Looking for Rivet Tool recomendation

[jvfitz]

Hi Guys, I am new to this FF Forum. I have a MK4 kit on order and I am currently checking out my tool supply. I need a rivet tool. Any recommendations? Any thoughts about pneumatic vrs battery power?

[Alan_C]

The pneumatic rivet guns work reasonably well. I bought mine from Jegs but all the automotive sites sell something similar. While the battery powered models seem neat as there would be not hose to drag around, their cost would be an issue. If you have a compressed air supply, the pneumatic guns are far cheaper.

[Mike.Bray]

Welcome to the fun!

This is my rivet tool. Her name is Rosy:)

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20220811163636mediumrotated.jpg


Seriously, the rivets FFR supplies with the kit have aluminum stems so they pull easy. Or I have stronger forearms than I thought. I have a cheap HF pneumatic gun but by the time I fire up the compressor and pull the hose for it I'm already done by using my manual gun. I've only used it once, on the Breeze front battery mount on the 3/16" all stainless steel rivets he supplies.

[Jeff Kleiner]

I’m with Mike on the pneumatic riveter. Cumbersome, often difficult to position and dragging the hose around is a PIA. I used it for maybe 50% of the rivets on the first car, only a handful on the second car just to verify that I didn’t like it and every car since has been done by hand. I wound up giving it to someone on the other forum years ago when he was planning to buy one. Have never tried one of the battery operated ones but suspect that I’d have similar complaints except for the hose. As for the hand riveter I have one (maybe Rigid???) that I’ve been been using for 30+ Years for thousands of 1/8 and 3/16 rivets!

Jeff

[skidd]

I did my entire car with a manual rivet gun.
it was fine. You don't do enough rivets at the same time that you need to "power" rivet guns.
I happen to have the Tekton 6555 gun. Worked fine.
In hind-site I wish I had one with a pivoting head for the tight corners though.

[Dieter123]

The one I got was from Harbor Freight Item #93458.
The only thing I had issues with was when I tried using the 1/8 inch rivet nosepiece,,,, rivet stems kept getting stuck. Returned the gun and the same thing happened on with the 2nd one.
I used the 3/16 nosepiece for both size rivets and there was no compromise to effectiveness or quality the whole way through the build.
Also had a hand riveter with a pivot head to tight areas.

[Chopper]

I agree, I have a manual and a pneumatic (not so slick on my part). Sure, for some of the big panels for the pneumatic is a little faster. However, the manual one is what I used for probably 85% of the build, and if I did it again I wouldn't bother with the pneumatic. Even with the collection "jar" removed the pneumatic one is cumbersome. It's also a lot easier to set a handful of rivets with the manual one than bothering to fire up the compressor, etc. Aluminum rivets, especially these sizes, are easy to pull. If they were all stainless, maybe that would be different...

-Brandon

[Otee453]

Milwaukee M12 rivet gun is nice. Expensive, but if you have other uses for it, it might be worth the investment. It is larger though and I still used a manual riveter in various tight clearance areas.

[Ted G]

I bought a pneumatic rivet gun and have used it very little. The best place to use it is on the cockpit floor as there is a lot of rivets and a lot of room to use the gun. Otherwise, a hand rivet tool (good one) is likely used much more. Plus, it makes your forearms look bad ***!!

[JohnK]

I used the Astro Pneumatic riveter (https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-PR14-Riveter/dp/B000MQ9H4W/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=GRKCSUHHRQ78&keywords=pneumatic+rivet+gun&qid=1661446181&sprefix=pneumatic+rivet%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1) from Amazon. You do need a source of compressed air, and yes the hose can be cumbersome at times but I'd still recommend it (or something like it). I used Summit Ultimate Rivets for my build instead of the FFR-supplied rivets, as I like the larger head and wider grip range of the rivets. The Summit rivets have an aluminum body and a steel nail so using the pneumatic riveter on them saved a lot of wear and tear on my office-hardened hands. There were some spots that were too tight to use the pneumatic riveter and I had to pull those by hand, and I can't imagine doing that for every rivet on every panel.

