Rivnut Tool

I’ve had this Rivnut tool for some time but it only came with M3, M4 and M5 mandrels and collars. Do any of you know if M6 tooling was ever available for it?

The supplier, RS don’t seem to supply this model any more.

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/mandrels/6235662

Yes I saw those. They are different to the ones my tool takes.

I think I’ve found one at Spaulding fasteners. 

Edited By Vic on 17/04/2023 16:40:25

I suspect that M5 is as big as the tool will reliably set. I found my similar but cheaper version broke doing one. And it was a toss-up whether I broke first, or the tool did.

Edited By Nick Wheeler on 17/04/2023 16:38:54

It is not hard to make your own rivnut setting device. There are many different sorts of rivnut, countless thread types,materials, thin lip, thick lip, but the important thing is the grip length. If the griptenght is too small/short then the insert may well pull out. A 12.9 ht set screw can be used with a few greased washers and a couple of nuts as a simple setter. Once you understand how it works the setter can be as fancy or simple as you like - mine is hydraulic and is used on 12mm. Noel.

And yes ! I had a cheap one that broke, the hydraulic one I made  gives me about 5 Tonnes.

Edited By noel shelley on 17/04/2023 16:43:52

Yes, I get where you’re coming from. I have however seen some aluminium nuts that would do for some of my jobs and suspect they may be easier to set than the steel ones.

Edit: I’ve ordered one on eBay. They also sell M8 versions. I think you’d need arms like Popeye to set nuts that size!

Edited By Vic on 17/04/2023 16:49:06

I would expect a lazy tong riveter would cope. I wouldn’t be wanting to do too many of the larger pop rivets with handles only that long - the scissor riveter would be out and in use!

Vic

I have some RS supplied M6 and M8 clinch nuts in addition to the standard M3, M4 and M5 that came with the tool. Fair old squeeze needed but they can be inserted

Mine is in an orange box but looks very much the same as yours. Probably 40 years old by now.

By no means the strongest setting version. They really are intended only for use with screws at relatively low torque. If you use thin material and add high strength loctite before fitting they will hold moderately torqued up bolts. But for bolts you are better off with the more hefty breed which do need hydraulic or screw style setters.

Used to have a fairly regular job at work extracting spun ones where folk didn't quippy enough squeeze, got over optimistic on the screw / bolt torque or used a blunt drill and left the push through burr on the inside. Which last is fatal to any decent retention force.

Clive

This tool was supplied to RS by Eclipse-Spiralux then Advel. I have one and they did sell M6 and M8 madrels and nosepieces for them. I have a full set. The largere sizes are easier to set than the M3 which is very easy to break.

See photo for some part numbers. The 7488-9500 number is Advel.
https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/884973.pdf

They seem to have been taken over by Zygology http://www.zygology.com

M3 was the only size I used the squeeze distance limiting screw for.

Breaking squeeze for M3 wasn't much more than that needed to set a Pop rivet. Hardly surprising since the core diameter of M3 is about the same as the mandrel diameter of the larger breed of Pop rivet.

Clive

I have the Spiralux tool which works well. I have a second tool made and supplied by a company called MEMFAST. The current tool designation Is RNHT48. I have their earlier version. I believe the later one uses caphead screws tro pull up the rivnuts and these are easily replaced if broken.

Colin

We have one at the museum that will do 8mm, but it is much bigger. I would think you would have to becalled Rambo to pull 6mm with a standard gun. The aluminium rivnuts are easier to pull, maybe that would do, but you still have to get or make the mandrel with the 6mm thread and a copy of the left hand thread at the other end.

I have the earlier one too. It's excellent, which you would expect for the price. But it has always worked and easily sets M8 rivnuts, unlike the plier type it replaced. Using caphead screws as the mandrels is a definite improvement if you use it a lot.

Thanks for the additional info Robert, very helpful.

Hi, I have two nut riveters, the first one I bought off ebay several years ago, which do 3, 4, 5 & 6mm nuts, but only aluminium ones. Several years ago I used it on a 3mm nut and had a senior moment, where I was expecting a snap, like you get with a pop rivet, and yes, that's exactly what happened.

Although I was rather annoyed with myself, I set the piece up in my collet chuck on my mini lathe, parted the broken piece of thread off and then drill and tapped it for a new piece of silver steel rod and thread-locked it in. Once set, the rod was cut to length and threaded.

This worked was just as it did from new.

My other one is an MFX 360S Blind nut riveter kit, which is much more robust and easier to adjust, and will do steel nuts.

I have used an 8mm steel nut, by using a socket head bolt with a nut a couple of washers, with plenty of oil on the threads, but it was slow going and a bit awkward to do, but it was successful.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 18/04/2023 08:21:02

Nice repair Nick. I hope I don’t have to do this but it’s good to know it can be done.