Need help with hand rivet gun - need larger nose piece.

[ptgarcia]

I'm reassembling my motorcycle muffler after a repack and all the nose pieces on my borrowed cheap Dorman hand riveter from Autozone are too small for the stainless steel rivets provided. I measured the stem (is that what it's called?) on the stainless rivets and they are 0.128". I measured the stem on the largest Dorman rivets and they are 0.114". Anyone know if I can just grab a larger nose piece for the Dorman? Or do I need to track down a rivet gun that will work? None that I have seen online specify what size stem they can accommodate.

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[The Cobbler]

are you saying the mandrel ( the center that pulls the rivet open) is .128? or 1/8"
I would think that should be a common size , maybe 3/16 rivet size?
are there other mandrels attached to the rivet gun you're using?

 

[The Cobbler]

I just measured my pneumatic gun nose pcs and a 1/8" drill bit fits loosely into the largest nose cone which I suspect is for a 1/4" rivet

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, a 1/4" stainless pop rivet would be a bear to pull with a cheap rivet gun

 

[6PTsocket]

I just found a spec. chart

Rivet dia. Mandrel dia.
3/32. .057
1/8. .076
5/32. .095
3/16 .114
1/4. .151

What is the diameter of those rivets? They appear to fall between 3/16 and 1/4, based on the mandrel size. Metric? Before tools were as available as they are now, we made a 1/4" nosepice from a bolt to pop 1/4" rivets with a 3/16 max gun. You had to be King Kong to do it but it worked for the few rivets I had to pop and the gun survived. As the mandrel gets thicker, the nosepiece not only has a bigger hole but is also longer to spread the jaws wider. You can try a 1/4 gun, with the nose piece loosened a little. You can get a spare 3/16 nosepiece for the Dorman and drill it. It might take a tap to push the mandrel in or you can see what size falls between 3/16 and 1/4. I'll bet it's metric. See what tooling is available. Easiest solution is to get new rivets.

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[ptgarcia]

So the mandrel measures 0.128", not 1/8", and I'm pretty sure they are 3/16" rivets. They could be metric since they came from Yoshimura so maybe they're 5mm (does that size exist?). I'm good with buying the appropriate tool (like the XL riveter from Astro or maybe the Milwaukee electric riveter), I just want to make sure it fits before I do.

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[6PTsocket]

Did you look at the chart? No US size rivet has a 1/8 or a .128 mandrel. The tools you are asking about are not sized for metric, either. Google something like " metric blind rivets" Mike the rivets and see what size they are. Then look for tooling for metric rivets. There should be no guess work involved. They are not widely used here so you are going to have to do your own research. Metric nutserts are a lot more common.

So the mandrel measures 0.128", not 1/8", and I'm pretty sure they are 3/16" rivets. They could be metric since they came from Yoshimura so maybe they're 5mm (does that size exist?). I'm good with buying the appropriate tool (like the XL riveter from Astro or maybe the Milwaukee electric riveter), I just want to make sure it fits before I do.

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[ptgarcia]

I looked at the chart, and I looked at metric charts, too. According to one metric chart I found I have 4.8mm rivets (verified by measurement), which should have 3.0mm mandrels. Mine measure 3.25mm. I think before I purchase anything I'll place a call to Yoshimura and see what they say.

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[6PTsocket]

I'll tell you why the mandrel is wrong. The 4.8mm is just a metric conversion of 3/16" and the mandrel size is just a metric conversion of a normal 3/16 mandrel, which is .114". It is not a special metric size but you have an oddball. It is a 3/16 rivet with an oversize mandrel. I would be interested in what the manufacturer says. It might be to get you to use their tooling. Regardless of what they say, you still have to find some way to pull them. How many do you have to install? There are replacement nose pieces for many guns. I would get a decent moderate price gun that you can get nose pieces for, like AP and just drill out the extra 3/16 nose piece and see how it goes. Get a 2 handed "bolt cutter" style. 3/16 stainless is the upper limit for one handed guns. In any event, you will have a decent pop rivet gun whether it works for this or not. I have little doubt that it will be a problem.

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[ptgarcia]

I'll tell you why the mandrel is wrong. The 4.8mm is just a metric conversion of 3/16" and the mandrel size is just a metric conversion of a normal 3/16 mandrel, which is .114". It is not a special metric size but you have an oddball. It is a 3/16 rivet with an oversize mandrel. I would be interested in what the manufacturer says. It might be to get you to use their tooling. Regardless of what they say, you still have to find some way to pull them. How many do you have to install? There are replacement nose pieces for many guns. I would get a decent moderate price gun that you can get nose pieces for, like AP and just drill out the extra 3/16 nose piece and see how it goes. Get a 2 handed "bolt cutter" style. 3/16 stainless is the upper limit for one handed guns. In any event, you will have a decent pop rivet gun whether it works for this or not. I have little doubt that it will be a problem.

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Contacted Yoshimura and they say:

"The size of the Rivets are .1875DIA .059-.138GR. As for the rivet gun, the guys here use a pneumatic one. I would take the rivets to a hardware/tool shop to match it up or tell them the size of the rivets."

These are weird dimensions that I haven't found a match for in any table. They're clearly 3/16" but the grip range doesn't match anything. I could always buy replacements in a standard size (I think a #64 will work fine) but I only have 16 rivets to set and prefer not to buy 100+ rivets at a cost of nearly $50 to replacing perfectly good rivets. I think I'll contact Astro and see if they have anything that may work. I can always try drilling out a 3/16" nose piece.

 

[2oolhound]

It sounds like something that should be reamed instead of drilled but they cost $35 or so. The Astro kit might be the best option.

 

[6PTsocket]

I don't know where you are pricing rivets. 6- 4 stainless rivets are on ebay sold each or in packs of 25 for $4.25 plus shipping. Buy a half way decent pop rivet gun and new rivets and be done with it. As far as reaming nose pieces that is ultimate overkill. It is super noncritical. I have used oversized nose pieces with a washer on the mandrel. The nosepiece has to be the right length to set the jaws and any approximation of the right size hole will work. This is not a precision operation.

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[ptgarcia]

I don't know where you are pricing rivets. 6- 4 stainless rivets are on ebay sold each or in packs of 25 for $4.25 plus shipping. Buy a half way decent pop rivet gun and new rivets and be done with it. As far as reaming nose pieces that is ultimate overkill. It is super noncritical. I have used oversized nose pieces with a washer on the mandrel. The nosepiece has to be the right length to set the jaws and any approximation of the right size hole will work. This is not a precision operation.

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After more looking I found cheaper rivets, but there are places wanting nearly $1 per rivet. Fastenal and the like want $0.38 or so for each or $40 per bag. No matter, I have it handled now. Thanks for the help.