How were frames originally riveted - hot or cold?

JayJay

Well-known member
So today when replacing frame members, flanges, etc. we use hot riveting to do so. Were the frames originally hot riveted together, or cold riveted using high strength presses?
 
Thanks for your replies, mcgarrett and updraught. Interesting video, great segment on building spoked wheels.

So per the article in the Restorer that updraught provided, I guess the answer is yes - cold riveting for early 1927/1928 frames, and hot riveting beginning in early 1929.
 
For the larger diameter rivets, a restorer in the modern era only really has one choice since tooling like Ford used was custom made for them at the time and modern tooling has no equivalent. I hot rivet the big ones and use a 5X pneumatic hammer to drive them. I've had success up to 3/8" diameters on non Ford riveting.
 
Rotowrench -- what acft did you work on? Your knowledge impresses the heck out of me.
I was F-102/104 mechanic, Cuban Missile Crises
 
I started out in general aviation and then started rebuilding wrecked Hughes Helicopter products after growing up farming. I joined the Army National Guard for 6-years of UH-1 and OH-58 maintenance. I still work on helicopters but I retired after 45 years to concentrate on my other projects.
 
When I was in high-school we sometimes had occasion to peen over a cold rivit with a hammer, and some little finishing too we'd hold in our other hand. Talk about a fair amount of work!
 
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