Bay Supply Blog - Rivets, Fasteners, and Tools | Tips & Tricks (2)

If you have bought fasteners before, you have probably heard of Cherry rivets. The original application for Cherry rivets has been all but forgotten thanks to the many times the brand has changed hands, but they were actually created for aircraft manufacturing.

If you’re working with thin materials and need a strong, durable fastener that is removable and reusable, blind threaded inserts are the solution. Not only are they incredibly easy to install, but they’ll also enhance your application by ensuring production efficiency and durability.

A modern Boeing 747 contains about 1 million rivets. If each rivet took a hypothetical five seconds to place, you would need more than 57 days around the clock to complete the job. Of course, building a 747 takes longer than 57 days, but you get the idea—the labor behind the riveting for creating such an enormous machine is substantial.

Whether you’re fixing an oversized or misplaced hole or need to complete a repair on original equipment (OEM), key locking inserts are the ideal fastener for repairing damaged threads.

There are always situations in manufacturing and construction where welds just can’t do the job. When assembling products for automotive, container manufacture, aerospace, railway, mining, and so on, you need a reliable, fail-proof joint that can withstand stress and vibrations. That’s when it’s time to look at lockbolts.

Inventory management can bog down your productivity, not to mention hurt the bottom line. How often do you run out of fasteners, and how many people take unnecessary time out of their work days to track down additional inventory? These disruptions result in wasted time and wasted resources.

Although fasteners might seem like nothing more than a small piece to a much larger project, they’re actually an incredibly critical part of any machine or structure. These pieces of hardware usually join two or more materials together, either permanently or temporarily, so start by asking yourself some basic questions: