The Complete Handbook of Rivets

Chapter 1: Understanding Rivets

A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Unlike a bolt or a screw, which can be removed and reused, a rivet is deformed during installation to create a head on the opposite side of the materials being joined. That deformation is what makes it permanent and, in many respects, more reliable than other fasteners under heavy vibration or shear stress. Understanding this basic principle is the foundation of every decision you will make about rivets, from selection to installation.

At its core, a rivet is simply a cylindrical shaft, called the body or shank, with a pre-formed head at one end. To install it, you place the rivet in a hole drilled through the materials you want to join, then deform the tail end of the shank with a rivet gun, hammer, or specialized tool. The deformed tail is called the shop head. The pre-formed head is the factory head. Once the shop head is formed, the rivet cannot be removed without destroying it, which is precisely the point. It becomes a single, inseparable part of the assembly.

You have almost certainly interacted with a riveted joint without knowing it. The girders of the Eiffel Tower are held together by over two million rivets. The skin of a Boeing 747 is riveted to its frame at thousands of points, and that plane may fly for 30 years without a single one failing. Bridge trusses, transmission towers, cargo ship hulls, and even the sheet metal ducting in