Rivetshaver?

[marioD]

i met a guy at a carshow who owns an airstreamer and wants to have some additional panels done. He told me about 'special pop rivets' that the company uses that are modified with some tooling afterwards so they look like solid rivets. I did some search on www.airstream.com and found a tool called a rivetshaver (see pic) but wonder how that works. It looks like it is to be used with a drilling machine to 'mill' the rivethead.

http://www.speedlook.de/images/rivet_shaver_200.jpg

Anybody used this before or knows how it works?

Mario

[Renee n Jerry Conrad]

Called a 'microstop'. I generally just chuck mine up in a hand drill but you can use it in a drill press too. It takes a special cutter to shave rivets, like a countersink only flat. Probably need to loosen the locking collar first (it just unscrews). Usually pull the end apart from the body and turn to adjust by .001 for depth of cut. The cutters just screw in, there's a hole probably, to stick a scribe or something into so you can get torque on it without hurting anything.

You can get the tool and cutters here from The Yard, (tool) http://www.yardstore.com/index.cfm?action=ViewDetails&ItemID=112 (cutters) http://www.yardstore.com/index.cfm

Nice toy. Works for countersinking to a consistant depth too. Never tried one on pop-rivets. We just support the head and smack the shop-head (the end that we form, vs the head the rivet came with) with a hammer to achieve a fairly uniform appearance, where that matters. You might experiment and see how that works for you?

I've enjoyed your rivet tooling!

:)

Renée

[Renee n Jerry Conrad]

I took pictures.

http://www.metalmeet.com/photopost/data/4031/microstop1.JPG


http://www.metalmeet.com/photopost/data/4031/microstop2.jpg

Just turn on the drill and try to apply even pressure so the resulting cut is square to the world - practice helps. I keep several of them around, with different piloted countersinks in 'em set to the standard depth for that size rivet.

I'd still try the hammer first...

Renée

[Gonejunking]

Mario

We use the rivet shavers every day, but not on "POP" rivet's, it's used on solid rivets. They are used on aircraft to shave down rivet heads that stick up above the "SKIN" surface, so they are flushwith the skin, and do not create extra drag!

I can't see how you could shave a "POP" rivet, to make it look like a squeeze rivet. A "POP" rivet, has a drawbar in the center, that leaves a hole after it has poped. Unless you fill the hole, then shave, I can't see how it's done.

[roger n cindy]

the rivets designsd for the shaver dont loose there stem when you pop them in place, it breaks above the dome shape. the shaver for them is dome shaped inside and removes the protrusion, thus leaving the smooth dome associated with airstream trailers and other rivited items that aren't bothered by air drag. i use a file to finih my rivets off but am interested in a dome style shaver, maby Spankey ( young Mike Wahl )knows where i can get one :lol:
roger, president and ceo BuglytoolS

[tombsycles]

I frequently used one of these in the Air Force called a "microshaver".
They were more for use shaving off the heads of "ram-coin" dimpled countersink AN series rivet heads, which sometimes sat somewhat high when going through more than two layers of material, usually 40 or 60 series aluminum. They shaved off MM's at a time, with the purpose of removing drag from aeronautic control surfaces.
Certainly not intended to be used as a hand milling machine.
They were made by a British company, the name has slipped my mind.

Airstreams are made with driven solid rivets and a domed "button" head hammered down by a rivet gun with the correct size of snap to drive it, with another person at the other end with a bevy of different bucking bars at hand.

They are not rivets that are externally applied to blind holes such as Huck bolts and Riv-lok's with a locking collar.
I may stand corrected, but I have never heard of shaving the head of a rivet for esthetic reasons, as it removes grip and tensile strength in doing so.

It sure takes a lot more RPMs to accomplish than any electric drill would ever be able to produce, air powered and making speeds like a die grinder 20,000 +.

Trying to cut steel with one of these hand-held weapons is rediculous.

You'll either make a serious mess, or injure yourself and bystanders, or both.

My two cents.

[TheRodDoc]

If you used flush fracture type rivets, a shaver with a head shaped cutter might just make the pull shaft of the rivet look like it is part of the head. Maybe that is what he ment.

like - CherryLOCK® "Bulbed" Rivets which break off flush with the domed head. mandrels are locked in too. Although they really don't need shaved much there is a slight divit in the center. the cutter would trim it even or trim the head down even with that.

http://www.textronfasteningsystems.com/aerospace/html/product/rivets.htm#msrivets

[marioD]

Thank you guys for all that information!!
All appreciated!

Mario