Drive pin rivets

[Brent Benson <bwb1 (at) lehigh.edu>]

In answer to several off-list questioners:

An aluminum drive pin rivet is made from solid material rather than
formed from light tubing like pop-rivets.  The round shank end is split
into 4 sectors.  The drive pin is started in a hole through the head.
When you drive it between the sectors of the shank, they flare outward
so the rivet cannot be withdrawn.  When the proper length is chosen, the
shank becomes quite tight in the hole and the grip is very firm. The
holding part is effectively solid since the pin is very tight in the
hole of the shank.  They are much stronger than  hollow aluminum pop
rivets of the same size.

If you use a small pin punch to drive the pin all the way through, then
you can eventually withdraw the rivet, but it takes quite a bit of
pulling to get the sectors to bend back .  You can also drill them out.
Drilling these is easier than stainless pop-rivets because they don't
tend to spin in the hole.

I buy them in boxes of 100 from McMaster-Carr.

Brent
Benson Sails
www.flathill.com/bensonsails/

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