Rivnuts

Won't work for Rivnuts. The tool screws into the thread and uses that to pull the nut part tight to the flange.

Not necessarily, the small ones in the very old kit I have, used a sort of heavy duty rod with a thread on the end and went in a standard pop riveter.

Ebay.

Didn't find any obviously good "kits" when I bought, but ended up with a collection of types and sizes.

Lots of choice of material, sheet thickness, blind or open. The "pliers" type tool needs a good squeeze for larger sizes. There is also a "bolt and two wedges" device which works in a tight space and is supposed to be good for setting larger sizes (havn't got round to getting one)

They'd have to be pretty small. Were they made of steel?

I think they were 4mm thread, probably ally inserts, obviously the drawing rood was steel (still in the rivets box somewhere). I used them to keep side panels screwed to the frame on a trials motorbike. The new rivet/nut setter has long fold-out handles and a compound mechanism to give the leverage. It can even set the giant rivets that Ford now use to hold on door handles on the back door of transits, and they are seriously large.

Still got one in the back of the garage somewhere. The inserts it used were quite soft, but it was useful at a time when the heavy-duty tool was very expensive for a one-off use.

Chris

Strange I'd never come across those. But with an ally thread would be of limited use?

The Silverline tool at about 20 quid. Think the biggest I have for that is M8 which are quite hard work. If I were doing lots, as I said, I'd definitely buy a cantilever type.