[Avalanche325]

I did all manual. A swivel head one is nice for tight spaces. I got mine at an Ace Hardware.

Like this:
https://arrowfastener.com/tool/rht300/

[F500guy]

I have a Pneumatic HF gun, and hand rivet gun, air compressor is mounted in my shop controlled on a light switch with flex line that stretches about 10 feet, Turn on/plug in and go. Great for steel rivets over 1/8 inch, I use both depending on the situation. It is nice to have 20 rivets lined up and go...done in 2 minutes with a pneumatic, and it pulls them tight. I am not a big fan of Aluminum rivets unless they are in a bonded panel, they wiggle over time and loosen up more than Stainless.

[edwardb]

Lots of opinions and experiences. Just depends on what you want and are willing to spend. I did a build pulling them all my hand. OK, especially for 1/8" and 3/16" aluminum rivets. But is a workout. For the next build, started using higher strength steel and SS rivets occasionally and found I couldn't usually pull the 3/16" ones by hand. Turned in my man card and bought a Campbell Hausfeld pneumatic gun. I had heard several negative reports on the H-F, so paid a little more. Used it for a couple builds and no complaints. Yes, dragging the hose around is slightly inconvenient. But for me anyway an easy trade-off. Easily pulled even the most heavy duty rivets and made short work of the volume of rivets required for these builds. When the Milwaukee M12 Rivet Tool 2550 came out, and I heard good reports, picked one up. (I'm a Milwaukee tool fan...) The pneumatic one stayed in the box after that. It works great and I highly recommend it. Battery life is amazing even with the smaller battery. I also put it to good use for household projects, like the suspended ceiling in our basement. This will probably get some dissenting opinions, but at least in my experience the powered pullers are more consistent setting rivets than doing them by hand.

[Wayne r mckee]

I found a Milwaukee m12 rivet gun on Facebook marketplace for $75 works great

[Papa]

I'll say that I really liked the pneumatic rivet tool for 99% of the rivets on my build. I put a swivel connector for the air connection and it made getting rivets easy. I think I only had a few that I wasn't able to get to and needed the annual tool.

Pop Rivet Gun, Air Rivet Gun, 2000 pounds Pulling Power (Campbell Hausfeld CL153900AV),Black https://a.co/d/2BlCHPX

[racingandfishing]

Lots of opinions and experiences. Just depends on what you want and are willing to spend. I did a build pulling them all my hand. OK, especially for 1/8" and 3/16" aluminum rivets. But is a workout. For the next build, started using higher strength steel and SS rivets occasionally and found I couldn't usually pull the 3/16" ones by hand.

I bought the M12 for my upcoming build after reading about it in your threads (though have to admit I am also a Milwaukee fan) and looking forward to using it.

I do have questions around the rivets and when to use aluminum vs. steel vs. stainless steel. I had read that using anything other than aluminum on aluminum could lead to corrosion and/or staining issues - not sure if that is true. Also, besides the obvious strength differences, guessing that plain steel would be used if being painted over vs. the more expensive stainless.

Anyway, interested to hear what decision points are used to decide one vs. the other.

[F500guy]

I personally prefer stainless on any thing that is meant to never come apart and is exposed to any elements and stress members, they are tough to drill out. Any thing that is semi-removable in the future for up grades or changes would use Aluminum. I have never seen the stainless rivets discolor any Aluminum, even though the mandrel is often plain steel with the outer being stainless. Not sure about potential for galvanic corrosion, but my limited metallurgy and experience has not seen any in my 15 year racing time. And, I have not yet built one of these cars, but as I look thru these build treads, I am thinking firewall and maybe foot box to frame, rear cockpit wall to frame would be a good place for stainless for maximum strength. I believe if there is any possibility of winter driving, wheel wells would be good for stainless. Cost, yes the stainless is more expensive, but in the big picture of one of these builds, that is measurable in dollars, not hundreds of dollars. Aluminum rivets are nice to get oversized heads so you can spread the load or cover an oversized hole that maybe you mis-drilled. You can also get good stainless rivets with tapered head for counter sinking if you wanted a flush finish. Again, I have not yet built one, but reviewed build threads and thinking what I may do different when I get the chance. And for maximum strength or coverage of an oversized hole, or clamping to fiberglass, backing washers can be helpfull

