Hi all recently I needed to repair my wifes market stall unfortunatly the correct leg was was unavailable at the time but one that didn't have the correct threaded holes for assembly was in stock so I marked it out and bought some light duty alloy rivnuts. Rivnuts are great if you can't get to the back of a panel or item to fix a nut. I then needed a way to set them in place which can be done with just a nut and bolt but is tedious if you have many to do and the rivnut can spin if you're unlucky a straight pull is much quicker and simpler.

Depending on what size rivnut you need to set please adjust components to suit I was using 6mm.

Step 1: Pop Rivet Gun

A standard pop rivet gun has a straight pull in order to crush the rivet down and lock into place.

I had an old one which had lost a part from inside so I removed the remaining spring and shank gripper.

Step 2:

All that is left from the mechanism is pivot pin through this will pass a long bolt whith the correct thread to match the rivnut.

Step 3: Assembly

Now to put it all together pass the long bolt through the back of the head and the pivot pin it needs to be long enough to fully engage with the rivnut. The rivnut needs to be pulled back against a flat surface and I used a thick penny washer. Now make sure that when you open and close the handles the thread is pulled back into the head and releases forward without catching.

Step 4: Start Setting

You are now ready to set that nut with the handles open hold the bolt still and spin the rivnut on so the head butts up against the washer, the ones I used needed a 10mm hole in the stall leg insert the end of the nut in your drilled hole and squeeze the handles together, depending on the length of the nut and the thickness of the material you are setting in you may need to release the handles and tighten the nut a little and squeeze again repeating until the rivnut is fully set then undo the bolt and move onto the next one.

Have fun and be safe.