SOFT BUCK RIVET HOW TO
SOFT BUCK RIVET INSTALL

The rivet gun very quickly hammers the rivet, pushing it inward and squashing the tail against the bucking bar, which causes the tail to get shorter and wider. This fills the hole and locks the two pieces of aluminum together very strongly. The inside installer holds a shaped metal tool called a “bucking bar” that is pressed against the tail (or stem) of the rivet.

SOFT BUCK RIVET HOW TO

How to buck a rivet-The outside installer holds an air-powered rivet tool, which is sort of a miniature jackhammer that pounds on the mushroom head of the rivet.

SOFT BUCK RIVET INSTALL

To install these requires a team of two people working together like dance partners. This bond will last the life of the Airstream, unless damaged in a collision. These very strong rivets hold two panels together, or fasten a panel to one of the trailer’s internal ribs. They start life as little mushroom-shaped bits of aluminum. Most of the rivets you see on the exterior of your Airstream are “bucked” (solid) rivets. Most of the contestants are lucky to get about half the rivets in correctly even with some practice. At Alumapalooza we have held Rivet Masters contests for several years, where attendees get a quick lesson on how to put in a rivet properly and then compete for the fastest times. Those two people had to practice relentlessly and demonstrate their skill on practice sheets before they had the ability to repeatedly install rivets with speed and precision. In this age of robotic vehicle assembly you might be surprised to learn that each one of those rivets was placed on your Airstream by hand by a pair of skilled workers at the factory in Jackson Center, Ohio. Take those 5,000 rivets away and you’ve got a floppy pile of soft metal. I simply use the bit to route out the head, and when that pops off (sometimes you might want to use a sharp chisel to carefully shave the head if it’s being stubborn), I make sure to be centered and drill out the old rivet body.Your Airstream is made of aluminum, but rivets are what make it strong. That is so the looks do not basically change and the strength of the shank was maximized, so as to be similair to the buck rivets shan strength.įor what it’s worth, I have just been using 1/8″ and 5/32″ drill bits to remove rivets and to install rivets. Olympic rivets for Airstream usage have always been 5/32 shank, but with the same size “brazier head” as the 1/8 buck rivets. The best drill bit size to use is a #21, since a hole will not be perfectly round, unless using a drill press. #30 = 1/8” (which is the shank size of the rivets used most extensively in assembling the interior of an Airstream)įor removing Olympic rivets, Andy from Inland RV says:Īn Olympic rivet is 5/32 which is. 159 thus the #21 drill bit gives a 5/32″ rivet a little clearance to slide into the hole. Sometimes you will see/hear people using a number instead of a size (inches or millimeters) for a drill bit.ĥ/32″ is. Vista vue window clecoed in place Removing Rivets There are two types of blind rivets, often referred to as “Olympic” and “pop” rivets. So if you are fastening something to another surface without being able to see the back (like skins or trim), you would use a blind rivet. The 5/32″ rivets actually hold the Airstream together (panels and ribs).īlind rivets get their name because you can install them in situations where you can’t see both sides of the surface being riveted (there is a blind side). Airstreams use only two sizes: 1/8″ and 5/32.” The 1/8″ rivets are generally used for trim on the exterior, and to hold the skins to the ribs on the interior. There are two types of rivets on an Airstream: bucked rivets and blind rivets. But don’t worry, they are easy to drill out if you need to change something you’ve riveted.

Rivets are more “permanent” in that they stay put. Screws will back out of their holes with the constant road vibration that an Airstream experiences, so eventually a screw will no longer be holding whatever it was screwed into. You “buck” a solid rivet.įirst of all, there really shouldn’t be any screws on an Airstream. Here is some basic information to get you started. If you’re going to work on an Airstream, you have to know about rivets.

Soft buck rivet