[Avalanche325]

You guys are over thinking it. The aluminum rivets have been used since FFR made their first car. None of them have had the panels fall off in the street, or on the racetrack for that matter. None of the aluminum panels are structural.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Used a pneumatic rivet tool & alloy rivets for just about every rivet in the car. Very small handful that the tool could not reach were done with a hand power tool. No issues with firing up the compressor, just flip the on switch & its good to go.

Astro Pneumatic Tool PR14 Air Riveter

Also was use to build two other cars (not mine). I got it from Amazon in 2013 for about $50.

[racingandfishing]

With all due respect, I don't think I am over thinking it...I'm just leaning into others expertise to understand all aspects of the build and the choices...Yes right down to the rivets!

I see it like when I gutted and remodeled my kitchen and bathrooms and did all of the work. For me, I don't do this for a living, so I had to research everything and the consequences or benefits of every choice and how to incorporate them into the overall design.

In the end, I know a contractor would have made different choices, but it's my home and I wanted better than builder grade. Same here, I want better than factory grade (if that is possible) by someone who hasn't built a car before!

[F500guy]

You guys are over thinking it. The aluminum rivets have been used since FFR made their first car. None of them have had the panels fall off in the street, or on the racetrack for that matter. None of the aluminum panels are structural.

May have been accused of that once, or twice....:p Not really worried about panels falling off, it is the other stuff that takes a tube frame to the next level.

[Rockman]

I used an Astro Pneumatic rivet tool for about 90% of the rivets and pulled the remainder by hand (usually in hard to reach places). I strongly recommend a Pneumatic Rivet tool. You should get in the habit of de-burring all drilled holes. You can use a simple hand-held de-burring tool or even a drill bit of a larger size than being drilled. De-Burr by hand only, NOT IN A DRILL, and do not enlarge the hole you drilled.

[Blue Viking]

I am very glad I purchased a pneumatic rivet gun. It made light work of those panels with a lot of rivets. One benefit I haven't seen mentioned: I tend to slip sideways when the stud snaps, sometimes scratching the panel, especially with steel rivets. With the pneumatic gun i feel i have more control, less of a chance that I scratch my powder coated panels. For my next build (hopefully) i would probably get a battery powered gun though.

[edwardb]

I bought the M12 for my upcoming build after reading about it in your threads (though have to admit I am also a Milwaukee fan) and looking forward to using it.

I do have questions around the rivets and when to use aluminum vs. steel vs. stainless steel. I had read that using anything other than aluminum on aluminum could lead to corrosion and/or staining issues - not sure if that is true. Also, besides the obvious strength differences, guessing that plain steel would be used if being painted over vs. the more expensive stainless.

Anyway, interested to hear what decision points are used to decide one vs. the other.

For the 1/8" rivets, the kit provided aluminum ones are fine. They pull easily by hand or with a power tool. I've occasionally used "Ultimate rivets" from Summit Racing because they have a larger head and are "multi-grip" meaning the same rivets fit a wide variation in thicknesses. Plus a big box of them is cheap. Much better than the little packages of pop rivets sold at the local hardware or big box store. The downside is the back crushed side can get pretty ugly. So I only use them where that's hidden, e.g. into a frame tube. For 3/16" rivets, again the kit ones are fine. But for places where I want something with a higher strength, I've used this style https://www.mcmaster.com/98777A211/. Available in several thickness ranges. They're roughly twice the shear strength of aluminum rivets. But don't try to pull them by hand. At least I can't. I've used them to mount various brackets or whatever. Also the brake line tabs on the four corners. Necessary? Almost for sure not. But I still like them. The only place I've used SS rivets https://www.mcmaster.com/98780A212/ was on the firewall of my truck build. For appearance reasons. Again, for me requires a power tool. They're tough.

