On Wednesday, August 24, 2011 9:39:57 AM UTC-6, Steve B wrote:
The subject has come up for me to use pop rivets along the edges of sheeting rather than special stitching self drilling screws @ $.17 - $.26 per.I have always wanted an air pop rivet tool, and it's one of those things that if I had one, I'd probably use it more on some projects.Question: Is this tool like a HF cheapie thing, or is it worth it to buy one that will last a lifetime? And it seems they are all fairly inexpensive, $25 - $60. Is it worth the extra dough to get a decent one over the HF version, or is this a tool that will see such little use that a cheap one will last long enough?Brand name suggestions?Steve -- Heart surgery pending? www.heartsurgerysurvivalguide.comHeart Surgery Survival Guide Now on facebook, too.

It all depends on how much you think you'll be using it. For occasional use, the HF will probably be fine. Downside is that it's a lot bulkier than some of the manual pullers and doesn't fit well in restricted spaces. Like the other poster, mine is made in Taiwan, I have no idea where current stock is made or what shortcuts they've got in the design. Mine has had no oil leaks anyway, but I haven't pulled thousands of rivets with it, either. They regularly go on sale and with a 20-25% coupon from the local paper are pretty much a steal. I think my final cost was less than $20. You'll probably want one of the swivel head manual pullers as well for tight spots. My projects are such that that one usually gets more play anyway, just because I don't have to drag out the hose and get the tank pumped up to use it for one or two rivets.

Note that some stainless rivets have hard shanks and they'll slip, no matter what make of puller you get. Had a hell of a time pulling a half-dozen of those on one project, got them from the hardware store.

Stan