Bolt mod... What about pop rivet mod?

[Jim66]

I have seen a few bolt mods on here and GH before. I'm sure using bolts works ok but it doesn't half look a little ugly.

I have been thinking about doing this for a while now; why not just use pop rivets? Yes it would be slightly more permanent but it would look much better (I think at least).

My only concern is whether the pressure required to get the rivets to work would squash everything together too much? I wouldnt' have thought so, but it has been a while since I took a model M apart and I can't remember exactly what everything looked like in there.

What are peoples thoughts?

Jim.

[Swede]

Could work, but as you say, it may squish it too tightly, maybe even warp or in worst case damage the plastic.
Try if you have a crappy board that don't work or is beyond saving.
Would't try if it's a nice board.

[Ascaii]

hmm, im not sure they make pop rivets that small. If they do, i dont see why it shouldnt work.

[Findecanor]

Ever tried to remove a pop rivet that it is used to hold plastic together? That is hard to do without melting the plastic.
If you do it, then it is not just slightly more permanent. It would have to be be permanent, period.

[ripster]

It's beyoootiful to me.

[lal]

What Findecanor said. You'd have to be quite a nutty keyboard nut to sacrifice accessibility for bolts without slits that no one can ever see (unless you buckle your springs by hand, literally). Furthermore I think it's disadvantageously to not have control over the amount of force applied to the parts. Those plastic shells break really easily.

[Jim66]

I have removed plenty of rivets from motorcycle exhausts; they are not difficult to remove and I can't see how they would be any more difficult to remove in this situation.

All you would have to do is drill down the 'eye' of the rivet until it pops off. Easy, and you're not melting anything. Alternatively you could just grind it off using a dremel on the metal plate side. Again, not the most practical of solutions, but you're certainly not melting anything.

[ripster]

Only way to know for sure is to try it.

You first.

[lal]

I have removed plenty of rivets from motorcycle exhausts;

I might see it differently did I have the same experience. But I generally want to keep the treatment of these antiques with abrasive tools as minimal as possible.

[Jim66]

Only way to know for sure is to try it.

You first.

OK, I'm ordering the given gun from ebay as we speak. I'll report back and if it works I'll make an alternative to ripster's bolt mod how-to guide.

[Jim66]

Well, after a lot of effort, I can report back that many of you were right. Pop riveting a model M doesn't work. It sandwiches everything together to tightly; in some places it looked as though it was going to crack the plastic.

Oh well, it was worth a shot.

[lal]

Hey cool, you really did it :) Thanks for the report. Now we know for sure.

[Ascaii]

awesomesauce, thanks for the test!
too bad it didnt quite work.

[webwit]

It was worth a shot, but it was too tight.

- Jim66 "Nerd Inside"

[ripster]

It even looks MOAR beyootiful to me now.