Turn Your Drill Into a Rivet Gun
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Tools:
Astro Pneumatic Tool ADR14 XL Blind Rivet Adapter Kit
www.amazon.com...
Aluminum Rivet Assortment
www.amazon.com...
Aluminum Rivet Assortment (Black Core)
www.amazon.com...
Transcript:
Hey, I’m Donald Bell for Cool Tools and today we’re taking a look at an adapter for your drill that makes it easier to use rivets. If you’re interested you can find a link to it down in the description.
I’ve always loved the look of rivets. They’re hard wearing. The aluminum ones won’t rust -- so they’re great for things that live outdoors. And unlike a screw, they don’t leave any sharp, pointy bits on one side.
The problem with rivets is that they’re literally a pain to use. When you’re starting out, you usually get one of these hand operated riveting tools. You place the rivet and then squeeze the handles like you’re trying to pull excalibur from the stone.
My hands hurt after doing just a few of these, and if you’ve got any hint of arthritis you’ll swear off ever doing this again.
Now, the best tool for riveting -- as I currently understand it -- are pneumatic rivet guns, or some of the newer electric, cordless options. But I’m not set up for pneumatics, and I don’t use rivets enough to justify the expense of the electric ones, which are hundreds of dollars.
Fortunately, there’s a useful gadget that meets us halfway. This is an attachment that chucks into any drill or impact driver.
It’s made by Astro Pneumatics, a company that makes some great pneumatic rivet guns. It runs around 70-80 dollars, and you can get versions of it that cover just about every rivet type imaginable.
This ¼-inch one handles the types of blind pop rivets I typically use, and includes different nose pieces that you can swap out for different gauges.
With this, I can let my drill do all the work. Once the rivet pops, I just reverse the motor to eject it. I can do this all day long.
The only downside is that it may actually take me all day long. Compared to the more expensive options, I’m not really saving any time with this thing -- just hand fatigue. But it’s enough to make riveting not feel like a chore.
And even though I could crank up my drill speed, I recommend against it. At high speed, it tends to jam, and has trouble ejecting the leftover bit. At least that’s what I found.
Another tip for using this is to make sure you keep your drill speed down to its slowest setting. Your first instinct is to want to go full blast, but that will jam it up. I guarantee it.
The good news is that you can fully disassemble this thing and pull out anything that might get stuck. It’s all machined aluminum and made to last.
The trick to unjamming it is to loosen it up, take off the nose, and then push back on the jaws while you pull out the pin.
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Another small downside worth mentioning is that the heavy duty construction makes it literally heavy. When it’s in my drill, I can’t set it down without it tipping over. Yes, I can technically rivet one-handed, but this weight, you’ll probably want to use both hands for support.
I should also mention that before I bit the bullet on this particular model, I’d spent months looking at cheaper, plastic rivet drill adapters. They’ve been out there for awhile under dozens of brands, but the reviews were all terrible, so I stayed away.
It wasn’t until this name brand Astro model came through that I decided to give it a shot, and I’m glad I did. But I would still recommend that people steer clear from the $20-$30 plastic adapters out there. From what I can tell, they wear out very quickly.
So there you go, that’s the Astro Pneumatic ADR14 XL Blind Rivet Adapter Kit. You can find a link to it down in the description, along with a link to these black rivets I’ve been using recently. And you can find thousands of reader recommended tools like these at cool-tools.org.
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#cooltools
I would have laughed at the need for this tool earlier in my life. However, at 83-years old with my hands getting weaker, this is a great help to me. I had 30-40 rivets to set for my wife's metal raised bed planter. I was not looking forward to doing that by hand. his is quicker and easier.
Thank you for showing me how to assemble this thing, really. What you said was nothing new, but how to put it together without a user manual still remains to be a mystery.
Thank you so much. I was literally ready to pull the trigger on one of those plastic rivet tool drill attachments. You have saved me from a "buy cheap, buy twice" tool. I will definitely find a good metal one, maybe even an Astro brand.
Im here because I dug my old rivet gun out to do some riveting after about 10 years in the drawer and it really was like pulling excaliber out of the stone lol
The Astro Rivet nut version is pretty cool as well!
I'm a semi trailer mechanic so riveting is a sole part of my life lol I was looking for a alternative to pneumatic for 1 every time I need one another tech is using it and secondly pneumatic guns in my experience never seem to hold up very long especially if not cared for properly but I am working with rivet guns on the low end of the spectrum and will never get chance to work with a quality gun because they cost allot of $$$
Good stuff
TTC themselves! :D
I have the Milwaukee m12 and its great
Yes high torque low speed. But never use and impact driver with the Astro. I tried this and wore out the shank linkage in the tool. This happened in 2 weeks time. I also found out most of my complete set rivets were warped , not properly seal, or damaged internally causing rivets to fall out. This is because of the impact vibration when under load especially with steel rivets. NON IMPACTS ONLY with the Astro adapter. I also use Snap-ons 14.4v screwdriver in tight spots but only recommended for limited use. puts a lot of strain on driver with stainless steel rivets. Aluminum smaller ones less than 1/4" is no problem though
Donald Bell with the sweet flip to open the video.
Ive owned one of these for years for rivenuts and didnt know they could be used for the rivets also...
The 12v milwaukee rivet gun will work circles around this attachment. As far as price goes, if you don't do much work with rivets, then this product will be a great tool to have. If you do a lot of work with rivets, (daily) then I would suggest investing in a milwaukee
I know what you mean....my hands were literally cramping after a few rivets...... afterwards I went to my local home improvement store and bought the electric one from milwaukee.... thanks
I’ve broke 2 of these. They aren’t made for actual use.
How is it with steel rivets?
Ir sucks with the 1/4 rivets!
Be warned, stainless rivets will destroy these. They will not last very long.
From the reviews on Amazon most any rivets destroy them.
Not even a word how it handles STAINLESS steel 3/16. My $20 from Ali was used on probably 500 of them and still keep going like the Duracell rabbit. Also it comes with a spare shank. Is it an Astro publicity? There are no perfect tools, except maybe a hummer and four letter words...
Mantap bos 👍, terima kasih
I got a rivit stuck in the Jaws and needed to totally dismantle to get the shaft out. Now I can't figure out how to get it all back together, especially a small washer that seems not to fit anywhere. Has anyone got an exploded diagram or video?
“The reviews were all terrible” (proceeds to show multiple 4-5 star ratings…
Ahhhh man i just spent 13 dollars on the cheapo. Hope it works. Haaa