"Michael Horowitz" wrote in message
...
Looking thru e-bay I see mention of 3x and 4x rivet guns.
What's the difference? - Mike

The difference is the size of the gun and the force of it's hammering cycle.
In the experimental community (RV's primarily), people use 2x and 3x guns.
The 2x is good for rivets up to 1/8", and the 3x gives you enough power to
rivet at least one size larger rivet. The 4x would be even bigger. I
suspect a 4x gun is overkill for 99% of the rivets on light aircraft.

Using an over-sized gun for the job at hand requires a lot of expertise to
avoid damaging the structure or skins, and using an under-sized gun requires
too many blows on the rivet, causing excessive work hardening.