Preparation

• 1). Select the proper type of rivet. Solid shank rivets are the most common, but you will have to use blind rivets, which can be installed by one person from a single side of the installation, if there is only access to one side of the material to be riveted. You'll also need to select rivets made from appropriate materials as per each particular installation.
  
  
• 2). Select the proper rivet size. Solid rivets need to be the proper length so that they grip the materials being riveted while leaving the correct sized head on the back of the rivet. They also need to be the proper diameter. Solid rivets expand as they are driven, so they should not be the exact diameter of the holes they will fill. Rivets that are too narrow will not fill the holes properly.
  
  
• 3). Secure the materials to be riveted in place using special clamps that are designed to fit inside rivet holes.
  
  
• 4
  Rivet holes must be round, not elongated, and free from sharp edges and burrs.abstract yellow metal with holes image by Melking from Fotolia.com
  
  Prepare the holes to be riveted by ensuring they are round and are free from burrs. Countersink any holes that require the rivets to sit flush with the surface material, and make sure that holes have proper spacing between them and adequate edge margin (distance from the hole to the edge of the material being secured).
  
  

Solid Rivet Installation

• 1). Position the rivet driver at the factory head of the rivet and the bucker on the opposite end of the rivet. The installers may be completely out of sight from one another as sometimes one riveter may be on the exterior of an aircraft and the other may be inside the aircraft.
  
  
• 2). Insert the proper rivet die into a rivet gun and press it firmly against the factory head of the rivet. Activate the rivet gun by squeezing and holding the trigger only when the riveter at the opposite side of the rivet is ready with his dolly (also called a bucking bar) pressed firmly against the tail of the rivet.
  
  
• 3). Release the rivet gun trigger when the bucker gives a signal to do so.
  
  
• 4). Inspect the formed rivet head to see that it is the proper shape and size. It must be completely round and centered. It should also be about one half the rivet shank's diameter and the formed head diameter should be one and a half the diameter of the rivet shank. The formed head must also be flat and smooth.
  
  

Blind Rivet Installation

• 1). Insert the proper blind rivets into their rivet holes. A metal stem will stick out from the factory head of each rivet.
  
  
• 2
  A rivet puller is a necessity when installing blind rivets.riveter and rivets image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com
  
  Position the rivet puller over the blind rivets so that the stem fits into the hole at the front of the rivet puller.
  
  
• 3). Press the tip of the rivet puller down to keep the rivet secure in its hole and squeeze the rivet puller's handles. This will compress the rivet and pull the stem away and disconnect it from the rivet.