Intake Nipple Rivet Compression

[Jack_Hester]

Is there a special tool for compressing the intake nipple rivet? I have always used a ball peen hammer, and supported the rivet from the inside. I have a friend (machinist) who says the he can make a tool to compress the rivet without peening. I gave him a set of Harley 45 cylinders, replacement nipple, rivet, and the goahead to make it. If there is a special tool, I would like to know of it's existence. I will post a picture of the custom-made tool, when it is finished (told him it was not high priority).

Jack

[T. Cotten]

Jack!

You make the problem of supporting the rivet on the inside sound minimal!

It is of primary importance that the rivet is forced outward with sufficient stability to allow the protruding end of the rivet to be "upset" (swollen by either peening or pressing).

A simple cam-action anvil that can be easily held in a vise while the head is twisted upon it is easy to carve. A version adapted to a wrench for in-chassis use is pictured at http://virtualindian.org/11techleaktest.html

Using such a tool makes peening a single-tap effort, and reduces the chances of splitting the matrix casting dramatically. The head of the rivet inside of the nipple will maintain full contact, as there will be none of the 'bounce' encountered that merely laying it upon a piece of rod stock will suffer.

Two things are obvious:

The fit of the rivet to it's hole must be reamed to near perfect light press, and a high-temp fuel-proof sealer is prudent insurance.

[Jack_Hester]

Cotton -

My buddy says that he has something in mind to fit the inside diameter of the nipple, to wedge the tool snuggly against the rivet. I will quiz him closer, as I have been too busy to follow up on his progress. I told him to make it a low priority job to work when he could make time. I'll print the picture of your tool for him, and let you know what his plan was. Thanks for the good info.

Jack

[koanes]

Jack, I am in the middle of doing some intake nipples in knuckle heads and I was wondering what you and your accomplice came up with. I have a rather crude tool that consists of a half round piece, with a shallow hole in it and a counter bore. I use a bolt and nut to turn against my half round (to provide even pressure without distorting the nipple) with a depression against the rivet. Peening is a process that should be done slowly with many light hits to avoid cracking the surrounding casting. I keep tightening the turned down bolt head to the rivet to make sure it fits flush to the inside of the nipple. I use an old harley oil pump shaft with a light drilled depression and it mimics the factory work closely. The tool I have is for large port knuckle and pan heads only. If you have developed something that fits all size ports or easier to work with, I would love to hear about it. I looked at replacing an intake nipple on my 48 Chief today and thats a whole new can of worms.

[Jack_Hester]

Kyle -

He's been submerged in some big project, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him lately. I've got some work for him, so that will be the chance to quiz him. I doubt if he's made much progress, as I told him that it should not be top priority. I'm glad that you reminded me, as I don't want it to fall by the wayside. I'll let you know.

Jack