How to Use a Craftsman Rivet Tool

A Craftsman rivet tool is a necessity when installing rivets into sheet metal.

Craftsman rivet tools come in a wide variety of styles, but all the styles operate the same way when installing rivets into sheet metal. With few moving parts, a Craftsman rivet tool is easy to maintain and only one part needs to be changed to install different-sized rivets. Learning the basics of how a rivet tool installs a rivet will aid you in successfully joining two or more pieces of sheet metal with rivets.

Things You'll Need

• 1/8-inch drill bit
• 3/8-inch drill motor
• Safety glasses
• 1/8-inch rivet

Instructions

1. Secure the 1/8-inch drill bit into the chuck of the 3/8-inch drill motor and don your safety glasses.

2. Drill a 1/8-inch hole through two pieces of sheet metal. Hold the drill motor steady as you drill and do not ream the hole, as this will cause the hole to enlarge and not hold the body of the rivet.

3. Slide the pin of the rivet. If the pin fits loose or does not fit, slide it into the opening of the rivet tool tip. Remove the wrench from the rear of the Craftsman rivet tool handle.

4. Place the hex end of the rivet tool wrench over the hex nut on the rivet tool tip and turn the wrench counterclockwise to remove the tip from the end of the rivet tool. Read the sizes marked on the rivet tool handle; remove and install the tip marked for 1/8 inch into the front of the rivet tool. Thread the tip you removed from the rivet tool into the properly marked threaded hole located on the rivet tool handle.

5. Install the properly-sized tip into the end of the Craftsman rivet tool and slide the pin of the rivet into the opening of the tip.

6. Push the body of the rivet into the 1/8-inch hole you drilled through the metal in Step 2, pull the handles of the Craftsman rivet tool together, release the handle and repeat until the body of the rivet pops free of the rivet pin.

7. Open the handles of the Craftsmen rivet tool to eject the rivet pin from the head of the Craftsman rivet tool.