Any opinions are the use of aluminum vs. stainless steel pop rivets? I have a few items that I would like to fasten to my mast and boom. I've tapped out holes in the past and used SS screws but my heavy hand has occasionally stripped the hole. I've used AL pop rivets and find that they are more convenient. I came across a catalog entry for stainless steel rivets and was wondering if their greater strength is outweighed by the possibility of corrosion between them and the mast material.
Pop rivets: AL vs. SS
- Thread starter nestorph
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I think it depends on the strength required of the fastener, how they're loaded (in shear or otherwise), and whether the item you're attaching has enough attachment points to spread the load.
I have a cheeck block in use for reefing the clew secured with 4 aluminum rivets. If it only had 2, I'd be more inclined to use stainless.
You can slather a little dielectric grease on the mating surfaces to slow down the corrosion process. HTH.
I have a cheeck block in use for reefing the clew secured with 4 aluminum rivets. If it only had 2, I'd be more inclined to use stainless.
You can slather a little dielectric grease on the mating surfaces to slow down the corrosion process. HTH.
Not all aluminum rivets are the same, there are a multitude of alloys, strengths, and corrosion specs. I like to use aluminum with aluminum because of the proximity in the galvanic scale. For ships work, something like a 6061 aluminum alloy would be a good balance of strength and corrosion resistance. I buy them from my rigger.
Nestorph,
It's always best to match the materials to minimize bimetallic corrosion. If you're using SS fasteners make sure they are 316, 304 SS will rust.
If you have to use dis-similar fasteners, bed them with a product like Tef-Gel which prevents corrosion. Tef-Gel also works great as a lubricant when tightening SS screws into aluminum to prevent stripping the threads.
Jeff
The SS rivets on and aluminum mast are fine and its common
In taking out 3/16 SS rivets after 30+ years I have not seen any holes damaged and there in much better shape than any screw hole in other parts of the mast
Any mast that uses T-BALL slots has the SS reinforcing plate held in with 4 some odd SS rivets and that is surely one the most stressed parts of a mast
The rivet seals off the hole very nicely and the bigger issue of the SS piece you attaching to the mast is solved by using UHMW tape on the SS part to make a barrier
In taking out 3/16 SS rivets after 30+ years I have not seen any holes damaged and there in much better shape than any screw hole in other parts of the mast
Any mast that uses T-BALL slots has the SS reinforcing plate held in with 4 some odd SS rivets and that is surely one the most stressed parts of a mast
The rivet seals off the hole very nicely and the bigger issue of the SS piece you attaching to the mast is solved by using UHMW tape on the SS part to make a barrier
Just buy the BIG DADDY you will find it under Google and it pays to shop as the price varies WILDLY
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