Rivet Gun Guide: Types, Sizes, and When to Use Rivets Over Screws

A rivet gun installs blind rivets, which are fasteners that join two or more pieces of material by inserting from one side only. Unlike screws, rivets do not loosen from vibration. Unlike welding, they do not require heat or special skills. They work on sheet metal, aluminum, plastic, fiberglass, and thin wood where you cannot reach the back side to hold a nut. This guide covers how pop rivets work, the different types of rivet guns available, material selection, proper sizing, and when rivets are the right fastener choice over screws or welding.

How Pop Rivets Work

A blind rivet (commonly called a pop rivet, after the POP brand name) has a hollow tubular body and a mandrel (stem) running through the center. The process is straightforward: drill a hole through both pieces of material you are joining, insert the rivet from the accessible side, place the rivet gun nosepiece over the protruding mandrel, and squeeze the handles or pull the trigger.

The gun pulls the mandrel, which draws a ball or flared section on the mandrel back through the hollow rivet body. This swells the back end of the rivet body outward into a flange that clamps the materials together from behind. The mandrel then snaps off at a designed break point, leaving a flush or near-flush fastener head on the front and a formed flange on the back. The entire process takes about 2 seconds per rivet.

The joint strength comes from the clamping force between the rivet head on the front and the formed flange on the back. Unlike screws that can back out from vibration over time, the rivet is permanently deformed. It cannot loosen without being drilled out. This vibration resistance is why rivets are used extensively in aircraft, automotive body panels, and any application subject to ongoing vibration.

Rivets are sized by two critical dimensions: body diameter (which determines the hole size needed) and grip range (the total material thickness they can clamp). Common body diameters are 1/8 inch (3.2mm), 5/32 inch (4.0mm), and 3/16 inch (4.8mm). Grip range must match your material stack-up thickness. Too short and the flange does not form properly, resulting in a weak joint. Too long and the joint is loose because the flange forms too far from the material surface, leaving play in the assembly.

Types of Rivet Guns

A hand rivet gun uses lever action to pull the mandrel. You squeeze the handles one or more times until the mandrel breaks off. These are inexpensive ($15 to $40), completely portable, and adequate for occasional use. Installing a few dozen rivets for a gutter repair, license plate bracket, mailbox mount, or sheet metal patch is comfortable work with a basic hand gun. Most come with interchangeable nosepieces for 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, and sometimes 1/4 inch rivets.

A long-handled or compound-leverage hand gun reduces the grip force needed for larger rivets. Standard hand guns struggle with 3/16 and 1/4 inch rivets in steel because the pulling force required is substantial, sometimes exceeding 60 pounds of grip force. After a few rivets your hands are sore. Longer handles provide mechanical advantage, and compound-leverage mechanisms reduce the effort by 30 to 50 percent. If you anticipate more than occasional light-duty riveting, invest the extra $10 to $20 for a compound-leverage model.

A pneumatic rivet gun uses air pressure to pull the mandrel in a single trigger pull. No squeezing, no hand fatigue, no multiple pulls per rivet. These handle high-volume work and larger rivets without effort. They typically require 4 to 6 CFM at 90 PSI from a shop compressor. Essential for auto body work, HVAC duct fabrication, and any job involving hundreds of rivets. Pneumatic guns range from $50 to $200 depending on size capacity and build quality.

A battery-powered cordless rivet gun offers pneumatic convenience without an air compressor or hose. These have become practical tools in recent years, running on standard 18V/20V battery platforms from Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita. The Milwaukee M12 rivet tool and DeWalt 20V MAX rivet gun are popular choices. The tradeoff is weight (3 to 5 pounds with battery) and cost ($150 to $300), but for field work on ladders, rooftops, or job sites without air supply, they are excellent. A charged battery handles 200 to 500 rivets depending on size.

Rivet Materials and Selection

Aluminum rivets in aluminum material is the most common combination for lightweight, non-structural applications. Gutters, trim, ductwork, license plates, decorative panels, and light enclosures all use aluminum-on-aluminum riveting. Aluminum rivets pull easily with minimal force, resist corrosion well, and are inexpensive. A box of 100 aluminum rivets costs $3 to $8 depending on size.

Steel rivets provide much higher shear and tensile strength than aluminum. A 1/8-inch steel rivet has roughly double the shear strength of the same size in aluminum. Use steel rivets when the joint is structural or load-bearing: brackets, equipment mounts, trailer repairs, heavy sheet metal, and fence hardware. Steel rivets in steel material creates the strongest blind rivet joint, but requires more pulling force. A hand gun can handle steel rivets up to 5/32 inch; larger sizes benefit from a pneumatic or cordless gun.

Stainless steel rivets resist corrosion in outdoor and marine environments. Use them for exterior applications where aluminum would eventually corrode from galvanic contact with dissimilar metals or salt exposure. Stainless rivets on stainless material is the standard for marine hardware, outdoor signage, and coastal construction. They cost 3 to 5 times more than aluminum rivets but last indefinitely in harsh environments.

