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Old 06-26-2010, 09:48 PM   #4
pat in Santa Cruz
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: santa cruz, calif
Posts: 2,011
Default Re: Bucking frame rivets

I recently bucked some running board rivets. I stood the frame against a wall, tying it with a piece of rope to secure it from falling forward. I made a heavy plate with a recess shaped like the rivet head that fit inside the frame over the rivet head. I placed a heavy steel shaft against it (made from an old drive shaft) that was long enough to reach the floor. I had to shim it with some other metal bars to get the weight of the frame against the bucking plate. When turning the frame over, it will be wider by the length of the running board brackets so you will need to raise the bar with a large solid brace ( I had a large piece of I beam) or use a longer bar stock. Then I heated the rivets red hot, especially at the mid body of the rivet near the frame, with an oxy-acetylene torch and riveted them with an air hammer. It worked really well. As mentioned above, due to rapid cooling, it might be necessary to do it twice to get the head fully formed.
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