‘Pop’ rivets proved a world-beater

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 33

‘Pop’ rivets proved a world-beater

“Being appointed a Pop distributor is like being asked to sell Rolls-Royces,” says Mr Wadeson.

What he calls the world’s best blind rivet system is so well known that the brand name has become generic for all similar fasteners.

“Blind” riveting is socalled because materials can be joined with access to only one side of the work. The cheap and quick fasteners are holding together our way of life. They are indispensable in every facet of manufacturing, from aircraft to automobiles, heaters, roofing, insulation, sheetmetal work, electronics, tents and jeans. Indeed, no good home tool kit would be without the handy Pop rivet gun. Tucker Fasteners, Ltd (now part of the Emhart group) developed the revolutionary rivet as an off-shoot of the manufacture of eyelets for shoes.

The blind rivet really came into its own during World War 11, in the building of metal-skinned aircraft.

Four main types of Pop rivets are made by Tucker now.

The standard open-type rivet is a hollow shell formed around a headed pin, or mandrel. The head snaps off at the required stress-during fixing, binding the materials together. Sealed rivets are designed for where the fastening has to withstand pressure and be water-tight.

Grooved rivets have a set of grooves cut in the shank. When this expands it grips the inside of the material, rather than the rear face. This makes the rivet particularly suitable for soft or brittle materials such as asbestos board, concrete or brick, and plywood. Peel rivets split into four “petals” under setting, giv-

ing a wide binding area to withstand high pull-out loads. Nuts and Bolts and Screws stocks all types of Pop, and they come in aluminium, stainless steel, nickel, copper alloy and colours. In all, over 1800 varieties in stock. The product manager, Mr Lex McLean, is spearheading the firm’s specialisation in Pop, and chasing a market of 120 million rivets sold in New Zealand every year. “I consider I know as much about Pop riveting as there is to know,” he said. The firm sold 750,000 to 1 million rivets in July alone, since taking on the trade with the incorporation of South Island Screw and Rivet. They also stock a full range of riveting tools, from hand pliers to high volume pneumatic models.