[TowerTalk] Rivet Tool Info

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2014 11:23:40 -0700
From: Chip Margelli <chip at force12inc.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Rivet Tool Info

Hello to all.

We've come across a very nice tool for inserting rivets beyond the "small"
1/8" rivets used on smaller elements.

Harbor Freight has an item called the Pittsburgh 18" Heavy Duty Hand
Riveter that sells for all of $19.95. It makes work with 3/16" rivets
effortless, and even a 1/4" rivet does not require major exertion. Trying
to do either of these sizes with a hand pop rivet gun will lead to serious
frustration. The Harbor Freight SKU is 66422, and most HF stores have these
in stock, it seems.

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-17-1-2-half-inch-hand-riveter-with-collection-bottle-
66422.html

This tool is especially useful when pulling rivets on larger elements, or
on element-to-boom clamping plates, for beams from various manufacturers,
not just Force 12. And it is much cheaper and less bulky than a pneumatic
rivet gun.

It even comes with a Collection Bottle, important for installers above the
age of 55.

73,

Chip K7JA
Force 12InnovAntennas America

##  I have the 25 inch version, made by POP, bloody expensive at the time, but it will EASILY pop .1875 inch and also .250 inch rivets.  
It will also pop .125 inch rivets.   For  .125 inch rivets, I use the small hand held riveter.  The huge 25 inch POP riveter is cumbersome and not required,
when popping .125 rivets.   My small hand held riveter will also pop .1875 rivets, but with extreme difficulty.   Then I find out that POP also makes a pnuematic
riveter, made for production work, uses 90 psi.   You only require a small  porter cable air compressor for it,,same compressor that’s used for nail guns etc.  It even
collects the spent mandrels.   I added tons of extra  .1875 inch rivets to the boom splices on my f12  520 and 615 yagis.   OEM, F12 uses  .1875 rivets on one side of the
boom slice, and  .25 inch SS bolts on the other side.  Too  much squish squish  flex at the boom splices, all on the SS  bolted side, so added additional .1875 rivets, 3 down 
each side, and one on top between the SS bolts..and another one on the bottom, also between the SS nylock nuts, problem solved. 

## also had to re-do my F12 80m  EF-180B 80m rotary dipole.   Where the huge swage is on each side, the 3 x oem   rivets worse loose, right from  the factory, on one side only.
So added 9 x more rivets,  for a total of 12 per ele half.  4 x rows of 3, every 90 degs.    Overkill really.  Every 120 degs, with just 3 x rows is plenty good  enough. 

##  Don’t kid urself,  .1875 rivets are very strong..and ditto with .25 rivets..... just don’t try and use a small hand held riveter.   F12 also leaves a spare unused .25 inch hole on most of its  boom to ele
brackets.  It can be used as a guide to drill the boom on each side. Then insert either a single  SS  bolts + nylock...or  two x .25 inch rivets...one per side.   I also used a pair of .1875 rivets, one on
each side of the 1 inch square riser, that’s used to support the LL wires on my 40m, 44 ft long eles. This re-enforces the top of the boom to ele bracket. 

##  with the right riveter, it’s a simple matter to beef up F12 ants,  or any other application  where you want to use rivets.   Whatever you do, don’t slop penetrox on rivets.  I have heard folks
do this..with disastrous results.   The penetrox will dry out, leaving a loose rivet.  penetrox only used on ele joints and boom joints. 

Jim   VE7RF