How do the big boys dimple?

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 19:07:00 -0800, "larsen-tools"
wrote:

It seems that they would use something other than "C-frames" with dimple die
sets and a dead blow mallet.

Before I bit the bullet and bought a rivet squeezer, I drilled some
bar stock for the size of the dimple stem and set the female piece
into the barstock, then clamped that into the vice.

Did the same thing with the die. Then I drilled the holes I wanted to
dimple, set the die into the hole and set the die into the dimple in
the vice and wacked it with the hammer.

I ended up setting things up so that the sheet of aluminum was
supported at several corners so that the sheet was level where the die
was.

This worked, after a fashion. With a bit of practice the dimples
started looking right. I set the rivets in the same manner: Set
countersunk rivet into the dimpled hole, flipped the work upside down
and held the rivet against a bucking bar clamped in the vice. Then I
used the hammer to squash the rivet until it was flattened about the
proper amount. Needless to say, these weren't structural parts I was
building.

Still don't own a rivet gun, but I should get one one of these days.

Corky Scott