hot riveting

myaddress2020

myaddress2020

Member
hello all
i wonder if anyone out there has ever hot riveted new "roller tracks" on a model A, brake, back plate? the tracks come with a jig to hold one side of the rivet.
the way i understand it i could use a propane torch to get the rivet red hot, then pick up a lump hammer and beat the rivet into a mushroom, but i didnt know if i should have a tool to hit the top of the rivet, with a mushroom shape in it.
Vince
 
ok i gotcha.
im thinking its better to heat the rivet seperated from back plate and when its red, grab and slide the plate with roller track over the top of the rivet. this way i wont heat the plate and track unnecessarily. will the rivet have expanded stopping me from doing that?
 
if you concentrate your heat on the rivett it will not transfer to the backplate. no worries heating them together. i use the rivett tool in my impact gun and they come out looking like original.
 
If no impact tool available, Model A vendors sell a hand held Rivet Upset Tool that one hits with a ball pein hammer to provide a neat round head.
 
I found that a propane torch is not sufficient. You need oxygen/acetylene. The backing plate acts like a big heat sink. Also if your holes are the proper size you cannot heat the rivet then insert it into the backing plate. The rivet expands just enough to prevent that.
 
i think i just found that out about the propane. my uncle is a heating guy and he uses acetylene to sweat pipe. there isnt an oxy cylinder with it. just the ac i guess.
 
If you use only acetylene, you will get lots of smoke, particles floating around and a very cool flame. You have to have oxygen to get a very hot flame. I think what your uncle was using was Mapp gas. It is similar to propane, but produces a hotter flame (no additional oxygen needed). I am not sure Mapp gas would produce a hot enough flame to get the rivet cherry red.
Rusty Nelson
 
Definitely oxy/acetylene to heat rivets cherry red, on the parts to be assembled. Use two people - one to work the torch, one to mushroom the rivet. Do it in two steps instead of all at once for a more controlled process.
TD
 
Just to clarify "burning", you will get a yellow, sooty flame from propane and mapp as well as acetylene if burned in free air with no added air or oxygen in the mix. The propane and mapp torches use the venturi principle to suck air into the mix. There are lots of acetylene/air torches out there too, and they mix in air the same way, giving an adiabatic mix that produces a nice blue flame, about 4,350F, much hotter than mapp. I have one attached to a prestolite tank, used it for years for brazing work on heavy silver. It will make a steel or wrought iron rivet bright orange quickly and easily. What you will not get from any air/fuel torch is the pinpoint inner flame needed for puddle control in welding. That requires pure oxygen in the mix.
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did the job yesterday with my friends oxy acty torch. worked fine. i think mike here is right, you can do it with just acetylene. the oxy is needed if you are welding and need that pretty puddle. thank you everyone.
Vinny
 
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