NEWS
There are many types of fasteners, one of that is the pop nut which can be used for a variety of different applications. The process of riveting dates back to your days before welding and the use of pop nut were common in construction. Many old bridges scattered across the world are still functioning with their original rivets. There are many kinds of pop nut fasteners each of which is employed for a certain purpose; however it is pop rivets that we are most interested in here.
Before we see pop nut though we think it is necessary to explain the thought of how pop nut fasteners work. A pop nut is really a small metal shaft with a head on one end that is actually inserted through two adjacent bed sheets of materials, often metal, to hold them together. The clasping effect of this type of fastener occurs when the end without the pre-made head is bent or perhaps 'bucked' that is the reason why this end of the rivet is generally called the 'buck-tail' end. The fastener expands as it is riveted in addition the dollar-tail effect of the bent end which lends extra grip. Unlike screws, pop nut do not have a spiral thread and generally two riveted surfaces are quite narrow in breadth so a screw would not work here since screws normally hold by penetrating deeply into thick materials and grip that way.
The phrase 'pop rivet' has a peculiar ring to it that feels like the noise a riveting gun makes. Incidentally, you will require a unique riveting gun in order to successfully squash the buck-tail of any kind of pop nut so that it holds the two construction surfaces in destination and this goes for all rivet-types, not just pop nut. This last-mentioned variety of rivet is actually also often referred to as a blind rivet and is not as capable of bearing heavy loads as other kinds of rivets. That it is 'blind' mainly because the riveting is actually done from the one side whilst the other remains unseen.
Pop nut have something called a 'mandrel' in the middle which is the portion that expands when it is actually fastened and then snaps off at the end. One of the issues with these rivet-types is that the mandrel is susceptible to loosening as a result of vibrations. If the mandrel falls out, the pop nut will be hollow inside and subsequently not very strong and because of the mandrel this rivet-type seems to rust more easily.
The worthwhile thing about pop nut, however, is the fact that before they were invented it wasn't possible to rivet from only one side of a construction and herein lies its value as a fastener. When it is impossible to get access to the back end of a structure is actually when this pop nut comes in helpful. A joint is a good example of where a blind rivet-type might be used. Another advantage is actually that it's possible to work in situ with this type. They are also easy to use and now have a neat appearance.