Rivets or weld?

[28Danby]

Originally Posted by Railcarmover

Welding gets a bad name due to the welder not practicing the "5P's"

proper planning prevents piss poor performance.


riveting or bolting will accommodate flexibility till the fastener fails,the same as welding.welded correctly on most applications you will achieve a greater grip surface than bolting or riveting, which only provides tension at the fastener.

Thats 6 P's

[rotorwrench]

Riveting is preferred to bolting of structural elements in aviation. Bolts don't expand in the bolt hole like a rivet and the weight savings can get astronomical on large structures. The way a rivet is installed, it is compacted to expansion which hardens the rivet further. You will notice how these old cars will rust away before the rivets give up. Generally, most rivet failures on cars are in the front cross member area due to a hard life.

I weld mild steel with mild steel filler rod. I don't TIG much but if I did I'd still use RG45 rod just like I do with my gas rig. Ark welding would likely get too hot for good results on the thin steel body structures.

You can weld them if you want but the next guy that wants to disassemble it will cuss the person who welded it. It's a lot easier to remove rivets than weld beads.

[Chris Haynes]

Frames were riveted so they would be flexible.