Golden Jubilee
Posts: 5188
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm
Location: Lyman, IA
Huck-bolts.
I had the "joy" of removing 22 of these bastards the other day. For those who don't know what they are, they look like a bolt but the ridges are circular rather than a thread and there aren't nuts, but a swaged on collar.
There claim to fame, such as it is, that the hold better than bolts (so do rivets) and are fast to install. Rivets have the advantage in that they are not stretched like bolts or Huck bolts, but compressed. This allows rivets fill voids while holding two pieces in both shear and tension loads. You'll never see a Huck bolt making a boiler, like you will a rivet.
Huck's are more of a pain to remove than a rivet or bolt and nut. Since a rivet is all one piece, you can cut the head off with either a torch or an abrasive wheel , or drilling the rivet on center.
Huck's on the other hand, a cut off wheel or torch is required. the collar is not swaged tight all the way up, so there is a little space between the collar and the pin which can allow rust between the two right where the torch needs to cut. This means that it needs two cutting operations to cut it free, 1st cut the collar then cut the pin. the rust prevents the flame from cutting both at once.
I have at least another 22 to go on my frame job. Needless to say I am going back with bolt and nuts. If I had a rivet squeezer big enough to upset a 5/8" rivet, may be I would use rivets going back.
There claim to fame, such as it is, that the hold better than bolts (so do rivets) and are fast to install. Rivets have the advantage in that they are not stretched like bolts or Huck bolts, but compressed. This allows rivets fill voids while holding two pieces in both shear and tension loads. You'll never see a Huck bolt making a boiler, like you will a rivet.
Huck's are more of a pain to remove than a rivet or bolt and nut. Since a rivet is all one piece, you can cut the head off with either a torch or an abrasive wheel , or drilling the rivet on center.
Huck's on the other hand, a cut off wheel or torch is required. the collar is not swaged tight all the way up, so there is a little space between the collar and the pin which can allow rust between the two right where the torch needs to cut. This means that it needs two cutting operations to cut it free, 1st cut the collar then cut the pin. the rust prevents the flame from cutting both at once.
I have at least another 22 to go on my frame job. Needless to say I am going back with bolt and nuts. If I had a rivet squeezer big enough to upset a 5/8" rivet, may be I would use rivets going back.