Mark Andy [mailto:mark@sccaprepared.com] wrote:
>
> So I've just discovered rivet nuts.
>
> What do home folks use for installing these? I'd like to use metric
> sizes, but all the metric mandrel install tools are $150 or so... Can I
> just thread something into them and use that to crush them down?
> <...>
The first set of rivet nuts that I bought had a "two part" setting tool. One
part
was shaped like a nut (I don't think the inside was threaded) with "ribs" on
the
bottom. An Allen head screw was inserted thru the "nut" and into the rivet nut.
You held the nut with a wrench (the ribs kept the rivet nut from turning), and
tightened the Allen head screw. This collapsed the rivet nut and set it in
place.
The later set that I have uses a mandrel the screws into the rivet nut and the
other
end goes into a pop rivet tool.
I've only used the smaller sizes, but see no reason that you couldn't make a
similar
setup to the "nut and screw" setup for you metric sizes. Maybe a drilled out
nut or
thick washer, followed by a threaded nut, and a bolt. Hold the bolt still with
one
wrench, and crank on the threaded nut to "pull up" the rivet nut. The hard part
is to keep it from rotating as you try to set it...
Tim Mullen
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