Rivets on British carrier
 

I am working with the body and need rivets to fasten it. Will do hot riveting .I assume that the 3/8 is correct, but what length?

Hans Erik Jakobsen

From: https://www.hunker.com/12001429/how-to-choose-rivets
"According to The Sheet Metal Handbook, the length of a rivet is measured from the underside of the head to the tip of the stem. The head itself is not included in this measurement. The length of the rivet should be equal to the thickness of both objects you are fastening, plus 1.5 times the diameter of the rivet's stem. For example, a 1/2-inch diameter rivet being used to fasten two one-inch thick plates will have to be 2 3/4 inches long."
This matched what I remembered but I wanted to be able to give you a source.

Get in touch with Richie Harrison. He has a great website called Vanguard Restorations. He can set you up with what you need.

One source is https://www.hansonrivet.com/rivets/s...-solid-rivets/ I don't know their sales policy for outside the USA but you can always ask whether they will sell direct to you or if they know of a Norwegian seller of similar products.

I’ll say it again. Get in touch with Richie Harrison. He can specify the exact tools and rivets you need to do this. https://www.vanguardrestorations.co.uk His contact details are on his website.

Now I better understand your recomendation. Not only does he do restorations - he restores carriers and also some WS19 parts.

Richie will be riveting the current project I’m building . I have done riveting on other carrier but Richie has got it down to an art .... as Jordan says contact Richie

Practical experience
 

Samuel Tremblay has a carrier that he is riveting back together. He had a short Facebook video of a three-man job. A teenage boy passed a red hot rivet from the oven to someone outside the carrier, and the third man had a heading tool (might have been the other way around for the tools).

Grant, your info is correct for two flat pieces of steel, however the carrier side armour has a large countersink on the outside. Haerikj, I have done one carrier and am working on a second. I put a round head rivet in from the inside and form the dome on the outside. I have used a mix of 3/8" and 10mm rivets in the side armour. Going vertically (eg. angle iron to track guards and floor) they are 5/16" or 8mm. I have bolted mine every second hole and riveted in between. I use a drill 2 sizes larger than the rivet for the 3/8" or 10mm, (an 11/32" drill) This gives room for the expanded rivet to fit in the hole. It also allows the rivet to hold its heat until you work it Quick as you can)
The 1 1/2 x dia. is still good but you might need to allow a little more and experiment with the results until you are happy.
The dome on the outside is shallow the same as your lower hull. The hardest ones to access are the ones on the gunners side armour next to the steering box armour. I put my steering box armour up into place after doing those two rivets. The next difficult ones are those above the track guards, front and rear. I plan to rivet my new track guards up into place afterwards. This info depends on your available tooling. I have two big rivet guns. Both have 1 1/16" dia pistons. one has a 4" stroke and the other has a 6" stroke. (I have a 12 cu. ft compressor and std hose) The main thing you need is a motivated assistant to be on the "dolly" (bucking bar) When you are ready with the rivet gun call "push" and you go at it.
(it's just that you need a system) A heat scource for your rivets is required. I just use propane and oxy, but a portable forge would be better. I just pick up the hot rivet with a pair of cheap long nose pliers and insert it in the hole (calmly) It is much easier to stop and reheat a rivet than having to cut it out
I'm sure Richie does it differently, but that's a run down on what I do.
I hope that helps.
Edit: there are only a few thou. difference between 3/8" and 10mm. Like wise, 5/16" and 8mm. Use what you can buy. Be prepared to cut down longer rivets, or looked at another way, dont buy them too short.

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

Yes I can supply the tooling and recommend a rivet supplier (UK Based)

As Lynn has alluded, there is more than one way to skin a cat... as long as you are calm and methodical you will be fine.

I work in a two man crew, we prep our run of holes for riveting (every other hole) rivets are all checked and tails are sized to length. If setting from the outside with a countersink present you will need a tail length of around 14 - 15mm.

Heat the rivet until it is just sparkling, placed the rivet into the hole, the block man will shout “SET” indicating that the bucking bar is in place and he / she is ready for the squeeze.

The gunner will then place the gun over the rivet and shout “READY”, the block man replies “READY”

Gunner then fires being careful not to sheer the rivet or mark the platework.


Don’t heat the rivet too hot or you burn it.

Practice before you make the proper attempts on the plate.

Best of luck


Here is some footage of the first rivets I ever set, some eight years ago now..... I have set many many rivets since !

https://youtu.be/NKBXa9PaSZM



And some 3/8 button heads being done, not pretty but we were still learning at this stage... my son (13 years) was helping, he subsequently riveted the air boxes back together. Gun we use is a goose neck 4X aero riveter by CP. has a 3/8 throat and is more than up to the job for a carrier

https://youtu.be/xfYiCVUQXKQ

Richie

Thanks guys, for all this great info`s :)

Hans Erik