Monel or stainless steel - the same?

one of these rivet guns

Click to expand...

I would rather have had one of those long handled type!

the trouble with the lazy tongs type is that not only do you fall "base over apex" when it pops but unless you hold the business end the little bit of the mandrel sticking out goes skidding across the work, taking the anodising off as it goes.

Regarding the length. Watch that. Some are labelled up with the "grip range" others with the actual length of the rivet under the head but excluding the ball end of the mandrel ( both types here in front of me!)

The 5mm (3/16") diameter ones labelled as 3mm grip range are approx 8mm long.
The 4mm diameter ones are 1 mm shorter)

On that basis to grip 4mm + 1mm you will need them 10mm long if not labelled with a "grip range".

You can always pull down slightly overlength ones but you wont make a strong joint if they are too short!

Also watch the diameters. the metric and imperial equivalents are not exact... Very annoying to drill a load of holes and then find them a tiny fraction too small ... esp when in stainless steel

I would rather have had one of those long handled type!the trouble with the lazy tongs type is that not only do you fall "base over apex" when it pops but unless you hold the business end the little bit of the mandrel sticking out goes skidding across the work, taking the anodising off as it goes.Regarding the length. Watch that. Some are labelled up with the "grip range" others with the actual length of the rivet under the head but excluding the ball end of the mandrel ( both types here in front of me!)The 5mm (3/16") diameter ones labelled as 3mm grip range are approx 8mm long.The 4mm diameter ones are 1 mm shorter)On that basis to grip 4mm + 1mm you will need them 10mm long if not labelled with a "grip range".You can always pull down slightly overlength ones but you wont make a strong joint if they are too short!Also watch the diameters. the metric and imperial equivalents are not exact... Very annoying to drill a load of holes and then find them a tiny fraction too small ... esp when in stainless steel