How to Install a Rivet Nut
Installing a rivet nut is straightforward once you have the right tools and the right preparation. The whole process takes about 30 seconds per fastener once you’re set up. This guide walks through the five steps from drill to finished install, explains the most common mistakes, and shows you how to verify the rivet nut is properly set before moving on.
What You’ll Need
- The rivet nut in the right size, material, and grip range — see our Rivet Nut Selection Guide if you’re unsure which to use.
- A drill capable of running the correct bit size at moderate speed.
- The correct drill bit — see our Drill Bit & Hole Size Chart for the exact match by rivet nut size.
- A deburring tool or a slightly larger drill bit held by hand. Critical for clean back-side hole edges.
- A rivet nut installation tool with the matching mandrel and nose piece for your rivet nut thread size — see our Rivet Nut Tool Selection Guide for choosing between hand, pneumatic, pneudraulic, and cordless options.
- Cutting fluid if drilling stainless steel.
- Eye protection — metal chips during drilling, mandrel snap-back if a setting cycle goes wrong.
Step 1: Drill the Hole
The most important step. The hole size determines whether the rivet nut grips properly, so getting this right is non-negotiable. Match the drill bit to the rivet nut size using our chart — don’t eyeball it or substitute the “closest fractional” on a hunch.
- Mark the hole location with a center punch to prevent the drill from walking.
- Hold the drill perpendicular to the panel. An angled hole prevents the flange from seating flat and reduces grip.
- Use steady, moderate pressure. Too little and the bit slips; too much and the bit grabs and tears the panel (especially in thin sheet).
- Match drill bit material to panel material. HSS for mild steel, HSS-Cobalt for stainless. See the drill chart for full guidance.
- Use cutting fluid for stainless — mandatory, not optional.
- For thin gauge sheet (under 0.040"), consider a step drill bit instead of a twist drill — cleaner round hole with less risk of tearing.
Tolerance reminder: RivetKing’s published hole tolerance is +0.006" / -0.000". A slightly oversized hole (within tolerance) is acceptable; undersized is not.
Step 2: Deburr the Hole
Drilling leaves a sharp burr ring on the back side of the panel where the bit punched through. The burr prevents the rivet nut body from collapsing properly during setting, which is a leading cause of rivet nuts failing to grip. Deburring takes 5 seconds and makes a big difference.
- Use a deburring tool if you have one — a quick twist on the back side of the hole removes the burr cleanly.
- Or use a slightly larger drill bit by hand — chamfer the back edge of the hole with a few rotations of a larger bit (do not power-drill it).
- Or use a sharp utility knife — rotate the blade tip in the back side of the hole to break the burr.
- Both sides matter if the rivet nut head will sit against a finished surface — a small front-side deburr also prevents marring the panel face.
Step 3: Thread the Rivet Nut onto the Tool Mandrel
Take the rivet nut and thread it onto the mandrel of your installation tool. Most tools will spin the mandrel automatically when you trigger them — just feed the rivet nut in until it stops. The flange should sit flush against the nose piece of the tool.
- Match the mandrel to the rivet nut. A 1/4-20 mandrel won’t fit a 5/16-18 rivet nut and vice versa. If you install multiple sizes, switch the mandrel and nose piece to match each batch.
- Don’t cross-thread. Start the rivet nut on the mandrel by hand if necessary to ensure clean thread engagement before triggering the tool.
- Inch and metric mandrels are not interchangeable — an M6 mandrel is not a 1/4-20 mandrel even though sizes are similar.
Step 4: Insert into the Hole and Seat the Flange
Insert the rivet nut (still threaded on the mandrel) into the drilled hole from the accessible side. Push until the flange of the rivet nut is fully seated against the front face of the panel. The flange should sit flat — if it’s tilted or lifted on one side, you have a hole-perpendicularity problem (re-drill if needed) or the panel has a burr you missed (deburr again).
- Hold the tool perpendicular to the panel while seating the rivet nut.
- The flange must contact the panel. If it’s floating off the surface, the setting cycle won’t produce proper grip.
- Don’t force it through a too-small hole. If the rivet nut binds and won’t slide through to seat, your hole is undersized — stop and re-drill with the correct bit.
Step 5: Set the Rivet Nut
With the flange seated against the panel, trigger the tool to set the rivet nut. The tool will pull on the mandrel (or spin it through a calibrated cycle) which collapses the rivet nut body against the back side of the panel (IKF series) or swages it outward against the hole wall (ISR series). The cycle takes 1-2 seconds.
- Hold the tool firmly against the panel during the set cycle. If you pull away during setting, the rivet nut will pull out partway and not collapse fully.
- Listen and feel for the cycle to complete. Pneumatic tools change pitch when the cycle completes. Hand tools require you to squeeze the handles fully together. Cordless tools click off automatically.
- After the cycle, the tool reverses — the mandrel spins back out of the now-set rivet nut. The flange should remain flush against the panel and the body should be fully collapsed/swaged behind it.
How to Tell if a Rivet Nut is Properly Set
Don’t skip this verification step. A bad rivet nut install will fail when you tighten a bolt — better to catch it now than after assembly.
