Section 06 / Rivets

Blind rivets bought by grip range, not by guess.

Aluminum open-end blind rivets from 1/8 to 1/4 in for sheet and trim, and stainless and structural blind rivets for shear joints and steel that lives outdoors. A rivet that is wrong for the stack thickness either pulls a loose head or never forms one, so the grip range chart sits right below the two lines we stock.

5052 aluminum 304 stainless Locked-mandrel structural

0.020Thinnest grip, in

0.500Thickest grip, in

Line 06.1 / Aluminum open-end

Aluminum open-end blind rivets

5052 aluminum body, plated steel mandrel, dome head. This is the rivet in every HVAC duct, trailer skin, enclosure and sign frame. It sets from one side with a hand tool or a pneumatic gun, and it is happy in aluminum sheet and thin mild steel.

Diameters are 1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and 1/4 in. Grip is called out as a dash number in sixteenths: a -4 grips up to 1/4 in, a -2 up to 1/8 in. The common mistake is buying one length for everything. A rivet that is too long for a thin stack forms a loose, mushroomed tail and the joint rattles inside a month.

The steel mandrel head stays inside the body on an open-end rivet. In a wet location that piece of steel rusts and streaks. If water or salt gets to the joint, go to the stainless line below.

Body: 5052 aluminum
Mandrel: Zinc-plated carbon steel
Diameter: 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 1/4 in
Grip range: 0.020 to 0.500 in across the line
Head: Dome; large flange on request
Price basis: Per box of 250 or 500

A row of set stainless blind rivets joining two steel sheets — Set heads should sit flat and tight to the sheet. A gap under the head means the hole was oversize or the grip too long.

Line 06.2 / Stainless and structural

Stainless and structural blind rivets

Two rivets on one shelf. The first is 304 stainless body with a stainless mandrel, for steel or stainless sheet outdoors, food equipment and anything washed down. It takes a lot more pull to set than aluminum. A light-duty hand riveter will not set a 3/16 stainless rivet, and people break tools trying.

The second is the locked-mandrel structural rivet. The mandrel breaks inside the body and stays locked, so the set rivet carries much more shear and does not rattle loose under vibration. Trailer frames, truck bodies, conveyor guards. If the joint carries load, this is the one.

We will not sell aluminum rivets into stainless sheet. Dissimilar metals in a wet joint corrode, and the aluminum always loses.

Stainless: 304 body, stainless mandrel, 1/8 to 3/16 in
Structural: Locked mandrel, steel or aluminum body, 3/16 and 1/4 in
Setting tool: Heavy-duty or pneumatic for 3/16 in and up
Use: Shear loads, vibration, outdoor steel
Price basis: Per box of 100

Grip range chart for open-end rivets

MOD 06 / Grip data

Total stack thickness of all sheets, standard ranges. Drill size is for the full diameter.
Dash no.	1/8 in grip range	5/32 in grip range	3/16 in grip range	1/4 in grip range
-1	0.020 to 0.062	0.020 to 0.062	0.020 to 0.062	n/a
-2	0.063 to 0.125	0.063 to 0.125	0.063 to 0.125	0.063 to 0.125
-3	0.126 to 0.187	0.126 to 0.187	0.126 to 0.187	n/a
-4	0.188 to 0.250	0.188 to 0.250	0.188 to 0.250	0.126 to 0.250
-6	0.251 to 0.375	0.251 to 0.375	0.251 to 0.375	0.251 to 0.375
-8	n/a	0.376 to 0.500	0.376 to 0.500	0.376 to 0.500
Drill	#30 (0.1285)	#20 (0.161)	#11 (0.191)	F (0.257)

Rule 01

Measure the stack, not one sheet

Add every layer, plus any sealant or gasket. Two sheets of 16 gauge with tape between them is not 0.120 in.

Rule 02

Pick the middle of the range

A stack that lands on the top edge of one dash number sets better on the next one up.

Rule 03

Drill to the number

An oversize hole lets the body swell sideways instead of forming the tail. Use the letter or number drill in the chart, not the nearest fraction.

What to put in a rivet inquiry

Body material, diameter, grip dash number and head style, plus the box count. If you do not know the dash number, give us the stack thickness and we pick it in the reply.

Example lineCopy and edit

AL 5052Body

3/16Dia

-4Grip

DomeHead

×500Box

The reply comes in writing with stock and the price per box. Nothing here is a binding price until it does.

Send a parts list

Who this shelf is not for

Aircraft work. We do not stock MS or NAS rivets and we do not carry the paperwork that goes with them. Solid rivets are not on the shelf either. And we do not split boxes of aluminum rivets: 250 is the smallest count, because opening a 500 to sell 30 leaves a bag of unlabelled rivets nobody can trust.

If the joint needs a thread instead of a permanent fix, a rivet nut sets with the same one-side access and gives you a reusable thread in sheet.

Give us the stack.We pick the grip.

Diameter, material and total thickness. The written reply names the rivet and the drill.