Never rivet dissimilar metals without considering galvanic corrosion. Aluminum rivets in steel, or steel rivets in aluminum, create a galvanic cell in the presence of moisture. The less noble metal (aluminum in this case) corrodes preferentially, and the rivet or the surrounding material deteriorates over months to years. Use stainless steel or matching-material rivets to avoid this problem. If mixing metals is unavoidable, isolate them with a washer or sealant barrier.

Sizing and Hole Preparation

Proper hole size is critical for a strong rivet joint. The hole should be 1/64 inch (about 0.4mm) larger than the rivet body diameter. For a 1/8-inch rivet, drill a 9/64-inch hole. For a 5/32-inch rivet, drill an 11/64-inch hole. For a 3/16-inch rivet, drill a 13/64-inch hole. A hole that is too tight prevents insertion. A hole that is too loose allows the rivet body to tilt, reducing clamping force and joint strength.

Grip range selection requires measuring the total thickness of the materials being joined. Rivet manufacturers specify a grip range for each rivet length. A 1/8-inch diameter rivet might come in grip ranges of 1/16 to 1/8 inch, 1/8 to 1/4 inch, and 1/4 to 3/8 inch. Choose the grip range that includes your measured stack-up. When in doubt, go one size up in grip range. A slightly long rivet still forms a usable flange; a too-short rivet does not form a flange at all.

Deburr the holes after drilling, especially in aluminum and thin steel. A sharp edge at the hole can cut into the rivet body during installation, weakening the joint. A quick twist of a countersink or deburring tool cleans the edge in seconds. For appearance-critical work, a countersink also allows the rivet head to sit flush with the material surface.

When to Rivet vs Screw vs Weld

Use rivets when: you can only access one side of the joint, the joint must resist vibration loosening, you are joining thin sheet materials that would strip or deform with screws, or you need a flush and clean appearance on the back side. Rivets also work well on dissimilar materials (metal to fiberglass, for example) where welding is impossible.

Use screws when: you might need to disassemble the joint later for maintenance or repair, the materials are thick enough to hold threads reliably, or you need adjustable clamping force. Self-drilling screws are faster than rivets for steel-to-steel connections in construction framing because they do not require a separate drilling step. Rivets are permanent. Removal means drilling them out, which takes more time than removing a screw.

Use welding when: maximum strength is required for the joint geometry, both sides are accessible for weld cleanup and inspection, materials are compatible for fusion, and the parts will never need to separate. A welded joint is typically stronger than a riveted joint in the same material. However, welding requires skill, equipment ($300 to $2,000 for a capable welder), and compatible base metals. Riveting requires a $15 hand gun and 30 seconds of instruction.

Rivets excel on automotive body panels, ductwork, gutters, signage, thin metal enclosures, HVAC systems, aircraft skins, and any application where a clean, permanent, vibration-proof joint is needed without backside access. In automotive collision repair, rivets have increasingly replaced welds for joining modern high-strength and aluminum body panels where welding would compromise the metallurgy.

Common Riveting Mistakes

Using the wrong grip range is the most frequent error. A rivet that is too long for the material thickness forms a loose, sloppy joint because the flange forms in empty space rather than pulling tight against the back surface. A rivet that is too short may not form a flange at all, leaving the mandrel to break without clamping the materials. Always measure the stack-up and check the rivet specifications.

Drilling oversized holes weakens the joint and allows the materials to shift before and after installation. Use the correct drill bit for the rivet diameter. The 1/64-inch clearance is all you need. If you accidentally drill too large, move to the next rivet size up rather than installing a small rivet in a large hole.

Not clamping materials together before riveting allows gaps between sheets. The rivet pulls the back flange tight, but it cannot close a gap between the materials. Hold or clamp the pieces together so they are in full contact before drilling and riveting. Cleco temporary fasteners are useful for holding sheet metal alignment while you drill and rivet the permanent fasteners.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Drill Bit Size Do I Need for Pop Rivets?

The hole should be 1/64 inch larger than the rivet body diameter. For a 1/8-inch rivet, drill a 9/64-inch hole. For a 5/32-inch rivet, drill an 11/64-inch hole. Too tight and the rivet will not insert. Too loose and the joint has play that reduces clamping force.

Can I Rivet Plastic or Fiberglass?

Yes, but use large-flange rivets that spread the clamping force over a wider area to prevent cracking. Drill the hole cleanly without excessive pressure, and consider backing the hole with a washer on the blind side. Plastic and fiberglass do not have the ductility of metal, so the rivet flange must not bear on too small an area or the material will crack under the clamping load.

How Do I Remove a Rivet?

Drill through the head of the rivet using a bit slightly smaller than the rivet body diameter. Once the head is removed, punch the remaining body through the hole with a pin punch and light hammer taps. If the rivet spins in the hole while drilling, use a center punch to dimple the head first and keep the drill bit centered. Take care not to enlarge the hole with the drill bit, or you will need a larger rivet for reinstallation.

Related Reading

• Drill Bit Guide