To drill or not to drill....


 
Jeff Beitinger

Jeff Beitinger

TVWBB Fan
So I wanted a chance to practice drilling out the rivets on bowl/lid dampers and the old lid to my SJ volunteered itself for the cause.
Glad I had a chance to practice on the old messed up lid before trying my hand on anything else 😬
So for anyone else who has done this, what do you do to keep the damn rivet from just spinning like mad as the bit cuts in? I tried going slower but then the drill bit didn't cut in at ALL.
And when I did finally make it through my drill flew forward and left a dent on the lid!
Definitely not for the squeamish....
 
It is a harrowing experience, I've done it a few times on WSMs. Last time I did it, I placed the rivet on a work towel on a wood scrap. I used a Dremel tool to grind off the inside of the rivet then pushed it through to the outside. I nicked the porcelain a few times, but not through to bare metal. I think it worked better than a drill bit for the reasons you stated, Jeff.

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Use a couple of strips of Gorilla duct tape in an 'X' over the rivet. Push it firmly down so you can see the silhouette of the rivet. Tiny pilot hole first and work your way up.
I haven't done this on a kettle, but I have done it on sheet metal work.
Maybe superglue the rivet to the vent damper, or inside the lid to prevent it from spinning?
 
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The above link of drilling off rivet head then pushing out the rivet. This works good of firm metal surfaces that do not oil can, or have a soft paint surface. In those cases you would drill alittle deeper into the rivet so you do not have to punch so hard, you can also backup the rivet to one side with solid peice of wood or a larger ball peen hammer. Just take your time and it will go smooth.
 
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