- Front side check: the flange should be flush against the panel face, no gap, no tilt. Run a fingernail across the flange edge — it should be smooth against the panel without a step.
- Back side check (if accessible): for IKF series, the body should be fully collapsed into a tight ring or cone shape against the back side of the panel. For ISR series, the body should be swaged outward against the hole wall and flush with or slightly above the back face. No loose body extending past the panel.
- Thread check: spin a bolt of the matching size into the rivet nut a few turns, then back it out. Threads should engage smoothly with no binding, cross-threading, or grit.
- Spin test: with a bolt threaded a few turns, try to rotate the rivet nut from the front side using moderate finger pressure on the flange. The rivet nut should NOT spin in the hole. If it spins, the install failed (oversized hole, insufficient setting force, or smooth hole walls).
Common Installation Mistakes
1. Wrong Drill Bit Size
Drilling the hole “close enough” instead of the exact size in the chart. Even 0.005" oversized can cause spin-out. The fix: always reference the drill chart and use the exact recommended bit.
2. Skipping the Deburr
The burr on the back side of the hole prevents the rivet nut body from collapsing fully. The install looks fine on the front side but the rivet nut spins under torque later. The fix: always deburr after drilling. It takes 5 seconds and prevents 30 minutes of rework.
3. Wrong Grip Range
Using a short-grip rivet nut in a panel that’s too thick — the body can’t reach the back side, so it doesn’t collapse against anything. Or using a long-grip rivet nut in a thin panel — the body sticks out past the back. Either way, the install fails. The fix: measure your panel thickness and pick the matching grip range. See the Selection Guide for the full grip-range chart.
4. Cross-Threading the Mandrel
Forcing the rivet nut onto the mandrel without aligning the threads first. This damages the mandrel (expensive consumable) and produces an inconsistent set. The fix: start the rivet nut on the mandrel by hand for the first turn, then let the tool finish.
5. Not Holding the Tool Perpendicular During Setting
If the tool tilts during the set cycle, the flange seats unevenly and one side of the body collapses more than the other. The result is a rivet nut that’s installed crooked and will leak load preferentially to one side. The fix: brace the tool against the panel during the cycle and hold it firmly perpendicular until the cycle completes.
6. Setting Force Too Low
On adjustable tools, an undersized stroke or pull-force setting under-collapses the rivet nut body. The flange is flush but the body isn’t locked behind the panel. Visual check from the back side will show this. The fix: test on scrap, increase the tool setting until the body is fully collapsed, then use that setting in production.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to install a rivet nut?
After your first few installs, expect about 30 seconds per fastener once your tool is set up — drill (10 sec), deburr (5 sec), thread on mandrel (5 sec), insert and seat (3 sec), set (2 sec), verify (5 sec). Production setups in shop environments routinely hit 10-15 seconds per install with practiced operators.
Can I remove a rivet nut after it’s installed?
Not easily. Rivet nuts are designed for permanent installation. If you need to remove one, the typical methods are: (1) drill out the body with a larger drill bit until the head separates and falls out the back, or (2) cut the head off with a rotary tool and push the body through the hole. Both methods enlarge the original hole, so you’ll need a larger rivet nut or a patch if you need to re-install.
My rivet nut spins when I tighten a bolt — what did I do wrong?
Three usual causes: (1) the hole was drilled oversize, (2) the panel surface was too smooth for the knurls to bite, or (3) the rivet nut wasn’t fully set during installation. The first two are unfixable post-install — drill out the failed rivet nut and use a fresh one in a properly-sized hole. The third can sometimes be fixed by re-running the setting tool over the rivet nut to fully collapse the body.
Do I need to use threadlocker on a rivet nut?
Not on the rivet nut body during installation — threadlocker on the body interferes with the panel grip. Threadlocker on the bolt that threads INTO the rivet nut (after install) is fine and recommended for vibration applications. Some people apply a small dab of threadlocker to the rivet nut body if their hole came out slightly oversized — this can save a marginal install but isn’t a substitute for a correctly-sized hole.
Can I install a rivet nut from the same side I’m drilling, or do I need both sides?
Same side. That’s the whole point of a rivet nut — it installs entirely from the accessible side of the panel. You don’t need access to the back. The body collapses on the back side automatically during the setting cycle.
What torque do I use to tighten a bolt into a rivet nut?
Use the standard torque spec for the bolt thread size and grade. The rivet nut itself doesn’t change the torque spec — it provides a permanent thread that behaves like any other tapped hole. For a 1/4-20 grade 5 bolt, that’s typically 8-10 ft-lbs in steel. If you over-torque, you risk spinning the rivet nut (especially in aluminum) or stripping the threads.
Related Resources
- Rivet Nut Selection Guide — choosing series, material, size, and grip range before you install
- Rivet Nut Drill Bit & Hole Size Chart — matched drill bits for every rivet nut size
- Rivet Nut Tool Selection Guide — hand, pneumatic, pneudraulic, and cordless tool comparison
- Rivet Nut vs Plus Nut vs Jack Nut vs Well Nut — comparing rivet nuts to alternative blind threaded fasteners
- Shop Rivet Nuts (IKF & ISR)
- Shop Drill Bits