On Fri, 12 Jan 2007, Jay West wrote: I agree with Brian L. Stuart on using pop rivets - as long as there's enough clearance for the head to poke out (depending on the size of the rivet, 2 or 3mm) and it won't rub on anything. The only thing I'd add is if the rivet needs to be removed and it can't be pliered out, you'll want to use a carbide drill bit - or one you're not worried about. Rivets are made from hardened steel and will ruin the bite of your drill bit. Of course, perhaps you're more skilled than I am and can resharpen a drill bit - I've never had much luck at it ;) If you never plan on doing another rivet in your life, I'd go for a cheapy pop rivet gun - but the gun makes a heck of a difference in the ease of getting them in and 'popped', so if you're having a tremendous time at getting the thing popped, you might want to try a better brand (or find someone who has a decent one). G'luck; JP

Firstly, let me say that I don't normally use rivets. As yuo know by now, I like to take things apart, and I'd rather not have to drill out rivets. But they can be useful in some situations, and in fact in some cases a riveting-like process is the onlt way to fix something. Riveting covers several different, but closely related, processes, actually. The traditional 'rivet' was a metal cylinder with head on one end, a bit like a blunt-ended nail. You put it through holes in the parts to be joind and used a hammer for form a head on the other end, aided with a tool normally called a 'snap' or a 'rivet set'. To use this type, you need access to both sides of the work. When you only have acess to osne side of the work, you use something called a 'blind rivet' or a 'pop rivet'. The rivit hs hollow, and had a metal pin running through it. Yput it into a special tool (normally called a 'pop riveter', available from good car part and DIY shops), it grips the pin. You now put the body of the rivet through the holes in the work and squeeze the handles of the tool. This pulls the pin back through the rivet, and the end of the pin then forms the other head on the rivet body. The pin then brrsks off (making the 'pop' that gives the process one of its names). This process is very easy if you have a good rivet tool, and is probably what you want to do. Finally, there are times when a pin or spindle is fastended to a nother part (plate, gear, etc) by forming over the end in much the same way as riveting. If you want to do this, you really need what's called a 'staking set' which will guide a punch tool perpendicular to the work and so on. A good watchmakers staking set will cost a few hundered pounds (!), I was lucky enough to find a second-hand one with a frw of the punches missing for about a tenth of the new price. Yes, I grabbed it. It's very useful for camera and clock repair, and of course extra punches and diss can be made from tool steel on a lathe. For your problem, if you _can_ cat to both sides, you might be able to support one side and reform the head on the other side using a hammer and a suitable puch/set tool. If not, you need to drill out the old rivet (take care, some rivets are suprisingly hard metal) and replace it with a new blind rivet. These come in various materials, of varying strengths. The common ones seem to be a light aluminium alloy, fine for fixing trim and the like, bot sot much good for anything else. -tony