Rivet gun nose apertures

I recently bought a new rivet gun that the manufacturer's website states includes four nose pieces of the following sizes: "2mm [2/32" (sic)], 3mm [1/8"], 4mm [5/32"], 5mm [3/16"]".

An older Talco rivet gun I have also has four nose pieces: 3/32", 1/8", 5/32" and 3/16". The aperture in each of these gives a very good close clearance fit for pop rivets of the corresponding size.

The sizing of the nose pieces on the new Eclipse rivet gun, on the other hand, is rather bizarre; the two smallest apertured noses are, according to the website, for 3/32" and 1/8" rivets, and yet I can comfortably fit the mandrels of not just 1/8" but 5/32" rivets in both of them.

Confusingly, the packaging of the new riveter contradicts the website in saying the gun includes two 3.2 mm noses, a 4.0 and a 4.8. That appears to be the case, in that the apertures in the two smallest noses are the same. However, 1/8" rivets are a very loose fit in both of these "3.2mm" noses.

Does anyone have a similar experience with the noses of a recently bought rivet gun, whether an Eclipse or a different make? And does anyone know where I can get nose pieces for this new rivet gun that are genuinely sized to take the mandrels of 3/32" and 1/8" rivets? The nose pieces supplied have an M8 coarse thread.

The spares listed at the bottom of the page I linked to on Spear and Jackson/Eclipse's own website is in places slightly confusing about what you get for each product code, and 3/32" noses don't seem to be listed at all there, so buying from the manufacturer might not get me what I want.

Edited to eliminate website-created emojis.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 12/09/2022 22:39:09

Perhaps a daft question but have you checked the aperture sizes with gauge pins (or in my case it’d be drill shanks and calipers). Agree that while they claim to sell a 2mm nose piece they don't list that as a spare for the 3/32 rivets. Make your own?

pgk

I have a rivet gun as described. It works perfectly well. The fit of the mandrel in the nose isn't critical, as long as the nose supports the rivet head adequately. Not worth losing sleep over.

Hi, I agree with Redsetter, the size of the hole isn't critical, though you don't want it to be a snug fit on the drawing pin and a small clearance is needed. The important bit is the length of the nose inside the gun, too short and you won't get the drawing pin in, too long and it won't grip the drawing pin, or you will lose some pulling length on the drawing pin. Like pgk says, you can make your own, as they are not difficult to do.

Regards Nick.

There is more to the nose pieces than meets the eye ! The diameter of the hole is not critical - a reasonable fit is all that's need BUT the length is vital ! If the length is not right, when the rivet has been set the gun will not release the pin. The nose piece has a tapered or coned end that will open the gripping jaws, which have an angled face. When the tool is released the pin (should ) fall out and a new pin can be easily inserted. Not sure what gun you have ? Industrial or domestic ? Noel

With a pop rivet gun, don't use a nose that just accepts the rivet shanks, use the next size up. The grippers tend to leave a raised "knurl" on the shanks which will be hard to remove fron a close fitting bore.

Every single rivet gun I have used, the shank ejects from the rear of the machine.

It goes into the nosepiece untouched by the grippers and exits by the back door.

Sorry but if you use a larger nose than the rivet you run the risk of raising the centre of the finished rivet and as far as raising knurl type marks on the mandrel it should not make any difference to its ejection as its supposed to be ejected from the rear of the gun.

Good point about the length of shop-made nozzles.

Another DIY advantage is that they can be made to reach into locations inaccessible with the standard nozzles.

Heres one that doesn't eject rearwards for the know it alls.

**LINK**

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I've done some measuring.

The apertures in the two smallest noses of my new rivet gun, the Eclipse 2800, are 2.35mm. These noses are both intended for 1/8" rivets, which, according to JRP's catalogue, typically have a mandrel diameter of 1.7-1.9mm.

Hence the size discrepancy between the 1/8" rivet nose apertures on the Eclipse 2800 and the mandrel diameter of the rivets I'm likely to use in them is rather large.

By contrast, the apertures in the two smallest noses of my old Talco rivet gun are 1.6mm and 2.1mm. These are intended for 3/32" and 1/8" rivets respectively. 3/32" rivets typically have a mandrel diameter of 1.45mm, according to JRP [see page 14].

Hence the Talco's 1/8" rivet nose [as well as the 3/32"'s] gives a much closer fit than the Eclipse for the rivets I'm likely to use in it.

The only thing it seems to me can justify the apparently larger than necessary nose apertures in the new Eclipse gun is the existence today of outlier kinds of rivets, such as multigrip rivets, the 1/8" sizes of which in the JRP catalogue have nominal mandrel diameters of up to 2.1mm. Maybe in the 1970's, when the Talco gun was made, there simply wasn't such a large range of rivets for any given size and hence such a large range in the mandrel diameters of a single size of rivet as there is today. In the light of this, maybe there is some justification for the 2.35mm apertures in the Eclipse's 1/8" rivet noses.

Coming back to my own everyday needs, though, 0.65mm of clearance for a rivet whose mandrel may only be 1.7mm seems a bit excessive to me; my assumption is that it will increase the likelihood of rivets going in crooked, of mandrels breaking prematurely or not at all during the fixing of rivets, or of breakage of the nose itself. Hopefully, Redsetter's reassurances are to be trusted, and Bernard's concerns about raising the centre of the rivet won't in practice be a noticeable issue.

I could make rivet gun noses myself if I had a lathe, which I still don't. A shame Old Mart wouldn't sell me his Atlas lathe, in spite of my enthusiastic badgering!

Seem to have hit a nerve there

I seem? You seem?

Whose nerve, and how?