how long should a rivet be?

Sean Powell · Post by **Sean Powell** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:09 pm

Hello all,

Enough of you do volume production that you should have encountered this before.

I need to order several more boxes of rivets as I'm just about tapped out but I've decided I'm frustrated by having to cut each rivet to length every time. Obviously I can order shorter rivets and use them straight out of the box but the question is: "How Short?" I'd hate to order a box and have a whole pound of useless bits taunting me every time I walk into the shop.

Specificly I'm purchasing 5/32" mild steel for a Pembridge great helm in 14ga. Most rivets will pass through 2 layers of about .080". 1/4" will leave .090" to peen over which seems a bit short. 3/8" will leave .215 which seems long.

Any advice?

Sean

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:23 am

You are better off with too long than too short... So if you can't get an inbetween length, go with the longer, you can shorten it by hitting it (increasing the diameter), cut it off, grind it off, or put a washer on it.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:37 am

The engineering book says; if I remember, the thickness plus the diameter.

For 2 pieces of 16ga. the 1/4" long 3/16" rivet works for me.

Hal
_________________________________________
Happy metal pounding

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:44 am

I usually shoot for on shaft diameter sticking through the other side of the metal. I get 1/8" x 1/4", 1/8" x 3/8" and 1/8" x 3/4" (for special applications). This pretty much covers all the projects I do without wasting too much in trimmed rivets (you buy rivets by the pound and don't want to have to trim every one you use...that's costly over time).

Hew · Post by **Hew** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:55 pm

Halberds wrote:The engineering book says; if I remember, the thickness plus the diameter.

That sounds pretty much like what I've done (for the few rivets I've actually made).
I just inserted my rivet *cough*nail*cough* through the pieces, looked at it from the side, and just marked the shank so that in profile it makes a square, ie. it sticks out by one diameter.
I was just winging it the first time, but it seemed to give me enough to peen a slightly flattened hemispherical head.