Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

I've had two things that needed pop-riveting lately, the bag dispenser
lid from the doggie bathroom that got knocked over, and the extension
from my rear downspout, to take the water away from the house.

I"m 96% sure I used the same alluminum pop-rivets as the last several
times, but this time, the nail part broke off before there was any
appreciable bulging of the "sleeve" part.

I tried 3 rivets on the first task before I just used vice-grips to
squish the sleeve.(It came out perfect.) The downspout seemed to
work okay on the second try, but that's still 4 rivets that failed and
only one that worked.

Do they get brittle with age?


Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:33:42 -0400, micky
wrote:

Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

I've had two things that needed pop-riveting lately, the bag dispenser
lid from the doggie bathroom that got knocked over, and the extension
from my rear downspout, to take the water away from the house.

I"m 96% sure I used the same alluminum pop-rivets as the last several
times, but this time, the nail part broke off before there was any
appreciable bulging of the "sleeve" part.

I tried 3 rivets on the first task before I just used vice-grips to
squish the sleeve.(It came out perfect.) The downspout seemed to
work okay on the second try, but that's still 4 rivets that failed and
only one that worked.

Do they get brittle with age?


Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?

First question first re your header: Yes, everything does.
Next, do they get brittle with age: No.
Last, should you be using steel rivets: It depends.

The steel rivets are for use in ferrous metals and the aluminum rivets
are for use in nonferrous metals.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:33:42 -0400, micky
wrote:

Do they get brittle with age?

I used military grade aircraft aluminum rivets on a boat. Glad I did.
They did not fail. This was without a rivet gun and done with hand
tools.

On 9/28/2014 7:33 PM, micky wrote:
Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

Yes, and so are you and I.




Do they get brittle with age?

I recently used a couple that I brought home from work in the 60's and
they are perfect. No idea why the metal would change unless it reached
a couple hundred degrees.

Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?


Use steel in steel, aluminum in most everything else.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:10:20 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 9/28/2014 7:33 PM, micky wrote:
Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

Yes, and so are you and I.




Do they get brittle with age?

I recently used a couple that I brought home from work in the 60's and
they are perfect. No idea why the metal would change unless it reached
a couple hundred degrees.

Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?


Use steel in steel, aluminum in most everything else.
Some alloys age harden. Not sure if any are used in pulled rivets,
but solid rivets are available both hard and soft - and soft ones are
only soft for a limitted time. They may need to be annealed before
use.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 22:02:24 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:10:20 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 9/28/2014 7:33 PM, micky wrote:
Do pop rivets get old? AKA blind rivets.

Yes, and so are you and I.




Do they get brittle with age?

I recently used a couple that I brought home from work in the 60's and
they are perfect. No idea why the metal would change unless it reached
a couple hundred degrees.

Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?


Use steel in steel, aluminum in most everything else.

Is that because of electroylsis or something similar?

Some alloys age harden. Not sure if any are used in pulled rivets,
but solid rivets are available both hard and soft - and soft ones are
only soft for a limitted time. They may need to be annealed before
use.

Well, I don't know either if such an alloy was used here, but they were
20 or 30 years old. I've just about run out, and I bought a bigger box
of assorted new ones, also aluminum, so next project I'll try the new
ones too.

Thanks, all.

On 9/29/2014 12:05 PM, micky wrote:

Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?


Use steel in steel, aluminum in most everything else.

Is that because of electroylsis or something similar?


Actually, you could use aluminum is steel too, but you usually get more
strength with steel and since you are protecting it with paint anyway,
the rivet won't rust.

With aluminum, you don't have to add any additional protective coatings.

On Mon, 29 Sep 2014 14:58:20 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 9/29/2014 12:05 PM, micky wrote:

Should I be using steel pop rivets instead? What are the advantage of
them?


Use steel in steel, aluminum in most everything else.

Is that because of electroylsis or something similar?


Actually, you could use aluminum is steel too, but you usually get more
strength with steel and since you are protecting it with paint anyway,
the rivet won't rust.

With aluminum, you don't have to add any additional protective coatings.
And alunum and steel are not your only choices. There is also Monel
and stainless steel - and likely others as well.