hey diy! so i want to block a glass door by attaching alu metal angles to the door frame.
for this i bough a Rivet plier (pic related). i also bought the strongest rivets in the store (yep, noob). i got 4,8 stainless rivets intended for 4-7mm grip range.
before working on the door i wanted to test the Rivet plier and tried to do it using two thin metal sheets. (2mm think together). i just couldnt put the Rivet. despite using all my force (and a friend also tried) it was imposible. the Rivet just wouldnt deform enough to be cutted.

why could this be? is it because the thickness of the metal sheets is too Little? or is it cause the pliers suck? this rivets are the heaviest the pliers are marketed to handle… so this scares me (well , it would suck that it couldnt really work with stainless rivets).

also, is stainless overkill? the door is a Street door and the weather is dry here, not much rain. thanks!

Yeah, here’s the deal:

Why the rivet won’t pop:

1. Stainless steel rivets are very hard – much harder than aluminum. Even if your rivet pliers claim to support 4.8mm (3/16") rivets, that’s usually aluminum rivets, not stainless.


2. Hand riveters usually can't handle stainless – unless they're heavy-duty with long arms or compound leverage. Cheap/basic ones simply don’t have the mechanical advantage.


3. Sheet thickness doesn't matter here – 2mm total is fine for a 4–7mm grip range. The issue is force, not thickness.
What to do:

Try with aluminum rivets first. You’ll see how smooth it should go. If they work and stainless doesn’t: it’s the rivets, not the tool.

If you must use stainless, get a heavy-duty rivet gun (think two-handled, long-arm type) or use a cordless/hydraulic riveter.

Or switch to aluminum rivets with steel mandrel – much easier to pop, still strong enough for a dry-weather door.


Is stainless overkill?

Yes. Unless it’s getting soaked or exposed to salt, aluminum rivets with a steel mandrel are more than enough for mounting an aluminum bracket to a frame.

TL;DR: Your pliers aren’t strong enough for stainless. Use aluminum rivets or get a beefier tool.

Slip pipes over the rivet guns handles for increased squeezing leverage.

>>2922883 (OP)
get a pneumatic rivet gun or, if you don't have a compressor, a drill attachment, or a cheap rivet gun from ali, bought one, with 2 knockoff Makita batteries and a charger included at that, for like 25-30 bucks and it works totally fine. Gisam or Onevan are decent and cheap as far as chink Makita clones are concerned

I just used picrel to install a mercedes window regulator with 4.8 3/16 steel rivets. It was pretty maxed out, and I basically had to use the swivel head position where it's pointing away from the handles, and do a chest press to pop it.

But, steel 4.8 rivets are possible with a hand riveter. I wouldn't want to do more than a dozen or so and I don't know how many before the tool fails.

It's a tool I only use occasionally, from my experience I never got a rivet to pop by squeezing once, it's two or three smaller squeezes, squeeze 1/3 of the way, release grip, squeeze again and so on till it pops

>>2922887
>Yes. Unless it’s getting soaked or exposed to salt, aluminum rivets with a steel mandrel are more than enough for mounting an aluminum bracket to a frame.

I use aluminium rivets for my boat's mast which also gets soaked and exposed to salt, I couldn't imagine SS rivents...