I have made many mistakes in my life, however, few are bigger than what drove me to the following purchase… no, it’s not the subject matter.
Years ago while walking through my local toolie shop, the first thought that crossed my mind was the trouble I had operating pop rivet guns with insufficient reach of my small hand.
When I first saw this drill driven pop riveter,
my second thought was the ability to balance on a ladder while holding on with my left hand, and popping a rivet with the driver in my right,
at the time I was putting a new roof on my workshop(s) in Richmond (circa 2008) and popping more rivets than champagne corks in my life.
No one told me to read the instructions, which in typical insurance policy small print practice, mentioned that you needed a minimum of two hands to operate… more even better.
Needless to say, it has never had any use other than me demonstrating its function while trying to unsuccessfully give it away to any of my workshop visitors…
I eventually righted that wrong and posted the following redemption as a review at LJ on Jun 7, 2019.
BTW, a few weeks ago I went through the shop I bought it from and freaked out at the current asking price. It’s not that the original price may have been low or I had less trouble remembering back then, nowadays I have to take notes to remember what I did during sun up so I have a diary of my daily events to mull over with my nightly vino nightcaps(sss).
There are relatively cheaper air riveters around that work well and the cost of these cordless units will probably scare the bjesus out of many, however, if you do a lot of popping outside (or lazily inside), climb up ladders, don’t want to lug an air hose around (with probably a compressor attached) or stretch your fingers if they are too short for standard hand jobs, this is a well designed and executing tool.
PS. Should do a review on that Milwaukee cordless inflator
----------------------------------------- ooooOOOO From LJ OOOOooooo ---------------------------------------------
Boys and Girls,
This cannot be a proper duck tail without digressing from the crux of the topic.
I had this penchant to procure one of these cordless inflators,
to accompany my new shiny red Honda CRV… (OK… I know this is the wrong product… just bear with me).
Unfortunately it was only a skin and the seldom seen penny pinching side of me emerged and I was adverse to spending a small fortune for a charger and two batteries (I believe one MUST have a backup battery).
While I was digesting that conundrum, a friend of mine approached me for some wifely advice… yep wifely.
His wife has just taken up sheet metal working and because of my diversity in useless and redundant tools, was seeking advice on a good pop riveter.
Now I have small hands and usually need to use both hands to operate a normal one handed pop riveter,
As his missus was small in stature we concurred, while devouring a cask of vino, she would have the same grip problem. In the past I have bought all shapes and sizes of pop riveters… even one of those cordless drill driven units which required the use of both hands and made it somewhat difficult to wield on top of a roof or ladder.
My intention was one of these "Lazy Tongs" Riveter,
which I believe does not have the reach of lever problems, though it does require two hands (even for big mitted gorillas).
While visually evaluating manual riveters, the saleman drew our attention to the Milwaukee cordless riveter.
that handles all the standard/common pop rivet sizes.
Both the lady and I fell madly in love… with the riveter, and started discussing shekels with the salesman. Being my favourite Fe$tool salesperson, he was prepared to give us a deal too good to refuse. Bottom line was, at least for me, packaged, I got the riveter and the inflator, with two batteries and the charger thrown in for "free"… I must admit this offer was bolstered by my mate buying the pop riveter and a whole lot of extras tools and accessories for his wife at the time… all disguised under an EOFY sale.
We went back to Churchill and put it through its paces. One handed operation with a simple pull of the trigger and no jammed fingers when the pop popped.., the missus (friend's) was wrapped and then I tried it. Well I've been using pop riveters for ½ a century and the pleasure I experienced with my first pop of the riveter was closely associated with the first pop of my cherry (some things one never forgets).
They are not cheap and when you consider it's only a skin it becomes an item of pleasure rather than of absolute necessity, however, if you have issues with small hands vs large spanned riveters and the occasional/regular pinched knuckles you should do yourself a favour… if you already have the batteries (which would be useless without a charger) you could waste money on many other things if you weren't aware of this little pricey gem! And of course if you don't use rivets (or only a few) it makes a pretty paper weight.
PS. It also has a container to collect all those spent rivet mandrels that you curse the tradies for leaving behind scattered on the ground when they've finished a job.
----------------------------------------- ooooOOOO The End OOOOooooo ---------------------------------------------
Don’t be crafty Craftisians,... SHARE your craft!
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
cool tool ducks but i cant even remember the last time i even used my hand operated pop rivet tool, so as they say on shark tank...............im out !!!!
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Pottz ...... the last time i even used my hand operated pop rivet tool, so as they say on shark tank...............im out !!!!
I've only popped twice... 1 son and 1 daughter... however, this is designed for people with small hands and any that may not be aware of cordless (non-manual)... in the workshop, it's just a bonus, but up a ladder, it's invaluable.
I find it hard to come to grips with (no pun intended) how all you other old farts are not feeling the pinch... and not the midriff, but of convenience and muscle atrophy. the latter commonly referred to as lazyness.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
no i hear ya duckie as for atrophy in the hands especially. you know ive had 3 hand surgeries in the last couple years. thats why i bought the cordless pruner you turned me onto. it's gonna be a blessing when i have to prune 30 rose bushes next month. i just have never had a need much for pop rivets.
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
I'm not a pop rivet fan, but like when you are FORCED (no out option)to eat Vegemite... there's no alternative.
Pottz ..... thats why i bought the cordless pruner you turned me onto. it's gonna be a blessing when i have to prune 30 rose bushes next month. i just have never had a need much for pop rivets.
In all fairness... OK, nothing to do with fairness but off on a tangent, I've now got both the DeWalt and Ryobi secateurs... Not trying to spruik the benefits of Ryobi, but I find the closing cycle of the Ryobi is a tad better than of the DeWalt. If I didn't have both, I would definitely endorse the DW, however, having both, that micro closing second will save you about 3 seconds with your 30 roses.... accumulate that for a few hundred years and it'd just about save a lifetime... my math's teacher always thought I was like Pythagoras... "dead and burried" with the wrong "hypo-use".
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
I have a hand pop riveter, and even with large mitts, it's a handful. Last job I used it on was making a fan shroud for my '70 Chevy truck. It ran hot from day one when my FiL bought it in '73. We inherited it in '09 and nursed it along until I retired. Then I got after the heating problem. The fan shroud was one thing, but what cured the most of it was a high-flow thermostat. The valve part is about 50% larger.
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