Construction with gussets and bolts

[Joseph Smith]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

None of your machining constraints really have anything to do with bolting versus riveting. You can totally build riveted frames using those same resources. To better answer your question, I'd like to know - what problems have you had with rivets?

If it's strength - stepping up to 3/16" rivets doesn't cost a ton of weight and can be a lot stronger. If it's repairability / removability - rivet nuts combined with bolts are useful for mechanisms that have to attach and detach themselves a lot.

Bolts in gussets and tube can be a bit problematic - bolts going through both sides of the tube can crush it if you're not careful, bolts have more slop leaving a less rigid frame in some cases, etc. It's still quite doable though. You can even carefully size holes to accept both #10 clearance and 3/16 rivets, or #8 clearance and 5/32 rivets.

We haven't had many major issues with rivets- mostly just loosening over time in certain areas and needing replacement occasionally. I think didn't use the right rivets this last season though- we primarily used these when in the past we normally used something like this.