River ****

[Thetireddad]

Ok so I’m just getting started on the wall rivets. I have the air hammer with center punch to punch out the holes.
1. Almost none of the holes are punching out
2. When I am using the forked chisels(sharpened and unsharpened) they don’t come close to budging the rivets. My gun goes up to 90psi and it appears to be functioning properly.

What the **** do I do? Angle grind the 1000 rivets off? Any ideas

 

[peteg59]

Drill maybe?

 

[ol trunt]

I had the same problem until I anted up for a BIG compressor capable of delivering 120 pounds of air at 10 CFM on an ongoing basis. Air chisels need a huge volume of air to really get the job done. To help with your immediate problem try grinding a "cross" into the head of the rivet using thin blade disc grinder before you go after it with the chisel.
Jack

 

[Ninjakitty]

Sometimes you got to grind the center punch down. Same size as rivet hole

 

[o1marc]

Mistyped Title,

 

[o1marc]

Sometimes you got to grind the center punch down. Same size as rivet hole

A center punch has a point already smaller than the mandrel on a rivet. Don't know what the OP's issue is, shouldn't be that hard to pop the mandrels out.

 

[Ninjakitty]

I had to grind mine down about a half an inch to pop mine out

 

[DawgBüs]

Are you hitting the rivets with the fork chisel on the head side of the rivet? A lot of mine were aluminum (big plus) but even the steel ones I didn't need to punch the centers except on four of them. The rest, with sharp/radiused chisel, I could zip through in about 5 seconds each. Place the edge of the chisel just beneath the lip on the rivet, place a slight pressure on the air gun as if you're trying to pry up the rivet, but nowhere near enough pressure to actually do so, as you pull trigger. Should chew through the mandrel with little effort. Sometimes I had to switch directions after cutting halfway into the mandrel but most went easy, one pass.

 

[Thetireddad]

Is my compressor just too weak? My air hammer says to run at 90 psi but I’m using it at 125( until it drops down 2 secs after)

 

[DawgBüs]

I used a 10gal capacity and when I bought the harbor Freight gun it said 11 gal was the minimum to run an air chisel gun. My 10 gal definitely had to work double duty. You might try a bigger compressor for sure, if one is available. They push a lot of air pretty quickly.

 

[o1marc]

It's not the PSI that is important but the CFM, cubic feet per minute, Your tool will tell you what is recommended CFM.
You'll see numbers like this:
150 max PSI 6.0 gallon tank (22.7 L) and 2.6 SCFM* delivered @ 90 PSI pump

This compressor will deliver 2.6 Sequential cubic feet per minute, once the pressure drops, so does the SCFM

 

[DawgBüs]

Yup, what Marc said.^^ That 10gal I mentioned runs at 5.3 cfm so yours would be about half that and like I said earlier, mine was barely keeping up. You def want to go bigger.

 

[Sleddgracer]

I used a 10gal capacity and when I bought the harbor Freight gun it said 11 gal was the minimum to run an air chisel gun. My 10 gal definitely had to work double duty. You might try a bigger compressor for sure, if one is available. They push a lot of air pretty quickly.

how many gallons the tank holds really has little to do with the capacity of the compressor - it's the cubic feet per minute ( cfm ) that matters - if a compressor doesn't produce enough volume of air at the right pressure, a larger tank just delays when you run out of air a bit and then you have to wait longer for the pressure to build -

 

[DawgBüs]

how many gallons the tank holds really has little to do with the capacity of the compressor - it's the cubic feet per minute ( cfm ) that matters - if a compressor doesn't produce enough volume of air at the right pressure, a larger tank just delays when you run out of air a bit and then you have to wait longer for the pressure to build -

Generally the consumer brand tanks have lesser capacity pumps, matched to the tank sizes. Bigger tank will get you a bigger pump, usually. There are exceptions, of course.

 

[Sleddgracer]

Generally the consumer brand tanks have lesser capacity pumps, matched to the tank sizes. Bigger tank will get you a bigger pump, usually. There are exceptions, of course.

you can get some 20 cfm @ 90 lbs compressors with small twin tanks, ideal for carpenters, painters, etc because they are small and easy to move around, yet have the capacity of bigger overall compressors - I when I needed a larger compressor as my volume of work grew, I opted to a higher quality compressor, sleeve lined cylinders in case of needing repair, a 40 gal tank with a big Tecumseh motor mounted on top next to the compressor itself - i either trailer mounted, or bolted it down inside of my cube van - it still only pumped 21 cfm @ 90 lbs, but I wanted the reliability over the smaller ones that counted on the higher RPM of an electric motor to produce the required amount of air - you can get a '5 gal' compressor, that only pumps 3 - 5 CFM @ 90 lbs that visually looks to be the same size as the one with the twin tanks, even bigger because of the tank and how they are put together, but for any PROJECT, they are a waste of time and/or money - as l passed normal retirement age, l didn't take on the bigger jobs, pretty much stuck to the smaller jobs that allowed me to work the tools and could be managed with one or two helpers - that's when l sold the big compressor and bought a small one for my workshop, and every time l use it, l regret selling the big compressor - lol

 

[musigenesis]

Interesting video from AvE about CFM ratings:

 

[Sleddgracer]

Interesting video from AvE about CFM ratings:

entertaining guy - lol - he's bang on though - l think those continuous air tools take more air than they claim as well

 

[musigenesis]

entertaining guy - lol - he's bang on though - l think those continuous air tools take more air than they claim as well

His BOLTR (Bored Of Lame-ass Tool Reviews?) reviews of power tools are great. He takes them apart completely and shows what rubbish most of them are and the exact reasons why they're rubbish.

 

[DawgBüs]

you can get some 20 cfm @ 90 lbs compressors with small twin tanks, ideal for carpenters, painters, etc because they are small and easy to move around, yet have the capacity of bigger overall compressors - I when I needed a larger compressor as my volume of work grew, I opted to a higher quality compressor, sleeve lined cylinders in case of needing repair, a 40 gal tank with a big Tecumseh motor mounted on top next to the compressor itself - i either trailer mounted, or bolted it down inside of my cube van - it still only pumped 21 cfm @ 90 lbs, but I wanted the reliability over the smaller ones that counted on the higher RPM of an electric motor to produce the required amount of air - you can get a '5 gal' compressor, that only pumps 3 - 5 CFM @ 90 lbs that visually looks to be the same size as the one with the twin tanks, even bigger because of the tank and how they are put together, but for any PROJECT, they are a waste of time and/or money - as l passed normal retirement age, l didn't take on the bigger jobs, pretty much stuck to the smaller jobs that allowed me to work the tools and could be managed with one or two helpers - that's when l sold the big compressor and bought a small one for my workshop, and every time l use it, l regret selling the big compressor - lol

You're right. This is one of the exceptions I mentioned. While those dual tank setups definitely get you more cfm, with something like an air chisel (vs a framing gun) you'll be waiting on it to fill every couple rivets. Even with 10 gallons I was getting hung up every fifth or sixth rivet because of the amount of air the chisel eats through. I could continue on another one or two but the third, I was so short of air that it was better just to pause for 30 seconds while it refilled the tank.

I hate promoting HF in any way at all, this is their air tool requirement chart. You've probably seen it but for those who haven't and want an idea of what they'll need...

 

[Thetireddad]

Hey guys I got s much bigger compressor and I jacked the regulator way up and it’s still not doing anything...even poking the centers in....any ideas? It’s a 20 gal 5.3 cfm and in any fashion I can’t get s damn rivet out