A tool I didn't know existed...

[Missourian]

Today at my favorite store... Harbor Freight...I was shopping for a manual rivet setter for a project for my folks in Florida. I have a good one handed rivet setter at home...so I decided to get a two handed setter that will accept up to ¼ inch rivets.

The had two choices...the Pittsburgh 17" and the Doyle 13" with $5 difference in price.

I looked them over and decided to buy the Doyle.

Well...right next to the Doyle 13" rivet setter is a Doyle Rivet Nut Setter.

Rivet nut setter?

I have no idea what this tool does...no internet in the store...but as you can see...it's thirty percent off which cuts the price to $35.

Well ... I'm sure it's good for something... yoink...into the cart it goes along with a $99 six inch cross slide vice I've had my eye on for awhile marked down to 59 bucks on clearance and a Jackery 290 sans cord down from $229 to $159. Hell...I got two cords and only use one.

Anyhow...I get out to the truck and watch a video...turns out I desperately need this thing and had no idea it existed. I'll be using it sometime this week and you'll see why.

This is what it does....

 

[1srelluc]

My god! That would have been worth it's weight in gold back when I would help replace rivets (or make patches) in the old Grumman aluminum canoes/Jon Boats that we rented out at the bait shop when I was a kid.

Back then I would get under the canoe (or Jon boat) position a flat piece of metal on a bottle jack under the head of the rivet and another guy would pound them in.

I swear those people that would come up from the city tore the shit out of the canoes.....I bet half the time they would not get their deposit bad due to the damage they would do.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

Today at my favorite store... Harbor Freight...I was shopping for a manual rivet setter for a project for my folks in Florida. I have a good one handed rivet setter at home...so I decided to get a two handed setter that will accept up to ¼ inch rivets.

The had two choices...the Pittsburgh 17" and the Doyle 13" with $5 difference in price.

I looked them over and decided to buy the Doyle.

View attachment 891003

Well...right next to the Doyle 13" rivet setter is a Doyle Rivet Nut Setter.

View attachment 891010


Rivet nut setter?

I have no idea what this tool does...no internet in the store...but as you can see...it's thirty percent off which cuts the price to $35.

Well ... I'm sure it's good for something... yoink...into the cart it goes along with a $99 six inch cross slide vice I've had my eye on for awhile marked down to 59 bucks on clearance and a Jackery 290 sans cord down from $229 to $159. Hell...I got two cords and only use one.

Anyhow...I get out to the truck and watch a video...turns out I desperately need this thing and had no idea it existed. I'll be using it sometime this week and you'll see why.

This is what it does....

Here is another tool , you didnt know exists..

 

[Missourian]

How to use a rivet nut setter...

 

[sparky]

Harbor Freight gives me a tool woody!.....~S~

 

[para bellum]

I've set many hundreds of thousands of rivnuts in my parts. My tool of choice is this one:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

For manual setting this is the best choice:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Both are tolerant to changes in material thickness and give you torque control on the set.

The lever types are tricky to adjust for a proper clench and have to be re-set whenever the thickness of the material changes. Too loose and the rivnut doesn't pull all the way up, too tight and you just tear out the threads (or snap the anvil).

Pay attention to the material thickness and make sure your clench range is correct and your hole size is to spec. Don't try to drill out a bad rivnut- you want to just grind off the flange and drive the body through the hole. Then you can try again. (If you try to drill it out you will just bugger up the hole.)

 

[Lord Long Rod]

My Harbor Freight has wrist watch tools!