Who Makes Harbor Freight's Rivet Guns & How Much Do They Cost?

Rivet guns are a necessity if you need to secure a blind rivet or pop rivet. These types of fasteners are frequently used if you do not have access to the other side of the materials you are securing together — though, they can be handy for other projects as well. Due to the pre-assembled two-part structure of the rivet, which features a rivet body and a stem, this binding can draw into itself and clamp down with the help of the rivet gun, which then will cut off any remaining stem leaving a low profile fastening with the materials flush against each other.

Harbor Freight, a widely-known, affordable tool store, is not short on its stock of rivet guns. In fact, there are a total of seven brands owned by Harbor Freight that sell different styles of rivet guns to help make your job easier. Personally, I own one of them and won't travel with my camper without it. In this article, we'll go over a few different types, who makes them, and how much they cost.

To put it simply, rivets are used to create a tightly formed connection between two components like car body panels and housing to electronic devices. Another example of a rivet being used, which can be found in nearly every household, is when the handle is attached to a pot or pan. Rivets are great when using a simple screw or bolt system either won't be strong enough to hold it together long-term or give a seamless finish. Imagine trying to use a pan with a protruding bolt attached to it.

Personally, I use rivets for my full-time living tiny camper, which keeps all the cabinets and the belly band in place, so the egg shape of the fiberglass camper stays intact. Of course, silicone must be applied when I need to replace a rivet to ensure that there are no leaks during rain or snowstorms.

When I do have to replace one, though, it is fairly simple. I use my cordless drill and a longer drill bit with a slightly smaller diameter than the rivet. I place the drill bit on the center of the rivet and start drilling until the rivet either comes out and wraps itself about the bit or becomes loose enough to put it out with pliers. After which, I clean out the hole, place the new rivet in there with a rivet gun, and watch the magic seamlessly happen with a bit of pressure to back it.

If using a one-handed tool is preferable, Harbor Freight has a few options. However, be aware that these one-handed tools do not have a convenient container for the leftover rivet stems to fall into, so you'll need to pick them up when the job is done. The smallest one is the Quinn 8 Inch Single Hand Professional Riveter for $17. It's a standard rivet gun without any bells and whistles like some others on the list.

Fasten-Pro has a few options — however, there are a couple that stand out with higher ratings than the others. The 11 Inch Swivel Head Hand Riveter for $10 is an innovative tool. The top of the rivet gun can turn a full 360 degrees, so you can rivet into awkward spaces without having to get into an uncomfortable position. Many reviews state that it is well-made and easy to use. A straightforward and cheaper option is the 10 Inch Hand Riveter for $5. It comes with four nosepieces and does only the simple riveting job it was built for.

Fasten-Pro also makes a Threaded Insert Riveter for $20, which allows you to insert threaded nuts into your project. This would most likely only need to be used if you did not have access to the other side of the material. If you do have access, you may want to consider the standard fastening route and using red or blue threadlocker for a secure fit.

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of one-handed riveters, but that's because I have small, weak hands, and the tool doesn't allow me to use more of my upper body strength. If that is an issue for you as well, Harbor Freight has two-handed rivet guns to make it easier. One option is the Doyle 13 Inch Heavy Duty Professional Hand Riveter for $25. This tool has a double compound hinge to increase the leverage for heavy-duty riveting projects. It comes with five color-coded nosepieces and a collection bottle to hold the rivet stems.

The other two-handed option is the Pittsburgh 17-1/2 Inch Hand Riveter for $20 — this is the rivet gun that I frequently use on my camper. The longer handles allow for more leverage and from experience, the three-prong jaw clamps down the rivets more securely than other rivet guns I've used. A couple of times the rivet stems have broken off and gotten stuck inside the gun, but they were very easy to work out by moving the handles up and down.

Manual rivet guns can prove to be exhausting, especially if you have several rivets to put in place. If you have access to a reliable air compressor, though, you can invest in a pneumatic rivet gun that does all the hard work for you. Harbor Freight sells three air riveters with different budget options.

The Central Pneumatic 3/16 Inch Air/Hydraulic Riveter runs for $40. This affordable air riveter comes with a bottle collector and four size nosepieces for different rivet sizes. Just make sure you pay attention to the rivet collector because it is fairly small — you don't want to back up your rivet gun. For $70, the McGraw 1/4 Inch Air/ Hydraulic Riveter gives up to 3,100 pounds of pull force and has onboard storage for the four included nosepieces. Lastly, the Chief 1/4 Inch Air/Hydraulic Riveter costs $150. However, at the time of this article, it was on sale for $130 for Inside Track Club Members. This gun offers up to 3,400 pounds of pull force.

Each of the pneumatic rivet guns listed is rated fairly similar and works relatively the same. Attach the air hose to the gun and the air compressor will power it with compressed air. Then place the rivet stem into the nosepiece, the rivet's body into the prepared hole, and pull the trigger. More than likely you'll only need to pull the trigger once for the rivet gun to do the job. However, be aware that there is room for error when working with air tools.

If you're working with polyoxymethylene (POM) rivets, you're going to need a different rivet gun because there's a higher chance the standard ones listed above will break the plastic and make the rivet unusable. Harbor Freight's Pittsburgh line is the only brand at the store that sells a poly hand riveter. Not to worry, though — this rivet gun is affordable at $16 and comes with a high rating of 4.5 out of five stars from over 670 users.

There are no fancy tricks or attachments to using this rivet gun. It is designed for one-handed operation and has self-adjusting jaws to set your rivets in one go. The tool also lets you set the size of the rivet without having to remove the nosepiece, unlike the other options listed above. The kit includes 40 POM rivets, which come in four different sizes, and Harbor Freight ensures that they will not damage painted or delicate surfaces. Several consumers used theirs for setting plastic trim on their vehicles like their inner wheel well and license frame.