I've never seen any evidence of galvanic corrosion or staining on my builds. These builds have been putting aluminum rivets into a steel frame for many years and I've never heard of any issues. Doesn't mean it can't happen. But seems to not be an issue. There are corrosion inhibitor products that the rivets could be dipped in before installing. But haven't heard of that here or seen anyone recommend it.

[rthomas98]

I used hand pump rivet guns myself for everything. My next build for sure a milwaukee rivet gun is in my future. But I use two different types small swivel head for the hard to reach areas and then large twin handle for 3/16 rivets and easier places that I got at harbor freight. It makes those effortless. https://www.harborfreight.com/17-12-in-hand-riveter-with-collection-bottle-58612.html?_br_psugg_q=rivet+gun

As far the rivets I used the ones that came with the kit. I also had to buy some additional due to some modifications that I made I ran out. You will also want to make sure your guns can handle 3/16 stainless as breeze automotive usually includes those in with there stuff (IE front mount battery tray). The other thing is how are you treating the panels? I would highly recommend using pneumatic or electric if you aren't powder coating. The hand ones tend to jump and leave marks if you aren't careful.

[BrewCityCobra]

I did my entire car with a manual rivet gun.
it was fine. You don't do enough rivets at the same time that you need to "power" rivet guns.
I happen to have the Tekton 6555 gun. Worked fine.
In hind-site I wish I had one with a pivoting head for the tight corners though.

I'm the same here. I purchased a pneumatic gun from harbor freight and used it once (for the stainless rivets in the Breeze battery relocation kit), otherwise the body rivets are no problem to do manually. I had a DeWalt manual unit with the pivoting head and could get to all the rivets no problem.

[RoadRacer]

I wanted to want a power tool, but just did them all with the hand one.

[neilkuy]

I have a handful of the following new in box.
I am in West Michigan. PM me if interested

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Heavy-Swivel-Riveter-6-Inch/dp/B012I63GYU%3Fsource%3Dps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext%26ref_%3Dfplfs%26psc%3D1%26smid%3DA37KLP QG0QTZGU&ved=2ahUKEwjlm8Cgz_z5AhWsrYkEHaD7DdQQjOwHegQIERAN&usg=AOvVaw23UJZ2xMcN4PVPZUO3nG-3

[toadster]

lots available on Amazon, I have one similar to this - can't imaging the build without it to be honest! Easy to maintain and quick switching of sizes too

Astro Pneumatic Tool PR14 Air Riveter (https://amzn.to/3KPWDba)172010 (https://amzn.to/3KPWDba)

[RBachman]

Milwaukee cordless all the way.

[toadster]

Milwaukee cordless all the way.

I'd agree, if you're a Milwaukee tool person - I had just switched from Ryobi to Dewalt or I would have done the Milwaukee one ;)

[Doenut]

The Milwaukee M12 Rivet gun is Da Bomb

[Tooth]

As soon as I'm done with my Milwaukee it will be for sale on here. Just gonna be a while. Beats the crap out of the hand tool. :cool:

[ggunter]

I love my pneumatic riveter. When you have arthritis in your hands nothing beats it. Installing a swivel briddle hose makes it a bit easier then fighting a standard shop hose in tight places. Some real tight places you just have to use a hand riveter.

[first time builder]

My air powered one came from Harbor Freight, works great and my hand gun is a WETOLS Rivet Gun, Google it on amazon, like 20 $ and best hand gun I have ever owned. I have thrown away probably 5 or 6 of the other ones. I alsohave a Monster sized gun for doing the BIG rivets inside older American car doors.

[drewr]

Buy a hand tool, pop a few rivets and see what you think. You'll need the hand tool in any case as the pneumatic or power tool is hard to get into some places. I'm well into my Type 65 build and do not find the hand tool hard to use. You go a section at a time. Any money you save on fancy tools can go to toward part upgrades or the million other things you didn't realize you needed.