Astro 1426 1/4-Inch Heavy-Duty Hand Riveter

I got this riveter to pop 1/4" stainless steel rivets to repair a rusted out floor of my 1988 E150 van (you can see in the picture I attached) by riveting down a piece of 18 gauge galvanized. I wanted to use 1/4" stainless for their strength (greater than steel, SS have 2100 lbs tensile strength vs. 1500 for steel) and no rusting, but stainless steel rivets are the hardest to pop. This tool worked great and is the most reasonable priced tool I found to be able to pop 1/4" stainless rivets. I used it for about 50 1/4" SS rivets so far. There are a couple tricks to using it: 1. if it doesn't pop the first squeeze, only spread it a little for the second squeeze as it pops much easier than if it is spread wide on the second squeeze. 2. if you are using it to rivet down a floor like I did and you squeeze slightly to grip the rivet, then set it in the hole, if you then release at all the rivet mandrel can fall out. For this reason, when doing floors you need to make sure the rivet doesnt bind the hold at all, and once it goes in the hold squeeze continuously to set and pop the rivet. Also for those of you planning to use 1/4" rivets there is another wrinkle. They typically call for a size F drill, not a 1/4" drill like you might expect. It is alot harder to find size F drills (0.257") than 1/4" (0.250"). While F is the best, if you work a 1/4" drill up and down a little and move it side to side you will be able to use the 1/4" drill as it makes the hole just slightly bigger to get the rivet in.

Ive had a few rivet jobs on my camper so I needed something a little more heavy duty than my $10 arrow rivet tool. Especially since it explicitly stated not to use it on steel 3/16 rivets or bigger. This tool came in at a great price and has held up through 12 stainless 3/16 rivets and 12 aluminum 3/16. Happy with the purchase

I have used this for multiple projects--even when other tools failed. I have found that this riveter is professional grade and is certainly far better than the no-name ones you might find at discount tool stores. I am a former aircraft structural mechanic so riveting is an art I am well versed in. I know a good riveter when I see one and I know one that is garbage when I see one. This one is the former. I do not think that the reviews do this product justice. I believe that the reviews claiming that this tool loses its grip or simply does not grip the rivet well are by inexperienced people who perhaps do not know how to adjust this tool to ensure a proper grip on the particular rivets being used. Because this tool is professional grade, it is fully adjustable. This is either a blessing or a curse depending on the knowledge of the user. A properly adjusted riveter will always have a good grip. An improperly adjusted riveter will not grip well. It is all a matter of being able to adjust how the tool grips the rivet core. What I like about this riveter is its strong grip, great leverage, and ergonomic design. This is essential of any riveter. It is very comfortable to use. Both aluminum and steel rivets (even 1/4 steel rivets) are easy with this riveter. I have found that this tool (when properly adjusted) has a shallow grip on the rivet core resulting in a clean break of the rivet core. (I used this riveter even after another riveter did a poor job. This riveter was able to break off what was left behind of the core after the other riveter left excessive core behind.) The shape and leverage allow for pressure to easily be applied towards the rivet while it is being installed.

It works great so far. I've only used it for about a dozen rivets, but they were 1/4 steel rivets which are tough as hell. My only gripe is how thin the plastic is for the little catch bottle. It's very light, and I have no doubt that I'll be looking for a replacement nail catcher soon because its wants to crumple every time I touch it.

This is a must for rivets. It make the job so much easier than those old hand riveters. Two to three handle pulls and the rivets are seated right and right. I’ve pulled hundreds of rivets with this tool on some aluminum boats and it hasn’t had any issues. I’ve pulled closed rivets with aluminum shanks and closed rivets with steel shanks. Both were easy as pie with this tool. I would recommend this to anyone looking to do multiple rivets on a project. Talk about a time saver (and hand saver too). Plus, the cup catches all the shanks that are popped so cleanup is simple.

I was in need of a quality rivet installation tool in order to re-install the disc splash guards to the spindles on my Crown Victoria. The original rivets are 1/4" stainless steel, and after having located new rivets I was stumped as to what kind of tool to buy to install them -- pneumatic or a hand operated unit. I knew that stainless were going to require much more power than is needed for installing aluminum rivets. My attempts at locating a pneumatic rivet gun I could rent or borrow came up dry, and I did not want to shell out over $200 for a tool I would rarely use again. After many searches I came upon this tool and the associated reviews. The price, with shipping, is more than reasonable (under $40), plus a friend who works as a dealership mechanic heaped praises on Astro Pneumatic Tools. So, I ordered one and eagerly awaited its arrival. This is a quality made tool that is not flimsy nor awkward in any way. The five tips included allow for a wide range of fasteners it can install, which will give me flexibility in the future. I immediately headed out to the garage to "give it a go" on the stainless steel rivets, and this tool handled it like a champ. I didn't have to G*R*U*N*T one bit. Just three or four squeezes with the handles and the mandrels popped off. I now have my splash guards re-installed and a quality tool that I will undoubtedly be using for future automotive related projects.

Bought this since it was supposed to be “heavy duty” and it had the longest handles for extra leverage. I got through exactly 14 of my 1/4 inch diameter rivets before the tool broke. The collar that holds the three jaws in place inside the tool is threaded to the tube that runs through the center of the tool. These threads stripped out so the tool is now junk.

I decided to use 3/16” black automotive style blind rivets to assemble six garden lanterns / bollards. I tried buying from my local HomeDespot store even though the reviews for their tools offering were terrible. That Gun style HD tool would tighten the rivet with 4x pulls but couldn’t snap the rivet clean (or at all). This China made tool had long handles for better leverage, tightened the rivet with one compression and snapped iron the next. Did about 80 rivets in total and no problems.