M12 pop rivet tool

Mike_H

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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Grand Rapids, MI, United States
As I’m getting nearer to installing the headliner and wall paneling into my motorhome, I’m faced with using 100’s of rivets to hold said paneling on. I would like to buy a powered rivet gun. Looking at the Milwaukee (I’m heavily invested in red) but wanted to ask if it’s worth the 250 bucks.

Anyone use it before? Any other recommendations? I have some DeWalt too, but I like Milwaukee more..
 
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I borrowed Blaine's M12 rivet gun a while back to reattach the rear corners on the Jeep. It worked wonderfully well. If I had a sizable rivet project coming up, I wouldn't think twice about buying my own.
 
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jjvw said:
I borrowed Blaine's M12 rivet gun a while back to reattach the rear corners on the Jeep. It worked wonderfully well. If I had a sizable rivet project coming up, I wouldn't think twice about buying my own.
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Weird...I didn't get a notification on this...Thanks for the feedback.

@mrblaine is it as good as JJ says?
 
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Mike_H said:
Weird...I didn't get a notification on this...Thanks for the feedback.

@mrblaine is it as good as JJ says?
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Probably better. It is one of my most useful tools, the nose pieces are fast and easy to change as well as being stored on the tool with the little wrench to do so. My only complaint is the UV has affected the little colored o-rings they have to indicate size. Nothing sticking the mandrel into the hole to check fit won't overcome. I have used mine on 100's of 3/16" stainless rivets with exactly zero issues. To change the nosepiece and make it easier to turn, pull the trigger and don't release it. That moves the draw jaws back to free up the nosepiece.
 
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Mike_H said:
K. I’ll look to buy one then. My hand hurts just thinking about all the pop rivets I’ll need to set in the next couple months.
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In perspective, the 3/16 SS rivets I set all the time have broken a few of the standard lever handle style rivet tools. The very same tool that I've set 100's of 1/4" steel nutserts with. The M12 sets them effortlessly.
 
mrblaine said:
In perspective, the 3/16 SS rivets I set all the time have broken a few of the standard lever handle style rivet tools. The very same tool that I've set 100's of 1/4" steel nutserts with. The M12 sets them effortlessly.
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yeah, 3/16 SS rivets are a much different beast that what I'll need to do (1/8" Al). But...I've already had one surgury for repetitive stress injuries...Don't want another!
 
BlueC said:
Have you considered an adhesive?
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No. It may work on the walls, but I'm not a fan of adhesives in overhead applications. I know that OEM's have access to good adhesives and can make that work. They also have very good control on process and can amortize the cost of the application systems over the many, many assemblies. I'm doing this ONE time.
 
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Mike_H said:
No. It may work on the walls, but I'm not a fan of adhesives in overhead applications.
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Well, it might be worth looking into. I know some trailer manufactures "tape" panels (interior & exterior) to the frame nowadays. Just a thought.
 
I had a need to install 1/4" stainless pop rivets and ended up with this air powered tool:

20240214_124922.jpg


Worked great for those tough rivets and since I use it very rarely, being air powered is not an issue. It also uses very little air. If I was using it frequently, I might go for a Milwaukee battery unit but the M12 can't pull 1/4" rivets. For that you need the M18 version which is pretty pricey especially compared to the tool I ended up with.
 
BlueC said:
Well, it might be worth looking into. I know some trailer manufactures "tape" panels (interior & exterior) to the frame nowadays. Just a thought.
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Yeah, maybe. I'm bascially trying to avoid doing ANYTHING the way a current trailer/RV would be built now though. They are absolute garbage, right off the dealer lot. It doesn't matter how much you pay, either. I've been in rig (not just at a show, but like I know people with them) that are closer to 500K than they are 100K and you still see the same crap. Trim not solidly mounted because the staples didn't hold, slide outs not adjusted right, walls that move when they shouldn't because the installer missed the frame, etc.

I will probably use some sort of adhesive to between the ceiling/walls and the frame of the coach...but its more about sound dampning and isolation vs holding power. I want a mechanical fastener to hold those panels, that can't back out from vibration (like a screw). Rivets worked for GM, this rig is 46 years old, and that's why I decided to use them again. FWIW, the headliner that was replaced the first time was held up with adhesive...and it started falling down, which is why I'm in this whole mess in the first place. The original ceiling was in good shape and still firmly attached, but someone wanted a different style. Maybe I'm just bitter, lol.
 
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Once you own a power rivet gun, every time you turn around, something needs to be riveted.

I agree on the adhesive. Nothing I have ever used works on a ceiling longterm, especially on a large RV with leaf springs and a straight axle.
 
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g.hayduke said:
I had a need to install 1/4" stainless pop rivets and ended up with this air powered tool:

View attachment 500677

Worked great for those tough rivets and since I use it very rarely, being air powered is not an issue. It also uses very little air. If I was using it frequently, I might go for a Milwaukee battery unit but the M12 can't pull 1/4" rivets. For that you need the M18 version which is pretty pricey especially compared to the tool I ended up with.
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I have the same one and it works great although not so easy to maneuver in a tight place, but when the M12 rivet tool came out I seriously thought about buying one but I no longer do enough riveting to justify yet another rivet tool.
 
BlueC said:
Well, it might be worth looking into. I know some trailer manufactures "tape" panels (interior & exterior) to the frame nowadays. Just a thought.
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They do but the big gotcha is the aluminum panels have oven baked enamel finishes which the double sided tape has no issues sticking to. It isn't quite as easy to get the same performance with bare aluminum if that is the material being used. DS tape requires a very smooth finish to work the best. Both for the panel and what ever it is being stuck to.
 
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bmcgc said:
I agree on the adhesive. Nothing I have ever used works on a ceiling longterm, especially on a large RV with leaf springs and a straight axle.
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They do have adhesives that will work, we just want nothing to do with them since they are costly and a PITA to use. The 2 part stuff that auto manufacturers and repair shops use in the structural forms will hold most anything to anything under high loads. It would cost several hundred dollars in cartridges and mixing nozzles to put up the wall panels in an RV though.
 
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