I Need Help Please...Please

I have a man issue that I need some help with. Ladies, please don’t turn away, you can help me by asking your husband.

I know what a rivet is. That is it. That is all I know about rivets.

My little boat is made of 72 different sized rivets, I know, I called.

One of my rivets that holds on the foam around the top of my boat failed while I was in Hilton Head, SC.

I called Porta-Bot and talked to the man himself, Sandy. He said it was rare to see that rivet fail and he would gladly send me a replacement rivet just for that particular application.

I got the rivet today and don’t know what the hell to do now. How do I extract the old one? How do I install the new one? I only have one rivet so I can’t practice.

Please gentlemen, share with me the secrets of rivets. I am clueless.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mark says, you have to drill the old rivet out. Then, figure out if it's a pop rivet. If so you need a pop rivet gun that squeezes it until it mushrooms out. If it's some other kind of rivet, there are special tools required, but he's betting it's a pop rivet. When you drill it out use a small drill bit, smaller than the hole. All you're doing is weakening the rivet and then take a screwdriver to "bust" one side of it off. Then something putting the new rivet through the hole and using the pop rivet gun to squeeze it on. The gun is about $20, he says. If you can post a picture, he says he can be more helpful.

Ken said...

If it's a Pop-rivet [looks like this alluminum thingy attached to a nail] you must purchase or borrow a Pop--rivet gun. Insert the nail part into the gun, jamb alliminum thingy into hole, pull trigger as many times as it needs to make it tight.
If it's a solid rivet [looks like a mushroom made of alluminum] your gonna need a "dolly" [heavy object to back the rivit] and a ballpeen hammer. Put rivit in, hold dolly against the head of the rivit and proceed to lightly tap the other end with the rounded side of the hammer.
Good luck on the solid rivit!

consultation fee: gallon of gas!

Reggie Hunnicutt said...

I guess it's a pop rivet...two parts.

MELackey said...

what they said...

Load up the vessel and come to Houston and I'll remove the old one and put the new one in for you. Lots of good places to cruise around here. We are called the "Bayou City"

Jay said...

Does Lowes rent tools? They might, if not there might be a place in town that will rent a pop rivet gun. Maybe a pawn shop will have one?

Anyway, you can also use a Dremel tool and grind the riven down until you can pull it out.

Unknown said...

Yes what they all said. That is exactly what I was coming in here to say as well :) :)

mr zig said...

Ah rivets - I love riveting (memories of my first job assembling delivery trucks) -

Michael said...

I've riveted a few things on my porta-bote... but not that one. I can't believe it came off after two or three uses.

Wikipedia lists several types of rivets: "There are a number of types of rivets, designed to meet different cost, accessibility, and strength requirements. These include solid rivets, blind rivets, multi-grip rivets, grooved rivets, peel type blind rivets, self-pierce rivets, plastic rivets, tubular rivets, etc."

Unfortunately, they only show pictures of solid and blind rivets. The type others have described as "pop" rivets are what wikipedia calls "blind" rivets, and those are the ones I've used. But if yours is two pieces, its something different. On my Origami, the rivets holding the foam on are rather large, and somewhat loose - they aren't compressed very tightly, because they would just rip through the foam.

The one they sent you is two pieces, sounds something like this 2 piece mate blind rivet. Take a look. If thats it, you'd fit both pieces through either end of the hole, so the one with the "mandrel" slides into the other piece, with the mandrel sticking out. Hold them together so its as tight as you want, then use a regular blind "pop" rivet gun to fasten them together.

To determine which one should go in which way, take a look at the other rivets holding the foam on.

Reggie Hunnicutt said...

Yes! It's a 2 Piece Mate Rivet exactly.

So a regular pop rivet gun will do?

Michael said...

Yep. It should work exactly as micky-t described, only you pass the end without the little nail-thingy through one side, and the one with the little nail-thingy slips into it from the other side. Then slide the rivet gun over the little nail-thingy and start squeezing.

TerryC said...

You guys are all so testicle...oh...ah mean technical with your talk of rivets and guns and tools and "thingies" and all....

Ah think ah might be swoonin' soon....

Liv said...

hmmm...man friend says not to ask him. 3 out of 4 boats have been smashed in tornado. rivets least of his worries...

:)