On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:12:04 -0700 (PDT), Bob Kuykendall
wrote:

On Sep 14, 5:46Â*am, Michael Horowitz wrote:
A friend presents me with an assortment of rivets and a shrug of his
shoulders, so I'm attempting to determine what I have.... Most of these
rivets appear to have the universal head shape (MS20470), but come
in different head diameters...

If they are indeed MS20470, there is one standard head size and
profile for all -3 (3/32") rivets, another for all -4 (1/8") rivets,
another for all -5 (5/32"), and so on. So when you order rivet sets
for your rivet gun or rivet squeezer, go by the diameter of the rivet
stem, not by the head.

And if they're not MS20470, all bets are off. The dimple in the center
is some measure of assurance that the alloy is 2117, but outside of
that you're on your own. The cheapest way of knowing what you're
getting is to just buy some new ones from a reputable dealer like
Wicks or ACS or suchlike. Then you can visually compare known good
rivets with your freebies.

Thanks, Bob K.


Bob - I've got AN407 in 3/32 and in 1/8, and the rivet sets on order.
I was just trying not to have to throw away 5# of rivets if someone
could tell from the head size what series I had - Mike (now building
his first bucking bar)