seattlejester Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Hey guys, Looking into getting a rivnut tool. I have to make some brackets for my quick release latches and possibly some flares in the future as well as revising some poorly placed self tapping screws. I fear some of the places will be difficult to put a backing plate onto so there is some allure to the rivnut. Anyone have some recommendation? I'd like to get a tool instead of the simple wrenching them down ones. The astro 1442 caught my eye, I'm a little worried that it might be long, but from what I'm reading the longer two handle ones are easier to use then the single hand ones, and the single hand ones will struggle to pull larger bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) If you're indecisive, buy the harbor freight tool in the meantime. It's like 14 bucks. Comes with some inserts too. Also buy one of the wrench down types too, as they fit better in tighter locations. I find myself constantly using the smaller tool. I'm glad I have both, though. But if you have the space, the harbor freight installer (looks like a pop rivet gun) is capable of installing both aluminum and stainless inserts with relative ease. Edited December 27, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Hmm, fair point, they each do have their own uses. I'll pick up the HF one and use it as a bench mark. Worse comes to worse, I can figure out what I find lacking. Some of the smaller ones are tubes/nuts which seems a bit silly to pay for. I think I can make those easily enough. Thanks for chiming in Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namor Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I wanted metric rivnuts and the only two options I found were the Astro 1442 and this here BP-738K-MET (with metric sized mandrels & rivet nuts) $57.50 http://mdmetric.com/prod/bluepneu/bluepneumaticprice06.pdf http://mdmetric.com/prod/bluepneu/rivetnut.html I ended up with both of them and can tell you that for M6 and smaller, I pretty much only use the pop rivet gun style. It was $57.50, but I have been happy with it. If you don't insist on metric, then the Harbor Freight one is a good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 HF one works, although you can't buy rivnuts from them anymore, so once you run out, you'll have to get them from somewhere else. You can buy nuts from mcmaster.com. The steel ones are impossible to use with the HF pop rivet style tool, but the AL ones work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I have a manual, wrench type. (non hydraulic) I've used it dozens of times for smaller job and it works great!. I suppose the hydraulic one would be better if you were doing many fastenings, repeatedly. Mine came with about six different thread sizes. Be sure to get the one that covers the size work you intend to use it for. Here is a link to Lem Inc.Akron Ohio, where I purchased mine. www.online-lem-hand-tools.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Thanks for the replies guys, I was up till 2 or 3AM looking at my options. I think I want to work with steel, while I'm sure aluminum is fine. I have read some people pull the threads out and then you have drill it out and resize it which then means if you are doing a series on the outside (flares for example) you have one that is offsize. If all else fails by using steel riv nuts, I can drill it out and fish it out with a magnet and I can add a tack weld on the outside if it decides to spin or something of that nature. Some of the sizes I will be running will be larger 1/4-20 which makes me lean towards the two handed ones, but for small little brackets that hold catch cans or my oil filter relocator etc, the small one handed one seems to be the way to go. I have both the one hand and the two hand manual hydraulic ones added to my cart along with a couple hundred extra riv nuts in both metric and standard, looks to be about 130$ which is still cheaper then one of the nicer one handed units. My christmas gift to myself . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramagedained Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 FWIW, I used one of these helping my Dad with adding some mud flaps to his Raptor. The tool that looks like a regular rivet gun is doable with 1/4-20 sized steel pieces. With aluminum ones it is very easy. We had an issue with one of the aluminum inserts(out of 20) and had to remove it. Once installed somehow the bolt ended up cross threaded and ruined it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) My manual tool came with an allen head bolt to crank it down with. I saw a lot of people on youtube using a cordless drill, so I replaced the allen head with a grade 8 bolt on my standard one and 12.9 on the metric one and run them down with a cordless drill. It crushes them down quickly. GO to 21:30 and you can see what I mean. https://youtu.be/bK2-A-ou0RM Edited December 29, 2015 by socorob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'm still just using size 6 or 8 sheet metal screws.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hmm looks like his is almost just a large nut. I really like the usage of them, so I think I'll grab the two different tools. I saw some guy making threaded holes into cardboard so I think these will be pretty fun to play with. I've used plenty of sheet metal screws to hold up various things, but I think this approach is probably going to be neater, safer, and stronger. I'm almost tempted to use them for some sheet metal screw grounds I have, but if it came to that I think I would weld them to assure body contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Do you have a cage? Weld a nut to your cage and use that for the ground. Nice, solid metal. PM me your address and I'll send you some steel 1/4-20 nuts. I can't use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'm thinking in the engine bay. I had to weld in new panels for the battery area so the wiring just got sheet metal screws for ground. I probably should weld some nuts, or maybe these inserts to make a good connection. I only have a roll bar unfortunately, and that is just a pretty poor bolt in design. Cool, I'll take it over to PM's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 https://youtu.be/htW_dQ_fhxk All you need is a nut(a flange nut with serrations to help keep the rivnut from spinning is best), and a grade 8 bolt. Get the flange nut a size or 2 down from the size bolts you want to use. Drill the threads out of the flange nut so the bolts will fit through snugly. Using a flange nut lets you push down tight with an end wrench, and use a drill to turn the bolt to suck it down. Basically what this guy has in the video but replace that long threaded hex piece with a flange nut you drill out. Cheap, easy and works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 Well I figure I can use the one hand tool with one hand where needed like in the trans tunnel or under the dash, and I can really clamp down hard with the two-hander on the outside where if I went flares I would be running quite a few of these. Guess I'm just a sucker for getting more tools . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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