A Riveting Experience
Before beginning to rivet as we had planned, the boom was checked for the twist that we had corrected the previous day, and no correction was needed. Once that it was confirmed that the twist had been corrected, riveting began on the top and bottom of the boom, being that any place that shouldn’t be riveted at this time would be very obvious (not drilled yet or too large a gap for the 4-2 stainless steel rivets).
For each rivet, the thickness of material being riveted was checked; more than three layers would signify that the part was either incorrectly placed, or would need a rivet with a longer grip range. Aside from a single rivet, the the process for both top and bottom went smoothly. The top was riveted first, with two teams on each side of the boom, beginning from the front and moving toward the back at the same speed. The boom was then flipped, and work on the bottom began in the opposite direction, advancing toward the front.
At periodic intervals, the twist of the boom was checked, and if noticeable, was corrected with the same 2-1/2 “ PVC pipes. Before riveting the sides, the locations where a rivet should not be placed were marked, and the riveting began. Aside from a few rivets which had been discovered to need bolts instead of rivets, the process went smoothly, and those few locations were marked to be removed at a later date.
