Spring Plate on Early Stanley Lever Cap

[Mark R Webster]

Ok... I know I could find a replacement lever cap without too much trouble ... but you know how it goes....I was wondering if any Neanders have successfully tried to remove the rivet that attaches the spring plate to the body of the lever cap. Sometimes I run into a lever cap with a tired spring plate that looks like someone pulled on it so hard it just hangs out there not supporting the lever. I am assuming the plate is spring steel... please correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, I recently ended up with one of these over sprung plates and decided to try to replace it. When I tried to remove the rivet, it absolutely would not move. I assume one would tap it out from top surface of the cap body to bottom since there is a head on the bottom end of the rivet. I tried tapping with the usual force, even tried heat and penetrating oil... no movement. I finally drilled it out and got a clean hole, but for future attempts I am wondering if one can drive it out... anyone know how these were assembled .... I assume the body is cast material and surely Stanley wouldn't want to press a rivet in so tight it could risk cracking the body. It is like the rivet and lever cap body welded together over time. This particular lever cap was just over 100 years old. Thoughts?

[steven c newman]

Drive it up from the spring side, after you remove the rivet's head....

[Mark R Webster]

Hi Steve, Thanks for your response. I was "unsuccessfully" trying to save the rivet, so I was trying not to remove the head... are you suggesting the hole is tapered, it didn't seem to be? I drilled the rivet out with a bit slightly smaller than the hole and knocked the remaining rivet material out.... so the original hole was intact and it didn't seem to me to be tapered. I came up with my own solution.... but if you destroy the rivet, what are you personally using as a replacement rivet (as I was trying to knock it out it seemed like hardened steel, but when I drilled it out, it drilled like mild steel. Thanks

[steven c newman]

There was indeed a head on the show side, once the spring was installed, and the rivet peened over the spring....then the head was ground off flush at the show side of the lever cap. Stanley Transitional Lever caps and the 4 Square ones did not have the round head ground flush...
Lever Caps, wide one.JPG
From a Stanley No. 29

[Jim Koepke]

if you destroy the rivet, what are you personally using as a replacement rivet

A nail has worked as a rivet for me many times. You just need to go through a lot of different nails to find one of the right size. It may be necessary to do a little filing on one that is slightly over size.

It may help to drill a divot in the shaft of the nail where it will be peened to make the job a little easier.

jtk

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Steven.... ok.... "There was indeed a head on the show side"... It is apparent to me that they ground whatever was on the show side down, since it is always nice and flush and it just looks like it was ground flush.. It seems if the head was ground off then one should be able to "tap" it from the top side down. (but then, at least on this cap, I couldn't get it to move) Unless there was actually a slight recessed area that allowed a portion of the head to remain in the top surface of the lever cap body. When I removed this rivet, I couldn't see evidence of a recess...

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Jim, I will look for a nail on the next one. Good suggestion It looked like the hole was at 5/32". I am not a metal guy, and not familiar with different rivets... I wonder if they make an actual headed rivet with a shaft size of 5/32" I appreciate your input!