U.S. Rivet Info. Sizes & source etc.

[footlongcuban]

These are the specs and ordering numbers for the domestic steel rivets many have been using for their builds. It took a great deal of time and measuring for me to come up with this info so I figured I would pass it along.

McMaster-Carr Supply Company. Order quick and easy online at http://www.mcmaster.com/

Round head, solid-steel rivets and flat head, solid steel rivets.

Item #: 97300A100
5/32" diameter shaft by 1/4" long. Round head rivet.
$5.03 per box of 350
I found this rivet a little short for the 1.25mm / 0.0490" thick OOW receiver. Normal receiver thickness is 1.00mm / 0.0395". I ordered these because the head diameter is slightly smaller but have found I use the longer ones below instead.

Item #: 97300A105
5/32" diameter shaft by 3/8" long. Round head rivet.
$4.94 per box of 300
I found this rivet to be a tad to long for the OOW receiver and I cut it down with bolt-cutters. Used for front and rear trunions.

The head diameter is larger than factory at .335"

Item #: 97032A259
3/16" diamter shaft by 2" long. Flat head rivet. The head diameter is larger than factory at .374"
$4.59 per box of 50.
This rivet is used to replace the center support rivet. It is slightly larger but will work with the steel tubing below.

Item #: 97300A677
3/16" diamter shaft by 2" long. Round head rivet. The head diameter is larger than factory at .335"
$4.59 per box of 50.
This rivet is used to replace the center support rivet. It is slightly larger but will work with the steel tubing below.

Item #: 89955K24
Alloy Grade 4130 Steel Tubing
0.49" wall thickness, 5/16" OD (outer diameter) and approx. 7/32" ID.
$19.24 for a 6 foot length.
This steel tubing is used to repalce the sleeve that covers the center support rivet.

If you want to buy the center-support rivet from K-VAR but wish to purchase your own sleeve, you can order the following.
Item #: 89955K22
0.49" wall thickness x 1/4" OD.
$19.20 for a 6 foot length.
This tubing should be an exact match to the factory Bulgarian center-support rivet sleeve. I have not ordered it but I have measured my original rivet sleeve and its identicle to their dims.

[ricochet]

Hey FLC,
Thanks fer the info. Geez, these AK places sell these rivets for maybe $1 apiece or so. Do you reckon they are similar materials (strength wise)? $20 worth of rivets would go a long way.
Anybody want to split an order several ways? About $5 worth would probably build more AKs than I'll do in a lifetime.

[sam i am]

I'll go in for $5.
Let me know!

[footlongcuban]

The McMaster-Carr rivets listed above are all high-quality, U.S. made, solid, mild steel rivets. They are equal if not superior in strength to the factory AK rivets. The differences will be in head size, shaft diameter, and length as these rivets are inch and the Bulgarian rivets are metric. Certain factory Bulgarian rivets have a conical head that actually tapers down to the shaft. This presses the sheet metal receiver into the hole in the trunion. This is done to make the assembly stronger. Some say this "must" be done and others say its not such a big deal. Its my oppinion that if you do a good rivet job I dont see it being an issue. It hasnt been an issue for my own builds and I havent heard of any problems attributed to not doing this.

I have a whopping $12 invested in rivets not counting any center cross-rivet rivets. The only ones I find myself using are the 5/32" diameter shaft by 3/8" long. If they are too long I just cut them down with my bolt cutters. You dont want to cut them with a dremel or otherwise heat them up as they will work harden and be dfficult to flatten.

Hey FLC,
Thanks fer the info. Geez, these AK places sell these rivets for maybe $1 apiece or so. Do you reckon they are similar materials (strength wise)? $20 worth of rivets would go a long way.
Anybody want to split an order several ways? About $5 worth would probably build more AKs than I'll do in a lifetime.

[ricochet]

Howdy again FLC,
I will order a couple boxes tomorrow, today I drilled out the rivets from an older 74 kit I have and the holes look larger than those on my 47 kit I looked at. A drill bit of the rivet size would not fit on my 47 kit (can be easily remedied, but my new Polish 74 kit rivets holes appear larger. I can make a rivet swell several thousandths, but was surprised to see the difference I found on 2 "as new kits". I saw rivets expanded many thousandths on HUCK machines, have not tried small rivet machines. Should I stick to these or maybe go up a size to fit the female holes and expect the swelling to tighten up in these?
I deally, I would heat these to red, fit, then press (would harden and seal), that is an idea. Thanks for the info...