It’s easy to turn your cordless, pneumatic, or corded drill into a power rivet nut setter with this kit.
It’s easy to turn your cordless, pneumatic, or corded drill into a power rivet nut setter with this kit.
There are cordless drills that can be used with 12V or up, but 18V or up is better for bigger sizes like M10 and 3/8″ as well as stainless steel (drills must feature torque limiting clutch.
In this case, it was made by a CNC machine from solid billet aluminum, and it has strong bearings.
Designed with the user’s best experience in mind, it never skimps on quality and has the best technology. International fame: Powerful devices are always being updated to meet the needs of today’s users.
The media couldn’t be loaded because it was too big to move.
I no longer write a lot of reviews for the things I buy on Amazon because I buy so many. There are some products that don’t work as well as they say they do, so I try to write about them. This review will talk about the next. I also write a review when I have good or bad customer service. It’s a shame that this review will also show how it will be in the future in this area. I want to say right away that Astro has backed up their warranty so far, and this is a cautionary message based on my own experience with the company.
You can read on if you want more information after this. This tool hasn’t been used with aluminum or plain steel rivnuts.
Pro.
To start with, I love the molded tool case. Everything has a place and is kept clean.
2. It looks and feels good. It doesn’t look or feel like it’s cheap.
There is a nice thick aluminum body on the outside. It has a knurled surface that makes it easy to grip.
Cons.
1. This tool is only as strong as the drill it’s in.
Astro’s most powerful driver/drill tool doesn’t work well with Stainless Steel rivnuts bigger than 1/4″ in diameter. If you read on, I show you how to work around this problem.
3. You’ll need a powerful Driver / Drill to use this adapter. I have an 18V Milwaukee Fuel Driver/Drill Hammer Drill that I can use. Powerful tool. It’s even used by Astro in their ADN38 video to show off how it works. It doesn’t have enough power to do Stainless Rivnuts in Driver mode, which is what it says it does.
4. One small part, a circlip, called E-Clip, seems to be the weak link. Part # 27 is called E-Clip.
5. Astro needs to work on customer service and become more of a pro customer. Retraining.
6. If I buy a tool at Lowe’s or HD and it breaks or doesn’t work, I return it right away. When I get that service, no one looks at me or asks me to pay again. During the next 30 days, the same thing happens with Amazon, but it doesn’t seem to be true for its suppliers.
Late this summer, I learned about a fastening system that makes it possible to install threaded inserts without having to see them. In this way, these inserts make it easier for bolts or machine screws that are made of thinner metals to be fastened. “Rivet nuts” are nuts that look like rivets and are called “nutserts,” “rivnuts,” or “nutserts.” They are called this because they look and work like rivets. Most likely, you already know something about them because you’re reading this review. I thought these would be great for a project I’m working on. Rivnuts would be a good way to keep the galvanized water tank pans that will hold my Fresh, Gray, and Black water tanks in place. The tank pans are screwed into the bottom of the steel chassis frame. I’ve learned that rivnuts are made of aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, three different types of metal. I couldn’t use aluminum in this case because steel is corrosive to aluminum, and that would most likely cause problems, so I could not use it. The zinc-plated steel rivnuts didn’t seem like a good choice for an outside project. stainless steel rivnuts and screws were the best choice for this project. The tank pan area will be exposed to road grime and the corrosive chemicals used to treat roads for ice and other problems, and the frame is made of steel. Rivnuts come in four sizes: 3/8″, 5/16″, 1/4″, and 3/16. You’ll need a very strong tool to put in the screws.
When I did some research, I found the XL Rivet Nut Drill Adapter on Amazon. It’s called the ADN38 on Amazon. They say that the XL Rivet Nut Adapter can work with rivnuts that are up to 3/8″ to 16. There was an Amazon deal where I bought this ADN38, and it arrived on October 1. You can put it in a nice molded plastic case when you get it, too. A card came with it that asked the buyer to contact Astro directly if there were problems with the warranty. Astro says in bold print at the top of this neon orange card, “We know your time is important. Then it says that if a part is broken, talking to them directly will cut down on the time it takes to fix it.
When the tool came, I tried it out right away with some of my stainless steel 3/8″ rivnuts. I followed the directions and used the correct mandrel and screwed on the first rivnut to the end of the mandrel, as shown in the picture. When I was done, I put it into the hole I had made in 14 gauge galvanized sheet metal. To start, I was in forward driver mode with my clutch at the lowest setting. When you start, the directions say to start with a low setting for the clutch and keep increasing it until it squeezes the rivnut. When I turned it all the way up to 24, the rivnut didn’t move. I found that to install 3/8″ stainless steel rivnuts, I had to put my 18V Milwaukee Fuel driver/drill/hammer drill into full drill mode, setting 1, so that the rivnuts could be properly compressed. This deactivates the clutch. This is very hard to control because it uses a lot of torque and is hard to keep under control. I took my time and moved as slowly and carefully as I could. I put in two in this way. As soon as it was time to install my tank pan rivnuts, I tucked the tool away. I was happy that it worked but knew that it wasn’t what it said.
