Problem with my rivet gun:

I am using a 4X Rivet gun from Brown tools. It seems that no matter what the pressure 75% of the time I squeeze the trigger all I get is a hiss of air. I take my finger of the trigger re-set the position and sometimes it will work other times just a hiss. Is this a gun problem or technique problem. Please let me know what you think


Don MacMillan
RV 9A wrapping up the tail feathers

First, I would call Brown & see what they say.

My gun had a similar problem; it would just hiss air, but would work more often in a horizontal position than vertically.

Holding the trigger down, fill the thing thru the air fitting with air tool oil, or better yet, Marvel Mystery Oil; some even use a solvent like regular paint thinner. Let it sit for a couple minutes. Crank up the pressure to about 90 PSI, put it against a wooden block and hammer away. If it is dirty inside, you will get some black goop. You may want to do this a few times before going on to the next step.

If that doesn't work, you can disassemble the barrel assembly which is not technically hard to do. You have to expand the ring at the back of the barrel to take it off--it's the piece with the slot in it. Then, being careful about how things go together, it is easy to disassemble the barrel assembly. Clean everything. I soaked parts in paint thinner for a day or two, but that may not be necessary. Putting it back together is easy except for the snap ring.

Are you sure you need a 4X rivet gun? Even a 3X is bigger than you need 75% of the time. But, that's just me. If there isreally a problem with the gun you might think about seeing if Brown's would exchange it for a 3X.

rv9aviator said:

Are you sure you need a 4X rivet gun?

Click to expand...

One of our local sheet metal gurus swears by his 4X gun. He says that he likes the fact that your can turn it down and hear and count each hit much easier than a 3X, leading to more consistant results. I've not tried it, but I thought his reasoning was interesting.

Rivet Gun

Don...if you do not see significant improvement after oiling the gun and cycling it for several bursts, please give me a call toll free at 1-800-587-3883 and we will issue a call tag to have UPS pick the gun up and get it sent back here for a quick overhaul and sent back to you as quickly as possible.

Just like others have mentioned, we highly recommend the use of an air tool oil (Marvel Air Tool Oil is our favorite) with our rivet guns. A drop or two in the air inlet every few days or more often during periods of high use, will do wonders for the life of the tool.

Michael Brown
Brown Aviation Tool Supply Co.
[email protected]
www.browntool.com
1-800-587-3883

How old?

That's good to see. I gotta go buy some more stuff from brown tool myself.

Was the rivet hammer stored unused for a long time? I ended up with a gun from an guy who had not used it for more than 10 years - gummed right up.

I ended up putting wd-40 into the inlet, rolling the gun around and then firing onto a scrap of lumber. It took about 10 minutes before it moved, as soon as it would strike a couple times, I dosed it again with air tool oil.

If it's a new tool misbehaving, I'd not be messing around at all, just ship it back.

Generic Rivet Gun Problems

The 2 most common problems we see with rivet guns are:

1. The tool has not been used for a long time and, as noted above, the piston and valve gum up - you end up with a hiss of air no matter the line pressure. Solution - liberally lubricate it with just regular old Marvel Mystery Oil and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Turn it upside down and hit the back of the handle on a piece of wood. That will generally jolt the piston and/or the valve loose. Put a rag around the exhaust, put a rivet set in it, and run it for about 15 seconds straight on a piece of wood at 90 psi. Don't use a rag? Well, then you'd better find a towel to clean everything off.

2. The 2nd most common problem is when an air line is left lying on the floor or workbench. The fitting will get aluminum chips, dust, debris, etc. on it. Plug in a tool and you blow it into the trigger system - also happens with drill motors a lot. Then the tool will not shut off completely or it will leak air or worse. Simplest solution we've found is to buy a Y shaped hanger from a hardware store, screw it into the bench, and hang your air lines with the fittings facing down.

3. Regulating air pressure. We very strongly recommend that you regulate your work on 2 terminal lines at the work bench. Set one regulator to 90 psi for the squeezer, drill, grinder, etc. and the other regulator to 40 psi starting point for your rivet gun. Too many times people have forgotten to turn the regulator down after drilling/etc. and the work piece ends up looking like high tide when you run a rivet gun at 90 psi on thin aluminum. Just a thought.

Blue Skies!

Fred W. Kunkel
CLEAR AIR TOOLS
www.clearairtools.com

Many thanks for this information. It solved my long lasting problem with back rivetting!