Astro 1427 Hand Rivet Nut Kit

This is an amazing tool. If you work with cars in any way, it will quickly become one of your go-to methods for attaching components directly to sheet metal. Nothing is more professional. I have used it for speaker adapter rings, crossovers, amplifiers, etc. Not only does it look professional, but it makes uninstalling / re installing components much easier. For instance, if someone takes their car in for warranty work and the service techs have to remove aftermarket components, they are much more likely to re-install them correctly when all they have to do is thread some screws back in, instead of dealing with a nut and bolt.As for Astro Pneumatic... I very foolishly attempted to use M4 rivets on the M5 mandrel (thinking the M4's were M5's).... I thought the mandrel had defective threads and called Astro Pneumatic asking them for a replacement mandrel. They sent it to me no questions asked, with a M5 rivet threaded on to prove that it worked. It was then I realized my dumb mistake, but at least Astro Pneumatic gained a life long customer.. Excellent company with ideal customer support and awesome products. I feel bad for wasting their time so I hope they see this review as a token of my gratitude.

I should say I've only done about 12 rivet nuts (M6 and M8) with this tool but so far it's worked really well. There are no instructions so if you're not familiar with rivet nuts it might be a bit confusing at first. Changing sizes is pretty easy and could be done by hand, though I'm sure as corrosion sets in with age you'll need to use the included wrench tool. One thing that might throw you off is that the long studs that pass through the tool (sized for the rivet nuts) must be threaded in enough into the locking nut so that the end protrudes enough for the rotating grip to be able to work. If the stud isn't threaded into the tool enough then the rotating grip won't be able to spin the stud, preventing you from threading into, or out of, rivet nuts and it might appear to be broken. Just pay attention to this small detail as it's not really explained anywhere.

I bought this tool because I had about 10 rivnuts that I needed to install in carbon fiber and the standard cheap tool from harbor freight did not accommodate metric rivnuts. Considering that this tool costs the same or less than the price of an individual mandrel, the price on this tool is fantastic.Once I figured out how to use it, the tool worked great. It takes a little bit of elbow grease to use, but nothing that the average person couldn't handle.There were no instructions with the tool, which led to some frustration at first. First, changing out the mandrels is not entirely intuitive. For those struggling with this, make sure you pop off the circular dial in the middle. I nearly took apart the whole tool trying to change the mandrel. Second, it would have been good if there was some guidance on how far to screw the rivnut onto the mandrel in order to install properly. I tried screwing it on the entire way, but the handles are too wide apart - good luck getting them to close. Like another reviewer said, if you screw it on so that a little bit of the mandrel is sticking out past the rivnut, that should allow a clean install.Also, the case isn't very good. Parts don't fit in their spots very well, and move around once closed. Not a huge deal though, especially for the price.I installed about 10 of these into carbon fiber without damaging it. It would get a full 5 stars if it had come with instructions.

This tool worked very well for me. I was able to install a river nut which allowed me to reattach the tailgate lift support of my minivan. Two things to be aware of are: keep in mind that the tool handles will spread out with the rivet nut attached, so you'll need clearance to grip them. In the same vein, when the handles are spread out beyond a certain point, it's almost impossible to get enough leverage to squeeze the handles together. I had to use a shorter nut than intended just to be able to get it installed. Also, no instructions are included with the tool. There is only a parts list.All in all, the tool let me do the job that I needed to get done, and two weeks later, it's still holding with no issues.

I see a lot of reviews stating the plastic parts break. You have to understand how the tool functions or it will break. Mine has worked perfectly for the five times I've used it.When you put the rivet on the mandrel, don't leave the handles at an extreme angle or you could damage the insert and the tool. The plastic adjust knob is easy to break if you force it. Use your brain and it will function for a long time.

It worked well for me, as a weekend warrior, but I don't think it will hold up to rugged use. The silver nose piece that part of the mandrel screws into is cheap pot metal, or maybe even plastic. The kit came with no instructions, leaving it up to the buyer to figure out how to change the mandrels and operate the tool. The "wrench" that is included in the kit to change the mandrels is worthless. I just used a open-end wrench from my toolbox instead.

Bought this tool after reading the review here. I'm building a kit car and need to set a few dozen rivnuts into the chassis for mounting of brackets and other accessories. The tool does the job very well. Compared to the manual threaded rivnut tools, this works much faster and the fact that it sets most of the standard metric rivnuts makes it a rare tool. Last positive is the low cost. It rivals manual threaded tools in price and is almost as easy to use a hydraulic setter.EDIT 2013-08-03: I snapped the M6 stud in the kit. My fault for over stressing it. The tool has been out of warranty for a few months when I contacted Astro Tools wanting to purchase a replacement stud. They sent it free of charge, I didn't even have to pay for shipping! I would give this product 6 stars for customer service.

excelente herramienta, buena construccion y materiales, para un aspecto mas profesional en instalaciones de rosca

Just finished installing over 110 M8 and M10 Steel Rivet nuts using this tool and have not yet had a single problem. There are no instructions however it’s very easy to figure out how to change out the mandrels. As other reviews mentioned, I would not try to use this tool with M12 steel rivet nuts; it may work if they were aluminum however it was already hard to squeeze the M10 steel so M12 would be next to impossible.

Buen producto cumple las expectativas

Works as intended. Would be nice to have some instruction with the tool.

excelente herramienta, funciona perfecto .Buen precio y buena calidad.