To Any Homebuilders Still Out The

If you've seen the recent sale brochure from Harbor Freight for 500 'regular'
pop rivets for $2.49, you may have wondered what they were. (The brochure
didn't say and the nice young lady on the phone didn't know.)

They are dome-head ALUMINUM poppers with a plated STEEL mandrel. (Jus' like it
sez on the lid of the box.)

Length is a nominal .250 but the diameter is a scant .1225 - .123, meaning you
should use an eighth-inch bit. The diameter is a bit odd (keep in mind these
are Chinese goods). Poppers from most other manufacturers... Marson, USM, etc
run .1245 - .1250, meaning you'd use the normal #30 drill bit, as for real
rivets (ie, -4's)

Cursory inspection of two boxes didn't turn up any obvious QC problems -- no
deformed rivets nor loose mandrels, etc.. They did seem to have a bit more oil
on them than some other brands but that shouldn't be a problem since washing
poppers with MEK or lacquer thinner before installation is SOP.

I only tested two. Single shear, with the mandrel driven out, both tested
about 80 pounds, a bit less than a real AD3 rivet but equal to other aluminum
poppers.

If you'll check around I think you'll agree that half a cent per each is a
pretty good price for poppers.

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Sorry for the intrusion. I'll let you get back to bashing Barnyard Bob an'
other important stufff.

-R.S.Hoover