Removing Henry's rivets

Gary

Gary

Senior Member
Advice please, on how best to remove Henry's rivets on a 40 Ford pick up cross-member at the frame, trans X-member. Grinding them off would/could damage the frame, drill them out small to bigger bit or a torch. Making room for a 289-C-4 !
Thanks in advance Barnfolk.
 
Air chisel, shear off the head and then punch out the remainder.
Good luck with your project.
Bruce
 
Easiest for me has been to carefully grind off the flat (bucked side) of the rivet so as not to contact the frame member. Then, if rivet shank is 1/4" drill a shallow hole in center of rivet with a 1/8" bit and using a 1/8" drift and ball pein hammer drive remainder of rivet out. The shallow hole relaxes the grip on the frame members allowing easier removal and no distortion.
 
I found it works the best to grind a flat on the rounded head, center punch and drill a hole slightly smaller than the rivet diameter almost all the way though, then use a drill larger than the rivet diameter to remove the head, followed by a punch to knock the remainder out. Many times the original holes are not lined up and the rivet expands to fill the area when originally bucked. As a result it is easy to damage the frame material if too much brute force is used.
 
Ditto, X2 a little extra work but well worth the effort.

rich b said:
I found it works the best to grind a flat on the rounded head, center punch and drill a hole slightly smaller than the rivet diameter almost all the way though, then use a drill larger than the rivet diameter to remove the head, followed by a punch to knock the remainder out. Many times the original holes are not lined up and the rivet expands to fill the area when originally bucked. As a result it is easy to damage the frame material if too much brute force is used.
Click to expand...
 
Only thing I would add to Rich B is I found that the cheap step drills from HFreight as the best cutting option for the initial hole. They come in a 3 size set and the smallest one works good with a slow drill speed. Not all variable speed drills are slow enough.
 
Gary,

I too agree with rich b and oz40....more work but well worth it....I lovingly removed EVERY rivet in my '36 Ford pickup frame (I think there were a total of 98 rivets). I then could separate and sand blast all four frame rails, epoxy primer then start putting back together.

Take your time and it will all be worth it. Definitely do not "burn them out".

Bruce in California.
 

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I've only done this once, and I tried various methods. The one that worked best for me was the 'drill the head off' method, and punch out the rest. It went quick and easy.
I would only add one thing... I found one rivet where the head had been formed off-center from the shank. I was lucky, and I noticed it before the drill touched the frame.
I had that center trans-saddle out in minutes, after I found the way that worked.
 
In aviation, the procedure for solid shank rivets is to drill the head (easier to find the center) with a bit the same size as the the rivet shank until the hole is near the surface of the base metal structure then, using a punch the same diameter at the rivet, break off the head. This allows the shank to be driven out of the base metal. If the rivet it too tight, the remaining shank can be drilled out by adjusting the drilling to keep it on center.

On many solid rivet installations, the original hole gets distorted and slightly over sized by the original bucking process of the rivet. It's important to make an attempt to keep from over sizing the hole as much as possible. Aluminum aircraft structures can't be welded up to drill a new hole like steel can. A person just has to use the next size larger rivet to repair an over sized rivet hole.

On these old steel rivets in large diameters I either use a hand held belt sander or carbide wheel grinder to reduce the size of the head or buck tail to near flush as possible then drive them out. If they won't drive easily, I use a drill to open the hole up a bit to get it to let go. They are harder than their small aluminum counterparts and can take the heat much better. You can always weld a hole up and re-drill it if you have to but it's more work.
 
Gary, all the above will work. I had to use a combination of cutting off the head, grinding, drilling and punches. When Ford riveted their chassis the rivets expanded in the hole and made them a real chore to remove. Take your time and you will be ok.
 
rich b said:
I found it works the best to grind a flat on the rounded head, center punch and drill a hole slightly smaller than the rivet diameter almost all the way though, then use a drill larger than the rivet diameter to remove the head, followed by a punch to knock the remainder out. Many times the original holes are not lined up and the rivet expands to fill the area when originally bucked. As a result it is easy to damage the frame material if too much brute force is used.
Click to expand...
x3 on the above advice.
 
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