Hornplate rivets

My hornplate rivets are just dropping into their respective holes - some with space to move! I'm not sure loctite is going to hold them in place. Is this the case with other kits or do I need to use some JB Weld or similar?

I run the tig over the back of mine but you could countersink the back of the horn plate and then just beat the shaft of the rivets over that would work fine wont need any glue then. Or if your passing drop in and ill weld them in for you ?

Nice offer Stu but it'll take me more than 3 hours to get to you! Instructions say not to beat the backs so I'm wondering whether something is the wrong size

I must confess iv never looked at the instructions much at all for my build but i would of said you would be ok to just tap the heads of them over on the back of the horn plates you could order some longer one's from EKP say 3/8 that would save you having to countersink everything as theres a good air gap down the side of the boiler. Shame your to many miles away would of only taken 20 mins to weld em in for you.

Correction: I just popped out to the workshop and none of them really move in their holes. Mind you none of them offer any resistance, they just push in and would drop out if you upturned the hornplate.

You could try popping then in a vice and squeezing them to produce an oval on the shank which will help make them grip while the locktite sets.

Do not forget to countersink each hole slightly to make room for the radius on each rivet between head and shank, otherwise they will not sit flat and also keep popping out! When fitting the one next to it.

Ian

I think I'm just going to have to glue them in with some filler. I'd be interested to know if others are experiencing the same thing though. I guess they are if Hudmut welded his. I suppose they are only cosmetic at the end of the day.

Well I used JB Weld on the rivets tonight and I'm really pleased with the results!

The locktite works fine, they're not a tight fit and all the ones I've done just push in with minimal effort but once the locktite goes off they wont come out. If you think about it, there's no force of any kind going to push them out and with several coats of paint on top as well they're going nowhere! I reckon that the locktite will make a better adhesive than the JB weld on this occasion although I am a fan of JB weld for other things.

I fixed my horneplate rivet with loctite as per the instructions. They are well and truly stuck so I am happy with the result. With several coats of paint as well they will stay put I am sure. Steve A

Thanks for all the advice folks. The hornplate assembly is iin primer now so only time will tell how the hornplate rivets hold!

Have people ground the backs of the rivets off flush or just left them protruding?

They are only slightly proud and the hornplates are held off the boiler on a raised section anyway so it doesn't really matter. The danger of grinding them flush is the heat may loosen the locktite if they get too hot (ie glowing)

AndrewR wrote:Have people ground the backs of the rivets off flush or just left them protruding?

I cleaned them up with an angle grinder, left about 1 or 2 mm though. This was mainly over-excessive cleaning of excess JB Weld.