reusable plastic rivets - what is my problem?!?!

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Buckeye

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I am trying to use the resusable plastic rivets (5/32", I think) to hold av-bays. Inserting is no problem. Removing is the problem. I try to pry up the rivet with a pen knife, and more than half the time, I snap the head off the darn thing. This occurs even more frequently in cold weather, of course. If I can pry it up just a tad, and get thumb and forefinger fingernails under it for a more even pull, then I am more successful. I am ready to ditch these things and go back to screws! Am I just a klutz, or am I doing something fundamentally wrong, here?
 
If you have a Swiss Army knife try slipping the can opener blade under the cap and then gently levering up with the force more towards the stem of the cap.
 
If you have some scrap material to experiment with, you may try opening hole in the inner component (the coupler ?) a smidge. Sounds like it may be too tight and pinching the rivet. I don't know that you should do it on the actual AV bay until the theory is proven. (I would, but I am not the brightest bulb in the pack at times)
 
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You can just not use the cap part.

Note: do this only when you don't have great forces on the rivets: we used 6 to hold together a fairly large rocket after adding a camera bay: three above and three below. However, we couldn't find the caps for the upper rivets so we just left them off, and they sheared off when the parachute deployed, causing a separation at apogee, destroying the booster (and the associated GoPro).
 
I am trying to use the resusable plastic rivets (5/32", I think) to hold av-bays. Inserting is no problem. Removing is the problem. I try to pry up the rivet with a pen knife, and more than half the time, I snap the head off the darn thing. This occurs even more frequently in cold weather, of course. If I can pry it up just a tad, and get thumb and forefinger fingernails under it for a more even pull, then I am more successful. I am ready to ditch these things and go back to screws! Am I just a klutz, or am I doing something fundamentally wrong, here?

Dear Mr. Buck,

I appreciate your problem, been there more often than I care to admit. I've switched over to the larger 1/4" size we sell for just the reason you describe. I find them infinitely easier to work with.

Kent/GLR
 
I was just given a beautifully painted rocket that has plastic pop rivets and I am worried I am going to mess up the paint job trying to get them off. I glue a small piece of wood inside the av-bay. put in a brass threaded insert, then use brass screws. These have never failed me. Not a big fan of rivets.

Screw and Insert Method.jpg
 
I use a 2-56 metal buttonhead screw and have no problems. Toss the plastic "push in thingie" out. Kurt

What length do you use? I found some 1/4" long ones that I think would work great, but I worry they're not quite long enough...
 
What length do you use? I found some 1/4" long ones that I think would work great, but I worry they're not quite long enough...
.

I actually cut them to length for the plastic expansion base. Do a bunch of them at once. I consider those plastic rivets expendable and when they don't feel like the base expands properly, I replace them. You have to be sure the screw is long enough to expand the base. Kurt
 
If you drill the hole a tad larger, the rivet is easier to pull out. I have done this with plastic nosecones and none have come out but then there's less force put on the rivet. Don't trim your thumb and forefinger nails, they're your best tool:smile:
 
Another thing. I've seen people use finishing nails of the "right size" to expand the base and cut the nail down. The head is hanging out the breeze though a bit. I do like the black 2-56 round head screws that take a ball hex driver. Kurt
 
I have found monofilament fishing line works great to remove rivets without marring paint. Just slip the monofilament under the cap, wrap once and pull up.
 
I have found monofilament fishing line works great to remove rivets without marring paint. Just slip the monofilament under the cap, wrap once and pull up.

That's pretty brilliant.

I just ordered a pack of 100 screws for the rivet caps. 5/16" length, 2-52 threads, truss head. $7-ish on Amazon. The screw heads should look pretty awesome in my Madcow 4" Patriot.
 
Check out this page from the McMaster Catalog. https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/120/3312/=uy7fj9

Rocket Rivets are click-lock shank rivets. They come in different diameters and lengths for various wall thicknesses so there is really no reason to cut them.

There are other types of removable blind rivets, but the click-lock shank rivet type is the strongest. MMC has 4 diameter rivets corresponding to #6, #8, #10 and 1/4" screw diameters. This corresponds to 1/8", #20 or #19, 13/64" and 1/4" drill sizes for mounting holes. (The recommended 5/32" drill is really too small for the "standard #8 rocket rivet which is why you are having problems removing them.)

Hope this is useful for you.

Bob
 
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