- A riveter pulls the mandrel of a blind rivet until it snaps and so joins two thin sheets. You work from one side only, so it reaches ducts, closed profiles and the backs of enclosures where you cannot get behind.
- For a few rivets now and then, a hand riveter is enough; crews that rivet every day should go cordless: no sore hands and no air hose to drag.
- A rivet nut tool is a different tool: it sets a threaded nut in thin sheet instead of riveting two sheets together.
- LEIYU's riveter is the XLY-806: brushless motor, its nameplate gives aluminium rivets from 3.2 to 4.8 mm and 4 pulling-force settings; supplied with two 4.0 Ah batteries and a case, 6 units per carton.
- The battery fits every LEIYU 21 V tool.
What jobs does a riveter do?
The blind rivet goes into a hole drilled through both sheets; the riveter grips the mandrel and pulls it back, the rivet tail swells and clamps the sheets together, and the mandrel snaps at its set point. All of it is done from one side of the work, so ducts, closed tubes and profiles, and the backs of enclosures can all be riveted.
The usual jobs: joining and hanging ventilation ducts, fixing roofing sheet and flashings, assembling enclosures, electrical cabinets and equipment housings, and making shop signs and light boxes. Ventilation installers, roofing crews, sheet-metal shops and sign makers use them most.
Hand, air, cordless or rivet nut tool?
| Type | Features | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Hand riveter | Cheap and needs no power; tiring after many rivets; the long two-handed type is easier on the hands but slow | Repairs and home use with only a few rivets |
| Air riveter | Fast, but needs a compressor and an air hose | Workshops and production lines with fixed workstations |
| Cordless riveter | Fast and easy on the hands, no air hose and no cable | Crews working on customer sites |
| Rivet nut tool | Sets threaded nuts, does not rivet two sheets | Assembly that needs threaded holes in thin sheet |
In short: on site and lots of rivets, go cordless; at a fixed workstation in a workshop, air works too; a few rivets now and then, a hand riveter is enough; if you need a threaded hole, take a rivet nut tool.
What to look at
Rivet diameter: the common blind rivets are 3.2, 4.0 and 4.8 mm. The XLY-806 nameplate gives 3.2 to 4.8 mm, which covers the sizes used most on ducts, roofing sheet and enclosures.
Rivet material: aluminium rivets are the most common and the easiest to pull; steel and stainless steel rivets need much more force. The XLY-806 nameplate gives aluminium rivets.
Force settings: the XLY-806 has 4 pulling-force settings; use the low ones for small rivets and soft material, the high ones for large rivets. Nosepieces are changed to match the rivet diameter, on site, with the wrench supplied.
Mandrel collection and auto return: snapped mandrels go into the collection bottle at the back instead of falling on the bench; after each rivet the mechanism returns to the start, ready for the next one.
Other points: brushless motor, a work light that comes on with the trigger, a charge indicator on the battery, and automatic shut-off if it jams or runs at full load for a long time, to protect the motor and battery. The XLY-806 weighs 1.453 kg bare.
Which rivets to stock?
The rivet diameter sets the drill size: the hole should be slightly larger than the rivet; too big and the joint is loose, too small and the rivet won't go in. Rivet packs usually state the recommended hole size. Choose the rivet length by the combined thickness of the two sheets: the grip range printed on the pack has to cover the real thickness.
Rivets are consumables: a shop selling riveters should stock 3.2, 4.0 and 4.8 mm aluminium rivets in a few lengths, with drills for the holes alongside, for example the XLY-21-10 with a 10 mm chuck.
How to pair batteries?
The XLY-806 comes with two 4.0 Ah batteries and a charger: one works while the other charges. A riveter is a light load, so 4.0 Ah is enough. The battery fits every LEIYU 21 V tool, so the crew can swap it between drills, wrenches, grinders and metal shears and take just one charger to site.
What should a shop stock?
Hardware shops supplying ventilation, roofing and sign-making crews: start with one carton of the XLY-806, 6 units per carton; next to it put the XLY-807 cordless metal shears (roofing sheet, ducts and thin metal), aluminium rivets and drills. Sheet-metal work comes down to cutting, drilling and riveting; all three tools share one battery, so a crew gets everything in one go.
Riveters, metal shears and spray gunsXLY-806XLY-807Which drill to choose: 10 or 13 mm chuck