Rivet types9/5/2023 ![]() ![]() A stainless steel rivet of the same size is typically double that strength. One example of strength: a typical aluminum 1/8-inch diameter rivet has a shear strength in the range of 100–200 pounds. So, it is the creative, calculated use of these fasteners that makes them strong. ![]() If you think that an aluminum blind rivet should not be used in the structure of an airplane, be aware that one of the most popular kit aircraft sold and flying today (and for the last 40 years) is primarily constructed with thousands of aluminum blind rivets! (It’s found in the Zenith Aircraft family of planes.) (The rivet stem or mandrel might be a different material than the body.) As you can imagine, a big decision in choosing these materials has to do with the desired strength of the fastener. Rivet Material: The two most common materials used for the body of the rivet are aluminum or stainless steel. ![]() Also take note of the specific application where this rivet is being used to appreciate how it was selected for that job. One of the best ways to become familiar with these is to grab a rivet supplied by your kit and try to identify these characteristics. There are four important characteristics of blind rivets we should be familiar with: the material used for the rivet body, the rivet diameter, the grip length and the head type. There are hundreds of varieties and sizes of these rivets available in general industry, so we will limit our discussion to those most commonly used in light aircraft construction. But as builders we should be able to understand and identify the variety of blind rivets available as we will no doubt require their use in some related project (for example: custom instrument panel construction). You should not blindly substitute a blind rivet for a location where a solid rivet was specified (there are special rivets made for that). The decision to use blind rivets in aircraft construction should always be left to the aircraft designer. Blind rivets can be installed by a novice, often the very first try! Also, a substantial amount of practice and experience is necessary to perform solid rivet installation. Compare this to traditional solid riveting that requires access to both sides as we need to hammer on one side and “buck” from the opposite side. This is because if we compare the two riveting technologies (solid rivets versus blind rivets), there is one big advantage in that blind riveting needs access to only one side of the work to set the rivet. For Experimental aircraft, the blind rivet can give traditional solid riveting a run for the money. Many aircraft kits are designed around the use of blind rivets-also known as pulled rivets or “pop” rivets (POP rivet is a trademarked name). ![]()
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