glad your doing better now David.

[cessna170bdriver]

I think you'll be happy with the ATS gun, David. I bought an entire kit with gun, bars, and sets from ATS in the early 80's. I put a few drops of light oil in the air fitting when I think about it, and it's still going strong 30+ years later. The teasing trigger is sensitive enough that you can get one beat at a time out of it if you need to tap in a tight-fitting rivet. On the other end of the spectrum, I've set short 3/16 AD rivets to seal tooling holes in the RV fuel tank end ribs with it.

I will second Ed's recommendation to get a small in-line regulator for it. I leave the regulator at the compressor set at 90psi, which is good for the drill, die grinder, and squeezer, but you DO NOT want to set anything other than 3/16 rivets at that pressure. I've read many horror stories of guys who just KNEW they'd gone back and set the compressor reg for a 3/32 rivet and ended up ordering new parts. I look at the gauge on the in-line reg every time I pick up the rivet gun.

[DaveF]

What pressure do you use for -3 and -4 rivets?

[canav8]

Dave because gauges lie, do not use a set pressure. take a bunch of rivets in scrap material and see what it takes. I use a 150psi system and I regulate the air down to 90psi to the gun and then run the regulator on the gun as necessary. You should make 1 1/2 diameter rivet in about 1/2 second. the object is to do it in one shot not touching the shop head several times because of work hardening. practice before you do it on your real work. Also look on you tube for riviting. some homebuilder will show the process. It is not hard. Good luck D

[cessna170bdriver]

+1 on the lying gauges, though they should be fairly repeatable. After replacing my inline regulator (after dropping it at least once too many times ), I had to learn a whole new set of numbers. When you practice, start with around 30 or so for -3 AD rivets, and around 45 for -4's, and work from there. You'll find that you will have to raise the pressure somewhat for longer rivets.

[DaveF]

Thanks, I'll give those pressures a try. My last practice session resulted in a nice collection of overdriven shop heads and smiles on the manufactured head. I think I ran the compressor at 80 psi. I want to get this right because I have some new seat rails waiting for installation.

My hangar co-owner built a nice F-1 Rocket from plans, but like many guys who have driven thousands of rivets, he has such a good feel for the gun and bar that he stopped looking at the pressure gauge a long time ago. His advice was something like "drive ten thousand rivets and you'll get pretty good at it!"