Riveting is a method of joining two metal plates with aluminum, brass, copper, or steel bolts, called rivets. Rivets also hold scissors and blue jean pockets together. A rivet has a rounded or flat head at one end. A rivet’s shaft is a smooth cylinder. Unlike the shaft of a screw, it lacks threads.
To join two plates, a rivet is inserted through holes that have been drilled or punched through the plates. The rivet’s head is placed on an anvil or other support. A hammer or pneumatic tool is used to pound the rivet’s tail, or open end. A pneumatic tool is a tool powered by compressed air. The rivet’s tail expands to become a second head. The rivet is then said to be closed. It holds the two plates firmly together.
People use a wide variety of rivets and shaping tools. There are two main processes in riveting. One is called cold heading. In cold heading, soft metal rivets are shaped and closed without being heated. The cold forming of soft metal increases the rivet’s strength. The second process, using heat, is often used to rivet together thick metal plates. In this process, large metal rivets are first heated to high temperatures. They are quickly placed through holes in the plates. Then the hot rivets are formed with a press or hammer. The heat makes the rivet soft, so that less force is required to close the tail.
Welding has replaced riveting for many uses. In welding, metal parts are fused together, without the use of a fastener. Parts of boilers, bridges, and ships—once commonly riveted together—are now joined by welding. But riveting is still often used to join together thin sheets of metal parts, for example the aluminum in aircraft wings and body panels.