Sunday, Nov. 4th was the day that happened. It was just 4 days before my Amazon 30 day warranty ran out. I had to put in 43, 5/16″ stainless steel rivnuts. In the instructions, I read about how to set the clutch. Since I was using a smaller rivnut, I went through the process. Once again, the maximum setting of the clutch was not strong enough to fully compress the rivnut, so it didn’t do its job. I put it into drill mode and kept going. As the adapter was tightening down, I heard a loud snap. After hearing the snap sound, I tried to back out my mandrel. Instead, the entire hex shank/driving shank came out of the aluminum body at its rear. I knew that was bad. The ADN38 broke when it tried to put in the first rivnut. The third rivnut it had ever put in.
Astro answered the phone. My call was answered quickly and I was sent to a Product Manager for help with tech issues. Because the adapter was broken, he said he’d have to buy a new one. To install the 3/8″ and 5/16” rivnuts, I talked to him about what I needed to do. He agreed that stainless steel was the reason and that I might have to use the drill mode. If this was the right kind of tool for the job, I asked him. Was it true. She was the head of customer service (but at that point I did not know she was the in charge of the department). In order to send the ADN38 back to them, she told me I would have to send it there. In this case, they would look at it and then decide whether to fix it or get a new one. This was already making my hair stand on end. A big red sign with the word “delay” on it is all I can see right now. I’m trying to finish my chassis before it gets really cold and messy outside. A woman told me that I had to pay for the shipping costs on my own. This did not make sense to me at all, so I told her. Because the warranty clearly stated that the buyer had to pay for return shipping costs, she said that was the case, and it was right there. To find out how the women were doing and because I didn’t know who they were talking to, I asked to speak with the manager again. I was moved, and I was surprised and angry when I learned that I would have to pay for any extra costs because of the circumstances. They both agreed. He agreed to do it. Afterward, I was sent back to Customer Service. Telling me how unusual this was, she said she would need to get me a label and get it from their NC warehouse. She also said that she would have to contact them. She didn’t seem happy. I asked how long this might take and said that I was kind of on a timetable. That would be taken care of some time today. My question about the label came up again after a few hours, so I called back. I told her that I would still need to get it to a UPS drop-off point and that I would like to get it to them before their last pick-up. She told me that it was out of her control and that it would happen before the end of the day. Because I asked her, she also told me that it should only take three or four days to get back to me. This is because I asked. So I should have my tool fixed or replaced on Friday. I did get the label by email around 3pm, but I was running errands at the time and didn’t have time to read it. I got home around 5 or 6 p.m. and went to UPS. That day, I couldn’t get to the UPS center in time. When did this happen? It was Monday, Nov. 5. I didn’t hear any more this week. I called the Customer Service person on Monday, Nov. 12, and asked her to check on the status. I also told her how unhappy I was. When a new ADN38 came the next day, it came with a small flashlight that could be charged. Only one more message. To say thank you, I sent an email to my Customer Service person.
When I got home the next day, I started to put in the rivnuts. Over a few days, I put in more than 20 or so, 1/4″ stainless steel rivnuts. Driver mode with a clutch setting of around 20–22. It took me a few days to finish installing the 5/16″ rivnuts on my frame. There were about 20 more to go before the ADN38 broke again, leaving me about 23 short of being done. As I was angry, I tried to use it the way it was, but it didn’t work out that way, either. It also had striped threads on the adapter end of my mandrel. When I called Astro on Monday, Nov. 19, it was again a Saturday, so I called then. When I talked to the same people again, I was told that my Customer Service person could send me the part that they thought was broken, if I thought I could fix it myself. This time, the part was a small circlip that was broken. She told me this would be very simple (kind of, even I should be able to do it). With this tool, I’ve come to accept that this is my new normal. I agreed to try that. When my parts came in, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a pliers set for snap rings. They also replaced the mandrel that was broken. They arrived on Thursday. On Friday, I took apart and put back together the ADN38. I didn’t go into a lot of detail. It was the only thing I could use as a guide, but it didn’t tell me that the bearing is made up of three separate parts. did not do it right the first time, which caused the mandrel to break. I had to do it again. The second time worked out better than the first time. It still has a problem with the bigger rivnuts, but it runs a little smoother now that they’re gone.
I also find a way to put in the bigger stainless rivnuts, which are 5/16″ long. My clutch setting was turned all the way up. I put it in driver mode. I tighten the rivnut until the clutch comes out. Then I switch the machine to hammer mode and lightly squeeze the trigger to get it to work again. A lot less torque comes from the drill. I can feel it squeeze the rivnuts. Finally, there was no damage to the threads on the rivnuts. I found that about 10 of the 5/16″ rivnuts I had already put in had thread damage. The good news is that only three of them will have to be redone. There are things I have not tried, but I think this will be like drilling out a pop rivet.
Think it would be good for Astro to know how I fixed the problem and how I used a new technique. I sent an email to Astro through my Customer Service and Product Manager people. When I called customer service on Nov. 28, they were polite, but not very excited. Basically, don’t do that, and don’t expect this tool to do what it says it will. Also, don’t expect them to send me a new mandrel and a few more clips as I asked for.
I called them back on Nov. 29th. To start, I talked to Customer Service, but I quickly felt like it didn’t work out. We had an interesting conversation with the Product Manager after she switched me to the person in charge of the project. It was his job to tell me that my concerns and ideas were not going unheard. If you have any questions about this rivnut installer, you should call Astro before you buy it. It’s 800-221-9705.
