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A screen door hinge was pinned with a pop rivet. The rivet have sheared: I would like to rivet stubs embedded in the aluminum frame:

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There is a second hole in the hinge and I supposed there is nothing that stops me from drilling a third hole.

In the interest of "doing it right", it would be preferable if the rivet stubs can be removed and use four rivets / screws to pin the hinge to the aluminum frame.

It is possible to use screws instead of rivets:

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What is the easiest method to remove the rivet stubs without damage the aluminum frame?

I would suppose that it would also be OK to push the stub into the frame, though not as elegant: what prevents hammering it through the aluminum?

I am faced with the decision to drill out the stub or hammer out the stub with a punch pin. Again the goal is to minimize damage to the aluminum.

gatorback
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2 Answers2

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If the rivet is sheared, then a pin punch and hammer should remove them. Not sheared then a drill.

Pop rivets are used in blind holes, usually too thin of a material, to hold threads well.

Would need to know what is behind the holes to recommend screws. Long enough screws might hit something with more holding power.

crip659
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  • Thanks for the response. The aluminum framing is for a screened in porch: it is a hollow tube: square cross section. The rivet / screw goes through one layer of aluminum. Does this clarify? – gatorback Dec 08 '22 at 18:00
  • If the tube fits against wood framing, then long screws might work. Will need to drill though the back side of the tube. Tightening of the screws too much might bend the tube. – crip659 Dec 08 '22 at 22:01
  • Because your comment indicated that material is to thin to hold a screw, I went with the pop-rivet. It seemed simple enough on youTube and the hinge is now pinned back in place. Thank you for the good advice. – gatorback Dec 08 '22 at 23:09
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  • Find a drill bit just smaller than the diameter of the outside of the rivet.
  • Drill out the old rivet
  • Insert a new pop rivet

Pop rivets are designed to be installed in blind holes like this. When you squeeze them, they expand on both sides of the material to be joined, holding it together. They hold using clamping force.

There's nothing inherently wrong with replacing them with screws, but, with the fairly thin aluminum skin of the door frame, there just isn't a lot of metal for the threads to bite into, and the flexing of the hinge is likely to cause the threads to pull out, destroying the metal around the hole. Once that happens, the only option is a bigger screw. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I suppose they do make rivets of larger diameters, and you may be able to find some, but that'll take more work effort.

FreeMan
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  • Any reason not to use a pin punch and a hammer to send the stub into the aluminum tube? Is there any force that is working against a pin punch / hammer? – gatorback Dec 08 '22 at 18:05
  • A mishit could bend something, but other than that, none I can think of. Usually rivets are drilled out, but since the head's already missing, you could just push the rest of the body into the frame and be done with it. – FreeMan Dec 08 '22 at 19:33