More Popper Poop

To Any Homebuilders Still Out The

If you've seen the recent sale brochure from Harbor Freight for 500 'regular'
pop rivets for $2.49, you may have wondered what they were. (The brochure
didn't say and the nice young lady on the phone didn't know.)

They are dome-head ALUMINUM poppers with a plated STEEL mandrel. (Jus' like it
sez on the lid of the box.)

Length is a nominal .250 but the diameter is a scant .1225 - .123, meaning you
should use an eighth-inch bit. The diameter is a bit odd (keep in mind these
are Chinese goods). Poppers from most other manufacturers... Marson, USM, etc
run .1245 - .1250, meaning you'd use the normal #30 drill bit, as for real
rivets (ie, -4's)

Cursory inspection of two boxes didn't turn up any obvious QC problems -- no
deformed rivets nor loose mandrels, etc.. They did seem to have a bit more oil
on them than some other brands but that shouldn't be a problem since washing
poppers with MEK or lacquer thinner before installation is SOP.

I only tested two. Single shear, with the mandrel driven out, both tested
about 80 pounds, a bit less than a real AD3 rivet but equal to other aluminum
poppers.

If you'll check around I think you'll agree that half a cent per each is a
pretty good price for poppers.

---------------------------------------

Sorry for the intrusion. I'll let you get back to bashing Barnyard Bob an'
other important stufff.

-R.S.Hoover

"Veeduber" wrote in message
...
To Any Homebuilders Still Out The

If you've seen the recent sale brochure from Harbor Freight for 500
'regular'
pop rivets for $2.49, you may have wondered what they were. (The brochure
didn't say and the nice young lady on the phone didn't know.)

They are dome-head ALUMINUM poppers with a plated STEEL mandrel. (Jus'
like it
sez on the lid of the box.)

Length is a nominal .250 but the diameter is a scant .1225 - .123, meaning
you
should use an eighth-inch bit. The diameter is a bit odd (keep in mind
these
are Chinese goods). Poppers from most other manufacturers... Marson, USM,
etc
run .1245 - .1250, meaning you'd use the normal #30 drill bit, as for real
rivets (ie, -4's)

Cursory inspection of two boxes didn't turn up any obvious QC problems --
no
deformed rivets nor loose mandrels, etc.. They did seem to have a bit
more oil
on them than some other brands but that shouldn't be a problem since
washing
poppers with MEK or lacquer thinner before installation is SOP.

I only tested two. Single shear, with the mandrel driven out, both tested
about 80 pounds, a bit less than a real AD3 rivet but equal to other
aluminum
poppers.

If you'll check around I think you'll agree that half a cent per each is a
pretty good price for poppers.

---------------------------------------

Sorry for the intrusion. I'll let you get back to bashing Barnyard Bob
an'
other important stufff.

Ah, no. Whacking the BB just makes him that much stubborner.

-R.S.Hoover

Thanks for that delightful information, Veeduber. Do you know where good
shrinkable polyester fabric suitable for a homebuilt can be obtained? And
no, I'm not talking about Polyfiber or Ceconite, but a cheaper alternative.
Somebody here used to buy it in large bolts, but we have lost the source for
it.

"Veeduber" wrote in message
I only tested two. Single shear, with the mandrel driven out, both tested
about 80 pounds, a bit less than a real AD3 rivet but equal to other

aluminum

Veeduber,

I've been planning to make a pull-test rig. Figured weld a tab to a
large bolt and run it through a large chunk of angle iron. A piece of
cable and a couple bolt down clamps would finish it. Clamp the test
subject to the angle and to the business end of the cable. A spring
type torque wrench to tell me how hard I'm pulling when it pops. Do you
have a better system that you like to use. I know you mentioned the
bucket once before, but I have quite a few samples I'd like to test, and
some are stonger than others (fiberglass layup samples and the like).

--
http://www.ernest.isa-geek.org/
"Ignorance is mankinds normal state,
alleviated by information and experience."
Veeduber

Veeduber wrote:

To Any Homebuilders Still Out The

If you've seen the recent sale brochure from Harbor Freight for 500 'regular'
pop rivets for $2.49, you may have wondered what they were.


I only tested two. Single shear, with the mandrel driven out, both tested
about 80 pounds, a bit less than a real AD3 rivet but equal to other aluminum
poppers.

---------------------------------------

Sorry for the intrusion. I'll let you get back to bashing Barnyard Bob an'
other important stufff.

-R.S.Hoover

Hi Robert.

Of curiousity, what shear value are you using for the AD3s?


Richard

Do you
have a better system that you like to use.
-----------------------------------------------------

I don't know if what I use is any better. It's certainly handier.

Hoisting a mass, with a large spring-type scale securing the hoist to a tripod
or sky-hook, is an easily understood system that works best for group
demonstrations.

For use in the shop I welded up a simple lever arrangement. The test piece is
secured to a pair of pallets, the pallets are bolted to the base and the lever,
then you step on the lever. Your own body weight and where you step on the
lever gives you some idea of the stress on the sample.

This isn't a very precise system and it only works in tension but most of the
time all I want to know is how the test piece compares to some standard.

If you need quantified data to a given degree of precision the real question is
how much you can you afford to spend.

I took advantage of the materials-testing equipment at a local college to learn
the strength of certain fittings and fasteners. I then used identical test
samples to 'calibrate' my lever-action tester.

-R.S.Hoover

Of curiousity, what shear value are you using for the AD3s?


-------------------------------------------------

Dear Richard,

It varies according to batch but generally falls between 170 and 190. I
usually figure 180 as a norm.

Yeah, I know... I was thinking -2's, which run about 85 to 100 pounds.

-R.S.Hoover

Veeduber wrote:

Of curiousity, what shear value are you using for the AD3s?


-------------------------------------------------

Dear Richard,

It varies according to batch but generally falls between 170 and 190. I
usually figure 180 as a norm.

Yeah, I know... I was thinking -2's, which run about 85 to 100 pounds.

-R.S.Hoover


Cool.