How to Replace a Pop Rivet With a Fastener
Removing a pop rivet and replacing it with a threaded fastener is a straightforward procedure, as long as the fastener is larger in diameter than the installed pop rivet. The pop rivet must be removed from the base material before you insert the fastener, to ensure that the fastener is holding in the base material and not the sleeve of the pop rivet. If the fastener tightens in the pop rivet, the fastener can slip from the base material and cause damage or injury in the case of structural fasteners. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- Drill bit set
- Drill motor
- Selection of fasteners
- Screw tip adapter set
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Instructions
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Put on your safety glasses.
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Select a drill bit from the drill bit set and compare the size of the drill bit to the size of the pop rivet. The drill bit must be at least 1/32 inch larger than the center depression of the pop rivet. (You need not have a drill bit the size of the large pop rivet flange.)
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Insert and secure the drill bit in the chuck of the drill motor.
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Align the tip of the drill bit with the center opening of the pop rivet and pump the trigger of the drill motor to drill into the pop rivet. Do not hold the trigger--many pop rivets are stainless steel and will melt the end of the drill bit due to heat build-up.
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Rotate the drill motor in a large elliptical pattern to ensure that you drill out the entire shaft of the pop rivet. Stop drilling when the pop rivet flange becomes free of the surface material.
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Select a fastener with a shaft diameter slightly larger than the hole left by the pop rivet in the base material.
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Remove the drill bit from the drill motor and place a screw tip adapter that matches the fastener into the chuck of the drill motor.
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Thread the fastener into the pop rivet hole with the drill motor. Stop threading the fastener when the head of the fastener rests tight to the surface of the base material to avoid stripping the fastener's threads.
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