Information on How to Pop Rivets

Pop riveting sheet metal together is time-saving and convenient.

Pop riveting is an effective way of joining two pieces of sheet metal or plastic together. This operation is essential to many manufacturing industries because of its low installation costs and reliability. Pop rivets are quicker to install than regular nuts and bolts, they are vibration proof, they have high clamping strengths and they can be used when the back of the workpiece is inaccessible. Pop rivets are available in a variety of head styles including a low profile dome head, a countersunk head and a large flange head for fastening soft or brittle material together.

Things You'll Need

• Drill bit
• Hand-held power drill
• Drill press (optional)
• Pop rivet clamp
• Pop rivets
• Pop rivet pliers

Instructions

1. Drill the proper-sized hole (generally, slightly larger than the rivet) in both pieces of material with a regular drill bit and a hand-held power drill or drill press. Clamp the two pieces together by inserting a pop rivet clamp through the holes. Tighten the clamp to draw the material together.

2. Drill the remaining holes to be riveted. Hold the materials together with a pop rivet clamp as you progress.

3. Load a pop rivet into the chuck of a pair of pop rivet pliers by inserting the pin protruding from the head of the pop rivet into the matching hole in the chuck.

4. Remove the first clamp, then insert the head of the pop rivet through the holes. Squeeze the handles of the pliers together. This deforms the end of the rivet, squeezing the material together until the rivet pin breaks off. Repeat by progressively removing the pop rivet clamps and riveting the rest of the pre-drilled material together.

Tips & Warnings

• Hold the pop rivet pliers at a 90-degree angle to the material to be joined. Make sure the pop rivet flange is flush against the material before squeezing the handles together.

• Wear safety glasses throughout the drilling and riveting operation.

• Use workman's gloves when handling sheet metal.

References

• Bay Fastening Systems: The Advantages of using POP Rivets
• Technology Student: Pop Riveting
• Emhart Technologies: Blind Pop Rivets
• Hansen Rivet: Riveting clamps