Rivets or Rinnuts?

[Cloven]

I am planning to fit various items to the mast with the mast standing, working from a bosun's chair. It will involve drilling & then fixing. Up to now I have always used rivets using a Lazy Tongs type rivet gun which always seems to push me away from the mast. However, for this job, the rivet gun I have is too small so I have to get a new tool.

Options are either a heavier long arm riveter or using a Rivnut insertion tool & Rivnuts.

Pros & cons please as I have to make a decision soon.

Thanks for any replies

 

[earlybird]

My cheapskate method of closing largish monel rivets with my smallish, lever type, rivetting tool, is to close the handles with a G-cramp. A bit cruel on the rivetting tool but it's survived so far. It saves a jarred hand and wrist. Doing this would avoid swinging away from the mast I'd have thought, but cramp and rivetter would need lanyards

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I think it depends on what you are fixing.
If you are fixing something that may take some strain I would use Monel rivets.
For lightweight fittings then Aluminium Rivnuts will be fine.
I've not used stainless Rivnuts but I understand that they are stronger, though also more difficult to fix.

You say that your rivet gun is too small so I imagine that you are fixing some large fittings. It sounds like Monel rivets to me.

When I've used larger Monel rivets I've found that Lazy Tongs and long arm guns are useless. I ended up borrowing air powered tools. It took 5 hours to scrounge the equipment, get it put together and test it. It then took 2 minutes to do the job.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I put mast steps all the way up my mast last year from a bosuns chair. I had an assistant who pulled a bucket up alongside me which I kept all the tools in (most of them on lanyards!) I used a lazy tongs riveter, monel rivets and had a length of line which I put round the mast and my back and shoulders to push against when I was riveting. It wasn't half as bad as I thought it was going to be - although I did have the previous step to stand on as I proceeded upwards. The fiddly bit was getting the polythene washers between the stainless steps and the mast as I inserted each rivet.

The lazy tongs were large heavy duty ones.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

I've got one of these:

Will do rivets up to 1/4" alloy+steel and nut inserts from M4 to M10.

Won't push you away from the mast. Not let me down yet, others have, time and again........

Mine cost about £70

 

[Hoolie]

I've got one of these:.......

Mine cost about £70

From where? Give us a link!

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Damn! I've beed searching for the last hour. Can't find them (except in the US). I bought mine at a hardware shop (Mckays) in Cambridge. I'll dig them out tomorrow, see if there's a name or something on them.......

 

[Martin_J]

I use a Faithfull long arm riveter so as not to be pushed away from the work I'm doing. The other great thing about it is the jar that catches the used mandrels. It works on rivets up to 6.4mm and costs less than £40.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000X2AT...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B000X2ATYC

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Mine is made by NCG, the distributor in the UK is Laser tools.

The equivalent model they do here:

http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=153&item=1035

Mine also has the plastic jar to catch the spent shafts.

Hope that helps

Cheers,

C.