Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

I'm in the slow process of pulling the firewall for eventual access to the cowl panels for repairs, and also the front sub rail extensions for replacement.


Whether it's going to be a seat frames rivet, the rear sub rails rivets, or the

front extensions - how do you go about removing the rivets from the projects you have worked on and completed? Cutting - grinding - drilling.....


I would appreciate any help with a good description and pictures attached if available. I can't possibly be the only one ever wondering how you all accomplish this - maybe the only one willing to admit I don't know how!
Thanks, Steve :o

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Sent a pm. The YouTube series: a road less traveled with restore cars, shows dealing with rivets, spot welds, that should help you.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Can you share the YouTube links on the forum as well? I’m interested in the process.

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Not that savvy.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Search all of Mark's videos at the link below, including the Vicky he is doing. He is a great craftsman and his videos shows why good restoration work takes time.

https://www.youtube.com/user/claytoresto

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Center punch the rivet head and drill just deep enough to pop off the rivet's head. Then punch out the shank. This protects the hole from being made out of round / oversize.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Center punch and then use a center drill countersink. You can find them on Amazon or Harbor Freight.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

I do the same. Use a small drill smaller than rivet to start and then expand to a bigger one but not to big. Then punch out.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

That's the way I do it after taking the head off the rivet either with a larger drill or angle grinder with a flap disc on it. The drill is usually off center and will break through the edge of the rivet on one side first. When that happens, it will be loose enough that you will be able to punch out what remains.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

I've rebuilt a lot of wrecked helicopters over the years and aircraft repair procedures have always been the same. First establish the diameter of the rivet. Select a drill of that size to start drilling on the head with a good center punch mark. Don't drill all the way though. Just frill down till the drill tip is roughly started into the sheet metal's surface hole. Select a pin punch that is the same size as the drill used since all rivets are fabricated at diameters that match available pin punch sizes. A 5/32" rivet will be removed by a 5/32" pin punch as an example. If the partially drilled hole in the rivet head is deep enough, the pin punch will fit down into it well and can be tilted at an angle to break the head off. If the head won't come off, take a small chisel and tap the head off from an angle being careful not to damage the sheet metal skin. If further drilling of the rivet shank is necessary to remove the shank and buck tail then drill it a bit more while maintaining the center of the hole in the skin as best you can. Once it is drilled on center through the thickness of the sheet metal skin, it should easily drive out with the pin punch. If not then use a chisel on the back side to remove the buck tail.

The key is to stay on center so that the holes aren't enlarged any further than they already are. Rivets tend to expand a good bit and they generally enlarge the hole a little bit during the driving process. Ford used large hydraulic or hydro pneumatic powered squeezers to drive a lot of the rivets in the Model A. We generally have to use more hand operated pneumatic hammers and bucking bars to get the job done after heating the larger rivets red hot to get them to drive. Smaller rivets can be done cold but the steel rivets don't drive as easily as the aluminum ones we generally use in aviation. The Monel and Inconel rivets used in aviation are more similar to driving the steel ones in the old cars.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

How about something like this;
https://ak-builder.com/index.php?dis...oduct_id=30649

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Drill guides work OK as long as they fit the rivet head well. Most rivets used in aviation these days have a universal head type. The old pan head types have a larger diameter and some of the round head types have a smaller diameter. A person can make a drill bushing if they have access to a lathe.

Google rivet removal tools and several types should come up. Mac's has a hand held bushing for 3/16" round heads and others have the spring loaded drill tooling for different sizes.

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

Hi, Steve...there are a lot of good ideas and examples out there and what works for removing a small rivet in lighter material might not be correct for heavier rivets in frames. I recently had to remove an incorrect crossmember in my '30 Cabriolet (14 rivets) and after carefully trying a number of methods, here's what worked best for me and did not damage the surrounding frame or original hole: It's slow, but I used a cutoff wheel on a variable-speed Dremel with flex shaft to gradually "shave off" the top portion of the rivet's head, then continuing down so that there was very little of the rivet head left. Taking a punch smaller than the diameter of the rivet, I began at the center to knock it back into the hole. This would eventually cause what was left of the rivet head (now just a paper-thin layer) to mushroom up. By alternating between the Dremel to trim off the mushroomed part and tapping on the center with a punch, eventually the rivet shaft begins to move in the hole, showing you exactly where it is. At that point, it was easy to keep tapping it out without hitting the surrounding frame. In a few instances, once the rivet head was mostly ground away with the Dremel and where it was hard to get a clear path to the rivet with a punch and hammer, I used a much smaller diameter drill to "hollow out" the rivet's shaft, and that makes the punching through somewhat easier. It's time consuming, but for me, it was better than drilling first, because of the lessened potential for damaging the surrounding structure. Hope this helps!

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

in addition to above, use a quality NEW drill bit

Re: Your best method for drilling out rivets?
 

I use cobalt drill bits. They hold up better. It helps if you are good at resharpening them too.

A person can use a grinder or a hand operated belt sander to reduce the heads but it has to fit in the confines of the work at hand. On Frame rivets, I've had to drill the buck tails when it's easier to access them. It works about the same way as drilling the head but the hole center can not be established as well. Rivets don't always mash straight down. They can be club footed at times.