Riveting Wooden Handles..... Old tool

[UserGone]

I have an antique Universal rivet setter that I modified to install the wooden handle back on on my lid.
  This 26er I just picked up still had its original wooden handle but the aluminum tube rivets were loose and handle was being held on by electrical tape. I wanted to use the original tube rivets and had to figure out a way how to set them without damaging the lid.

This rivet setter uses various interchangeable screw-on dies that have a 5/16 X 24 pitch thread. I didn't have a top end die that was the same diameter to set the aluminum flat top rivet so I made one. It needed to be the same diameter as the rivet and long enough to reach the counter sunk wooden handle.
I grinded down a stainless steel bolt that had the same 5/16 X 24 thread pitch. It was close enough in diameter size as the original rivet head.

 
The lower flaring die needed to be repositioned to allow clearance when setting the handle on the lid. I made a new collar sleeve that I tapped with a 5/16 X24 tapping tool and by lowering it this gave me the clearance I needed.



 You can see the clearance while installing the handle.


My faded black 26" Fleetwood  has a nice tight fitting wooden handle again.


I was wondering what you guys are using to install  wooden handles? Are you using rivets or screws?


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[MacEggs]

Nicely done!  Old tools are amazing.

[Hogsy]

Well played!

[Craig]

 Nice work! Cool old tool too!

[RottiGuy]

That looks great!!

[Neil_VT00]

Wow, just wow!  As far as I know you are the first to re-rivet your handle on.  Most of the time they are just replaced with screws.

Now you just need to figure out the tools needed to re-rivet bowl vents on

[charred]

I'm in awe...what a talent.

[Darko]

Now we just need to find a tool to re rivet daisy wheels!

[UserGone]

  This antique Universal rivet setter I have was still new in the box when I got it. I've seen used versions on eBay sell for $15-$25.  It was easy to retrofit the upper die by using a 5/16" bolt that I cut down. Anyone should be able to copy this if you want to have your own. 
If anyone is in the Milwaukee area you can always stop by and borrow mine.



I know a little about setting rivets. The vent and daisy wheel rivets are solid rivets. This style rivet are typically set with a pneumatic hammering tool on one side and a hand held domed dolly on the other side.
On the lid vents, the dome on the rivet is on the outside. A hand held steel domed dolly would be placed snugly against this domed rivet. A pneumatic hammering gun would hammer the back side of this solid rivet causing it to mushroom till the vent is secured in place.

I have a couple of these domed hand dollies but they may not be the correct size Weber used. I'll need to test fit them against the Weber domed rivet to see if they fit. 
These purpose build pneumatic riveting tools are expensive and I don't own one. I don't see how one couldn't retrofit a cheap air chisel to perform the same job since you would be using aluminum domed rivets that won't require much force.
I'll build a jig that would accommodate an 18",22" or 26" kettle to hand hammer rivets in place. This would be ideal and less expensive. It would be large and take up some space. Would be a very slow way at installing one rivet at a time but we are not in production here. Besides, anyone would feel safer hammering in a rivet by hand rather than using a pneumatic tool that could easily get away from you and cause major damage to the porcelain.


 


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[UserGone]

 The domed steel dolly I have is close in size. I'll need to file down the rounded part of this domed die press but I think it will do the job. I'll order some rivets and play with this idea.
 



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[SixZeroFour]

Fantastic Thread Smokin Performer!

Thanks to you I found another "The Universal" and hope to be experimenting soon. I may need to pick your brain regarding the die's required... the one I found does have the little bullet tip die on there so I'm hoping all I need to do is make up a top die like you did using the bolt.

Cheers again!

 

[greenweb]

Pretty cool! Nice work.

[UserGone]

 I had to make two cuts on the SS bolt as the threaded part was 6mm too long. First I shortened the threaded area by 6mm and rounded the edges so you can thread it in.

 Then I cut the bolt at 21mm and smoothed out the edges.
 





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[UserGone]

This is a table top mounted rivet setter. It's made by F.H. Smith Mfg.Co.  Chicago USA and this smaller rivet setter is The Universal Model "D"
  I'm using the "Point" No. 123 die but it looks like others will also work.

I've seen a hand held setter but the throat looks too narrow. If I can find a hand held setter with a throat larger than 42mm that would be better.


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[UserGone]

 I'm still working out the bugs on this lid handle rivet setter.

 I needed to make the lower point die adapter stronger. I used a Clevis pin that had a larger diameter head. I drilled and tapped this Clevis pin to use as my adapter. This made me lose a few millimeters of clearance.  I then decided to grind down the base of the riveter to gain needed clearance.

It worked out good but I still need to find a smaller diameter point die as the size I'm using is a little wider than the factory counter sunk hole on the wooden handle. I may need to find a smaller diameter point die or file it down to size.  Still a work in progress.







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