How To Remove Sheet Metal Rivets

Start the wheel and place the grinder against the head of the rivet.

How to remove sheet metal rivets.

Three ways to remove the rivets. Removing rivets may seem difficult but a couple small tricks make it a cinch. Rivets are permanent fasteners often used to pin together gutters straps and other pieces of thin gauge metal around houses. If leather is being fastened with a rivet make sure that the rivet is made of aluminum copper or brass as the moisture in leather can cause steel rivets to rust.

Bring the grinder wheel up to speed and slowly move it into a position parallel with the surface until you make contact with the head of the rivet. The type of metal used in the rivet you choose is important and should be matched to the sheet metal being joined whenever possible. A rivet is an easy economical and permanent way to bind two or more sheets of metal together. Slowly move the grinder as it cuts through the metal rivet until you remove the exposed head.

The original rivet head is called the factory head and the secondary head made after popping the rivet is called the shop head or the buck tail. Remove rivets the ubiquitous metal bolts are designed for permanence but sometimes they ve simply got to go.