[a/s] Riveting Experience

[Bob Kiger <myairstream@xxxxxxxx>]

Well I just got finished putting in my first Olympic rivets in the door of 
my 66 Safari.

I had to awl out the hole a little using a pointed cutting bit on my 
cordless drill.  The bit is shaped
like this >

I had to go through two layers of aluminum, so apparently these rivets were 
there to hold these layers together.  Because of the shape of my cutting 
bit the outer hole was slightly larger than the inner hole but it was no 
problem.

The cap on the rivet easily covered the hole.
Then I drove the rivet like any other rivet.  It leaves a post in the 
center of the cap, which must be ground off before getting the smooth rivet 
look.

Since the grinding tool is $160 or so, I took the advice of several of you 
pros and ground by hand.  Ideally a Dremel tool would be used but I don't 
have one of those either.  So I sprung for a $3 grinder bit for my cordless 
drill.  I am pleased with the results.  A nice smooth rivet.  I would 
advise caution in grinding because if you slip you can grind imperfections 
into the aluminum skin.  I braced myself carefully and went slowly.  would 
not like to do a whole bunch of rivets without the shaver tool but for 
occasional repair the directions above work well.

Bob
http://MrMinimal.com