There are two main types of "regular" pop rivets: one is all aluminum and
the other is aluminum with a steel mandrel (the part the gun pulls on and
eventually goes "pop"). They both have about the same strength but the
steel mandrel version grips a lot better as it gets compressed more because
of the additional tension that is required by the gun to break the mandrel.
The down side of the steel version is that if you ever have to drill it out,
it is much harder to drill out than the aluminum mandrel version.
The aircraft industry has historically used a "superior" pop rivet called a
Cherry rivet (probably a trade name). However, airplanes (especially ultra-
lights) also use "regular" pop rivets.
Regular two-sided aircraft rivets are installed using a technique called
"bucking". It requires a pneumatic riveting hammer on one side and a bucking
bar on the other side of the rivet. In other words, you have to have access
to both sides of the rivet, not just one side as in pop rivets.
Pop rivets come in a bunch of sizes. If you want more strength, just go to
a bigger size and/or one with a steel mandrel. I think you'll find one that
will do the job.
Olin Kane
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