Mantua, New Jersey
Original Site:
September 2004
E-mail: usav8or@yahoo.com
Squeezing rivets...
September 4, 2015 Using...
the rivet squeezer.
(disclaimer... This is what I found to work for me. Your mileage may vary. Always abide by aircraft standards when constructing your biplane)
It was a long journey in discovering how to squeeze rivets. You wouldn't have thought so, eh ?
I looked... and I asked, but didn't really know what questions to ask, apparently.
I haven't found it so I figured I'd put the information I gleened from my asking some of the right questions and the knowledge I gained from making a few mistakes.
Tools you need; all the parts and pieces
Squeezer (which doesn't include either rivet head set)
Rivet head sets
One flush and one cup for round rivets
Two flush for flush rivets
Allen wrench for adjust height of lower rivet insert
Tatco squeezer with 3inch throat.
Flush head rivet set.
Two different cupped head rivet sets. Note: The one on the right has the "C" clip taken off of it. Bad bad, Jerry.
Click on image for close up.
Setting up the tool.
You'll need to insert the correct rivet head set into the top and bottom of the squeezer's jaw. When squeezing round head rivets it is best to put the cupped head in the non-moving part of the jaw (the upper portion). It's easier to set the rivet correctly when not having to worry about the tool moving around over the rivet head.
When looking at the rivet head set you'll see a "C" shaped metal piece that goes around the shaft of the insert. This helps keep it in the jaw of the squeezer. Take your time inserting it into the jaw. It may not look like it will fit into the opening... but it does.
You'll need to cut down the rivet barrel to make sure that there is 1.5 times the diameter of the rivet barrel sticking out the back side of the work piece. I cut down the rivets that I used and I think that an angled cut leads to a distorted squish. (I had a few bad bad rivet squishes) But... the length of the barrel when cut fell between the two lengths that you could purchse. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place... so I had to cut. My question is... if I used the next 1/32inch longer length would it matter?
You'll also need to adjust the squeeze of the rivet squeezer so that when the rivet is squished the squished head is 1.5 the diameter of the barrel and height of the squished head is .5 the diameter of the barrel. You don't get a tool with your squeezer for doing this. I used a small Allen Wrench and it worked out great.
Squeezing the rivet.
Protect the aluminum around the rivet head... to keep it from getting scratched up. I use masking tape. You'll want to protect the back of the piece also. Use common sense...
Place and center the rivet set head on the crown of the rivet. Make sure that it doesn't move off of the head. Next you want to center the lower rivet set head on the barrel of the rivet. After getting it centered I usually spin the tool so that I can see the barrel from several sides to make sure that it is as centered as possible. If it ain't, you'll get a deformed squish.
Before performing the squish, make sure that the throat of the rivet squeezer is parallel with the piece you are working with and that the jaws are perpendicular to the piece also.
You'll probably want to test the sqeezed rivet out on a few test pieces before screwing up the piece you want to work on.