A rivet, unlike other mechanical fasteners like screws and bolts, are permanent and outstanding. When you remove a rivet, you'll have to put in a new one and you can't reuse the old one. It's a "one and done" type of deal with this particular fastener.
Before it's installed, it's composed of a smooth cylindrical shaft or tail on one end and the head on the other end, like a fat nail but with no tapered end to hammer it in.
When being installed, the rivet is placed on the punched hole or drilled into a part before its tail is deformed or bucked so that it expands on the other head, holding the rivet permanently in to place.
Considerations When Buying Rivets
- Hole Size
The rivet that you should avail of for your vehicle should absolutely fit the hole it's supposed to fill out. Otherwise, the rivet's fastening effectiveness and compromised and what's supposed to be a permanent connection will more likely come apart sooner or later.
The tensile strength of the rivet is compromised with larger holes while smaller holes make it difficult to even fit the rivet, necessitating extra drilling labor. Just follow hole size recommendations to streamline the riveting process.
- Head Style
The rivet can come in several different head styles. There's the low-profile domed head that's enough to finish most riveting jobs and is also the most common type of head available. The countersunk head style is perfect for flush surfaces.
There's also the flange head if you're dealing with soft or brittle materials for riveting purposes. You're less likely to have this rivet slip due to cracks or breakage from the material it's fastening because off its bigger, wider bearing.
- Joint Thickness and Grip
Joint thickness can be measured by adding the total thickness of the materials to be joined together. You should know this info because it assists you in determining the required grip of the rivet you wish to make use of. The right grip should be used on a given thickness.
Your rivet should have a grip range determined by the length of the rivet. You should essentially have enough of the rivet to work with in order to form that secondary heat at the other end or back of the two joints you wish to permanently push together.
- Nature of Materials
The materials that should be fastened together and the material used on the rivet itself should be compatible with each other because it ultimately affects the strength and durability of the resulting joint. Both rivet and would-be joint should be made of the same materials or roughly the same hardness.
At any rate, rivets are permanent fasteners that are mostly used in vintage cars and a handful of modern customized vehicles. These automobiles make use of rivets instead of high-strength bolts that can be unbolted and reused as necessary.