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cant get my rivets out!

metalneverdies

metalneverdies

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What am I doing wrong here guys?

My cheap crappy air hammer isnt doing any good. I ground down the rivets and cant get them to budge.

20130223_143817.jpg
 
BFH........seriously BIG hammer and a center punch. Removing rivets suck.
 
Have you already ground the heads off of the rivets on the brace under the frame? Sometimes getting them off will allow you to wiggle the bracket making them a little easier to remove.
 
remove all rivit heads

bang off bracket.

remove rest of rivit body to frame .

flat nose punch and 4 lbs mini spluge hammer.

about the best way if your current setup is not cutting it for you .
 
yea from where you are in that picture i would try to get a chisel and hammer it between the frame and the bracket and that should break them loose
 
You have to remember when the rivets are crimped at the factory, it's not just the heads that swell and creat the mushroom head on both sides. The shaft of the rivet swells and gets tight in the rivets holes pinning the two pieces together. They can be super tight, and even if you grind off the heads you still can't punch them out with a BFH. TRUST ME, I know, as I have removed probably hundreds of them, and I don't care what anyone says, a high powered air hammer/chissel will not always work.

As I have explained many times as this topic has come up many times, you usually have to stake or spring punch the center of the rivet shank after removing the head, and drill the center out to just past the frame surface on the oppisite side of the frame. The factory holes are usually 7/16 once the rivet is out. I don't grind the heads off, I use a cut off, and cut an "X" in the rivet head just to the frame surface. DON'T grind into the frame as that looks like a hack job IMO.

If you're ok with that, thats fine, you have to look at it not me. Anyways, Once I "X" the rivet head, I will then use a air chissel and chissel off the four small pieces, and they WILL pop off much easier then an entire head will for sure. Then flatted the surface wih a 90deg sander, then stake the shaft on center, then use a 1/8 cobalt drill and drill with high rpm into the shank as straight as you can, for about the thickness of the frame. Then drill with a 1/4 drill to the same depth, it will drill easily as you already have the center drilled out from the 1/8 drill.

Then a 3/8 drill. You can try punching after the 1/4 drill, but if it still won't punch out with a BFH and punch, then you have to drill with the 3/8 and that WILL relieve the swell pressure on the rivet shank and it will punch out easily. When you punch it out use a punch that is small enough to punch at the bottom of the drilled hole, to push it out.

I have found this method to work best for me. I don't bother using cutting oil to drill with, but if you want to that will of course help drill easier. Good luck, hope this helps.
 
I'm with Rob, it is ALWAYS best to drill a hole through the center of a rivet before trying to punch it out as the hole will relieve the tension that is still held at the hole of the frame.
 
I had the best luck removing rivets by cutting the head off with the torch then heating the head on the backside, had my kid heating the head till it was a little red then my cheap air hammer popped them right out. Had terrible luck till I tried that.
 
if you have no fire access, take a big chisel/prybar between the frame and bracket, work bracket off, regrind to flush, and easily poke thru with hand punch/hammer.. when it's only the frame width, you don't need to drill at that point..
 
ryoken said:
if you have no fire access, take a big chisel/prybar between the frame and bracket, work bracket off, regrind to flush, and easily poke thru with hand punch/hammer.. when it's only the frame width, you don't need to drill at that point..
Click to expand...



True...IF you can pry the bracket off. There have been a few times I just could not get it off no matter how hard I worked at it. Time spent prying and sweating, I could have just as easily drilled and punched and would have not been near as wore out. But yeah, if you can get the bracked off, then flush grind the rivet, it WILL usually punch out easier. I always try at least before drilling.
 
Ended up getting it all done by like 9. I was able to get the rivets out with my hammer and a punch. Once my wife started to hold the punch for me I was able to get two hands on the hammer. I did have to buy a carbide burr bit to grind down the rivets on the support brackets.

Got it all done with out dropping the gas tank. I did have to remove my hitch. To reinstall it I'm going to have to modify it a bit.
 
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