Remember to use washers and not over tighten

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

To the Riv-Nut Proponents:

We've used these in some locations in the past, only to have them strip their holes and start spinning on us. This was (I believe) in some 1"x1"x1/16" aluminum tube. I'd love to use them more/again but I was somewhat put off by them causing us to miss a match when we couldn't remove a bumper. Do you have any suggestions as to what we did wrong?

Using the knurled version like I linked to is preferred over the smooth version. The other big key is to make sure they are installed properly. Having a good tool is part of that equation, so you can ensure the proper compression is achieved, as is making sure that the hole is the correct size. If it slides into the hole easily the hole is too big.

Here is a good tool from McMaster. I'm not finding the one we use, if I do I'll update.