Santa Clause brought me this small 1/2 ton arbor press. I think you can find them online for less than $50, so it’s a good value in my opinion. Anyway, I got these 1/8" diameter 4mm tall aluminum semi-tubular rivets and thought that I would put this to the test. I don’t have a special rivet press tip, I just used the stock pointed drift that came with the arbor press. I put a couple of metal scraps together, and the rivet (before pressing) protruded about 3/32 of an inch. Here are some before and after pictures. I am really happy with the overall results. I like the idea of using a press rather than hitting rivets with a punch. I think I will have better control when doing train repairs like attaching replacement wheel trucks onto rolling stock. The press will allow me to fasten pieces tightly or (in the case of wheel trucks and such) loosely.
