Securely fix even thin plates. Hand riveter & hand nutter for easy operation and improved work efficiency.

When parts are joined together with bolts or screws, a nut or female screw is required on the mating side. However, there are plate- or box-shaped parts for which nuts cannot be set on the back side. Also, when manufacturing parts as a DIY project, it is desirable to efficiently fix or fasten parts to each other. In such cases, hand riveters and hand nutters are useful. Here we explain the features and usage of each tool.

Hand riveters are useful for fastening parts whose backs are inaccessible.

Astro Products' HR756 hand riveter, with an overall length of 385 mm, is large enough to handle thick rivets that require a lot of force when pulling out the mandrel.

When making panels to hold together electrical components or for DIY fenderless customization, you want to join aluminum sheets that have been folded according to a pattern. Bolts and nuts may not be able to hold the nuts on the back side of the plates, and I don't have the tools or skills to weld them together. A hand riveter comes in handy in such cases. A hand riveter is a tool for fastening metal plates and plastic parts using a fixture called a blind rivet. While general rivets are inserted from the front side and rivets are fastened by clamping on the back side, blind rivets can be fastened by working only from one side, and their greatest feature is that they can be installed even in places where tools cannot fit on the back side.

Use different nose pieces depending on the size of the rivet.

There are five sizes of nose pieces to use depending on the mandrel (shaft) diameter of the blind rivet: 2.4, 3.2, 4.0, 4.8, and 6.0 mm dia. When purchasing blind rivets at a home improvement center or tool store, make sure the mandrel fits one of these five sizes.

In the case of the Astro Products HR756, the nose piece is attached to the bottom of the shaft case (the case that collects the mandrel after crimping), so attach the appropriate piece for the size of blind rivet.

The reason why blind rivets can be fastened only from the front side is because of the unique structure of the rivet itself. Blind rivets have a two-piece construction consisting of the rivet body and a shaft-like component called a mandrel that passes through the center of the rivet. When the mandrel is inserted into the nosepiece at the end of the hand riveter and the handle is grasped, the mandrel is pulled into the riveter and at the same time the head of the mandrel is deformed by the rivet, causing the tip to expand. The mandrel is pulled into the hand riveter and automatically cuts off when the rivet is finished riveting. This allows the rivets to be clamped and parts to be fastened together without the need for a tool or hand to reach the rivet tip. Blind rivets are commercially available in a variety of materials (aluminum, iron, and stainless steel rivets are available) and sizes, depending on the thickness and material of the part to be fastened. Even if the diameter of the body is the same, the length of the rivet shaft varies depending on the thickness of the part to be fastened. In the case of a bolt and nut combination, even if the bolt is long relative to the thickness of the plate, it will only protrude into the nut side. However, blind rivets have a fixed amount of crimping, so if excessively long rivets are used to fasten thin plates, the rivets may float due to insufficient crimping even if the mandrel is cut. Therefore, when purchasing blind rivets, it is important to know the plate thickness of the part to be fastened in advance and select an appropriate length. Furthermore, the shaft diameter of the mandrel varies depending on the diameter of the rivet body. If the rivet body is thin, the rivet can be caulked even if the mandrel is thin = the mandrel head is small, but if the rivet is thick, the mandrel head becomes larger to caulk a larger rivet, and the shaft diameter inevitably becomes larger. Many hand riveters come with multiple nose pieces to accommodate different mandrel shaft diameters, but when purchasing blind rivets, make sure that the mandrel shaft diameter and nose piece match.

Convenience of Hand Riveters in Motorcycle Customization

The rivet is inserted through the bottom hole corresponding to the blind rivet diameter, and when the open handle is closed, the mandrel is retracted and the tip of the rivet is swollen to secure the rivet in place. In the image, the rivet is being worked on a single plate so that the rivet condition is clear, but in actual use, the rivet can be fastened without having to reach behind the plate or through a tube or box-shaped part.

In the field of motorcycle customization, hand riveters are used for a variety of applications. A typical example is the fastening of exterior parts such as cowls and fenders. When installing not only stock parts but also custom parts made of FRP or aluminum, it may not be possible to insert nuts on the back side. In such cases, blind rivets can be used to securely fix the parts only from the front side. They are also suitable for mounting license plate stays, heat guards, aluminum panels, etc. Compared to bolted fixation, blind rivets have fewer parts and are less likely to loosen due to vibration, which is another advantage. Another feature of hand riveters for installing blind rivets is that they are lightweight and portable. Unlike power or air tools, hand riveters do not require a power source or compressor, so they can work outdoors or on the go, regardless of location.

The mandrel, which is pulled inside the riveter by closing the handle, is cut off and the rivet is removed when the rivet tip is finished kinking. In the case of the Astro Products HR756, the removed mandrel is collected in the shaft case, so it does not fly around the garage or work area.

There are two types of blind rivet head shapes: protruding and hidden; this image shows the protruding type. The thicker part on the back side of the plate is the rivet tip, which is drawn in by the mandrel and riveted, and is thicker than the original shaft diameter so that it cannot be pulled out.

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A hand nutter is helpful when you want to attach or detach parts.

Astro Products Hand Nutter Set (8-piece set). The overall design is similar to the hand riveters, but the mandrels at the end are male threads and come in M3, M4, M5, M6, M8, and M10.

Blind nuts are available in aluminum or steel, and this hand nutter works with both.

The mandrel in a hand riveter is on the blind nut side and is cut, while the mandrel in a hand nutter is the male screw itself that is fastened to the blind nut. To prevent damage to the mandrel, the mandrel is used in combination with a nosepiece appropriate for the screw diameter.

When the blind nut is passed through the material with the appropriate size pre-drilled hole, the mandrel is set and the handle is gripped, the mandrel is crushed and crimped where it contacts the board as the mandrel pulls the nut in.

While the hand riveter is a useful tool for fastening parts without the use of a nut, it has the weakness that once a blind rivet is fastened, it cannot be removed. In fact, the rivet head can be removed by drilling off the rivet head, but if you want to attach or detach the part, there is a more convenient tool. That is the hand nutter. The hand nutter attaches a blind nut to the male thread (mandrel) at the end of the nut and inserts it into the base material, causing the tip to bulge and crumple to prevent it from falling off or coming off. After the male screw is removed, the female thread on the inside of the blind nut can be used to screw and secure screws and bolts, and the ability to remove and reassemble them is a major feature of this product. If the base material is thick enough, it is possible to cut the female threads directly with a tap, but a hand nutter and blind nut can also be used to securely fasten screws to thin sheet metal, aluminum panels, and other materials that do not have sufficient threads to be secured with the usual tapping process, The blind nuts are also available in aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, depending on the material and application, so they can be flexibly adapted to conditions such as strength and corrosion resistance. The construction itself is similar to that of a hand riveter, but the hand nutter is unique in that it is a tool for making female threads rather than permanent fastening.

The blind nut allows the nut to be installed on a blank board and can be repeatedly attached and removed with bolts or screws. This should come in handy when making one-off parts.

Every DIY-loving Sunday mechanic should have a set of these.

Hand riveters and hand nutters crush (bite) blind rivets and blind nuts to secure them in place, so there is a certain amount of power involved in the construction aspect. The thicker the mandrel, the greater the force required to pull it out. However, as a means of fastening parts (mainly plates) using methods other than bolts, nuts, or welding, these tools are very attractive because they are simple and reliable. If you are a Sunday mechanic who frequently makes one-off parts or performs DIY work beyond attaching and detaching bolt-on parts, they are sure to be useful when the need arises.