EAA Sport Aviation - April 2010

5⁄ 32 inches
Countersink hole until it is flush.

1 inch
½ inch

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RIVET REMOVAL
DRILL GUIDE
BY JOE NORRIS

THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF EAA Sport Aviation contained a hint for removing defective rivets that works well if you have just a few to remove. Ken Pavlou, EAA 603659, has submitted a method that is especially useful if you have a large number of rivets to remove.

Ken’s idea is based on a drill guide that makes drilling into the exact center of the rivet easier by assuring that you’re lined up with the center of the rivet every time. He made his out of scrap aluminum. If you have a lot of rivets to drill out, you may want to make the drill guide out of steel instead, as this may give it a longer service life.

The drill guide will be specific to the
size of the rivet being removed. Ken’s is
for 3/16-inch rivets. Ken explains how he
made it and how it’s used:
The procedure consists of drilling
through the center of the rivet, snapping
off the head, and then punching out the
rivet with a pin punch and hammer.

I made a self-aligning drilling guide to drill out the center of the rivet out of 1-inch square aluminum bar stock cut into a “T” section profile. A 5/32-inch hole is drilled through the middle. The hole is then countersunk a little at a time to fit the factory rivet head perfectly. This will align the hole in the guide with the exact center of the rivet being removed.

The guide is placed over the rivet and clamped on each side. A 5/32-inch bit is used to drill into the rivet to within 1/8 inch of the opposite end. The guide is removed and a pin punch is used to snap the rivet head off with a sideways motion. The rivet is then punched out as mentioned above.