What rivets to use on Airstream?

Overview of Airstream Rivets

• Buck rivets: The solid rivets installed with a pneumatic gun at the factory to assemble the Airstream shell.
• Olympic rivets: Manufactured by Oympic, these rivets most resemble the factory-installed buck rivets – but they can be installed by one person and don’t require two-sided access.

What size are Airstream rivets?

1/4″
1/4″ rivets are typically the correct length for clinching up to two sheets of aluminum. If you need to clinch more material, choose the 3/8″ or 1/2″ rivets and cut to length for your application using our rivet cutters.

What size rivets exterior Airstream?

Airstream uses a variety of pop rivets, but most are aluminum and most have 1/8” diameter body or 3/16” diameter body. You can find the basic type in hardware stores. There are also specialty rivets with extra-wide heads, used for belly pan repairs. It’s a good idea to have a few of those in your tool kit too.

What is Buck type rivet?

A bucked rivet is a round fastener that attaches two or more pieces of metal together. The rivet is driven by a pneumatic rivet gun with an attached rivet set shaped according to the shape of the manufactured head of the rivet.

What is a buck rivet?

What do the numbers on an Airstream rivet mean?

Example: All Airstream rivet codes begin with AD to signify they are Aluminum (A) and Dimple (D). The two numerical digits 43 identify the shell diameter (4 = 4/32″) and the grip range (3 = 3/32″)

What is the difference between a rivets and ad rivets?

“A” rivets are “soft”. They are fabricated from 1100-grade aluminum and have a tensile strength of 16,000 PSI. “AD” rivets are fabricated from 2117 aluminum and heat treated to the T4 condition. They have a shear strength of 26,000 PSI and a tensile strength of 38,000 PSI.

What is the shear strength of aluminum rivets?

They are fabricated from 1100-grade aluminum and have a tensile strength of 16,000 PSI. “AD” rivets are fabricated from 2117 aluminum and heat treated to the T4 condition. They have a shear strength of 26,000 PSI and a tensile strength of 38,000 PSI.

What does the B mean on a rivet?

The B in this code tells us it’s a blind rivet, and the A tells us the shell is aluminum, and the S tells us the mandrel is made of steel. You’ll need to measure two things: The diameter of the hole where you’ll place the rivet (shell diameter), and the thickness of the material to be riveted (the grip range).