Rivets-what to do?
 

I am facing the replacement of missing plate steel on my mk I CDN carrier.

I know I can buy steel rivets but how the heck am I to form/hammer them.
I have been looking for a rivet gun but all the tool rental places we have here have no clue what I am talking about. And the couple of industrial suppliers have no sources.

If Riveting is not an option is there anything out there that at least looks like a rivet on the outside? Any suggestions?

Oh and the nuts and couter sunk screws that attach the 2 lifting eyes on the fron of the hull...are they just standard grade or should I use grade 8?

Thanks

Do a search for rivets in the Carrier forum. I asked this a few years ago and Rob Love supplied a bunch of info.

What I ended up using was carriage bolts. On the outside they look great and really aren't that noticable on the inside with all of the nuts.

As for the csk screws for the front lifting eyes I used the originals when I could save them. All that I could get my hands on were regular grade (5?) ones. So far the eyes havn't ripped off when the UC is being winched onto the back of the tow truck. However I don't tell the driver why im suddenly standing 20 feet away.

Rivets
 

A search on "rivet set" will turn up several suppliers of 0.401 shank sets to form round heads. The beauty of the .401 shank is that it is the standard for air hammers, whether they are cheap from Princess Auto or the more expensive ones used for aircraft riveting with "teasing" soft start triggers. For the larger steel rivets used on the carrier (and on CMP frames) you may need to have the rivet shank a tosty red, or better, before trying to for the head. Either heat or a pretty sturdy rivet gun will be needed for the larger steel rivets. Assuming that you want round heads on both ends of the rivet, you may want a bucking bar with a matching dished space for the preformed rivet head. Also, let the rivet set air cool rather than water (or oil) quenching it to avoid changing its metalurgical properties (brittle fractures on impact tools can fly dangerously).
Many of the suppliers are mainly aimed at aircraft building, some do internet commerce.
See:
http://www.rivetsinstock.com
http://www.bylerrivet.com/
http://www.hansonrivet.com/
http://www.rivet.com/
http://www.fastenermart.com

As Jordan mentioned, I re-rivetted mine. Using the standard air chisel to drive the rivets won't be enough. I heated mine up red and then would form them. Often I would have to heat them a second time, and even a third, to get it right. I was working by myself, so I used a bottle jack and approprite extensions to hold the rivet in place. The already formed head of the rivet is on the inside of the carrier; the newly formed head is on the outside. This is true for all but the ones on the rear armor outside edges, where the rivets go in.

Most guys just go with the carriage bolts. You will save weeks of aggravation going this route.

I am about to rivet another carrier this spring. I picked up a bunch of aluminum rivets which I will try. They may be a lot easier. I am not expecting these vehicles to be going over mines anyway.

A reasonable compressor and an air chisel/hammer tool I have. I will see about finding a good bit for it.

Rob Aluminum would be easier, but is there any concern about a galvanic reaction using aluminum rivets on Steel?

Beats me. Chemistry is not one of my strong suits. I usually seal my work up pretty good with an epoxy primer if that makes any difference.

What you need is the help of an old time Ironworker, a real pneumatic rivet gun and the proper bucking bar to accomplish this, just like the originals...

Fake Rivets
 

A Jeep restorer used button head socket cap screws then filled in the allen socket in the head with weld and tack welded the nut. I haven't tried this myself.