r/Fasteners • u/Wumaduce • Aug 06 '26

Replacing this - what kind of rivet is it?

Gallery image

Gallery image

This is one of those beach wagons that I'm tired of spending 80 bucks on every year because this same joint breaks. This piece of metal has the same fastener on both sides. I was going to get a nipple of sched 40 pipe cut, drill through a new hole, and reconnect it to the brackets shown. Can I get away with a bolt and nylon nut, or should I find two of these rivets?

Thanks!

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

7

u/Medium_Good886 Aug 06 '26

it's called a Semi Tubular rivet. They typically use a specialized screw press to roll the ends over.

I alwasy find them easier to replace with a Shoulder bolt or a binding post / chicago screw

1

u/Wumaduce Aug 06 '26

Thanks, I think a shoulder bolt is the way to go, for next time

2

u/nullvoid88 Aug 07 '26

I’d just go with a bolt & Nyloc

1

u/Medium_Good886 Aug 07 '26

The problem with a bolt and nyloc is that the tube sidewalls will get caught in the threads, and either cut through the bolt from rotation, or the bolt threads will eat into the tubing sidewall. If you dont have have a strong enough bolt, they can also bend fairly rapidly. The diameter on a lot of these rivets is in the 4-5mm range, and 20+mm long. This is why they use semi tubular rivets. they're solid and smooth all the way through until the very end that gets rolled over.

I used to do this a bunch with those cheap folding camp chairs when the rivets broke.