Facts You Should Know About Nose Assemblies

Nose assemblies are the ‘adaptor’ or ‘connector’ between an installation tool and your rivets or lockbolts. Nose assemblies are made up of nosepieces, collets, and jaws. Most nose assemblies need to be purchased separately and need to suit your specific fastener.

When it comes to nose assemblies, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind! Here are some of the top things we think you should know about nose assemblies, including the top brands, types and daily maintenance.

Using these tips and keeping these factors in mind, you will be a nose assembly pro in no time!

Check out Rivetlab's top facts for nose assemblies below:

Brands of Nose Assemblies: Huck, Gage Bilt & Avdel

The three major players in the market Huck^®, Gage Bilt, and Avdel^®.

They all have more than 60 years of history and manufacture an extensive range of nose assemblies to suit many fasteners and applications.

Types of nose assemblies

There are various types of nose assemblies for various applications: straight, extended, right-angle, and offset.

At RivetLab®, we can supply any available nose assembly to suit your application. Our nose assemblies suit rivet guns and lockbolt tools from most manufacturers; extended or right angles can be used for setting rivets or lock bolts in narrow channels or areas with difficult access.

Some nose assemblies can be similar in appearance but contain differences in the internal parts. No matter what brand or type of nose assembly there is on offer, you have to choose the correct nose assembly for the rivets or lockbolts you are installing. But how?

Define the type of rivets or lock bolts

Structural rivets – high-performing rivets for structural or demanding applications. The rivet features impressive installed values, excellent hole fill, generous grip range, pressure-tight seal, and flush-breaking mandrel.

Typical structural rivets include RivetLab® Rivlok® series; Ornit Orlock®; Huck® Magna-Bulb®; Huck® Magna-Lok®; Avdel® Monobolt®

Standard lockbolts – Lockbolts are a two-piece permanent swage lock fastening system consisting of a pin and a collar. Standard lockbolts have a pre-set breakpoint on the pin for easy installation. However, they have a limited grip range.

Typical standard lockbolts include Avdel® Avdelok® & Huck® C6L®.

Multi-grip lockbolts – Multi-grip lockbolts have no pre-set breakpoint in the pin. The pin will break flush with the end of the collar when swaged and can be used on a wide range of material thicknesses.

Typical multi-grip lockbolts include Huck® Magna-Grip® and Avdel® Maxlok®;

Define the size of the rivets or lock bolts

In this blog, we are talking about structural rivets and lockbolts from 3/16”(4.8mm) to 3/8”(9.5mm).

You have to pick the correct nose assembly for each size and type of fastener.

This table lists nose assembly to choose from the RivetLab® product range:

Daily Maintenance

Daily cleaning and lubrication of nose assembly will greatly reduce downtime and increase the life of components. Using sewing machine oil, or an equivalent cleaner/lubricant, follow the instructions below:

• Dip into mineral spirits or similar solvents to clean jaws and wash away metal chips and debris.
• Dry jaws immediately; Disassemble nose assembly and use a sharp ‘pick’ to remove embedded particles from grooves of jaws.
• Lubricate the nose assembly after each cleaning and as often as needed.
• Point nose assembly into the oil. Cycle the tool 8-10 times and wipe dry.

If you still can’t decide what nose assembly to choose to suit your rivet gun or lock bolt gun, give us a call.