Almot wrote:
Consumeratlarge - No, rivet nuts are not "blind" rivets.
I think I may have made myself misunderstood. About rivnuts, or rivet nuts. I refer to them as 'blind' fasteners, because they are installed from one side of a structure, and can be used to fasten from one side of the structure, (not needing nuts or washers on the inside of the structure). I use them on non structural airplane parts, like fairings, and have the tools. I was comparing them to blind rivets, because the threaded puller is similar to the way a blind riveter works, mushrooming the blind side by pulling. BTW, I always chase each one with a tap chucked into a little battery drill. That way, you will never have one spin, since the threads also can get a little distorted after being pulled.
Thanks for the details on your aluminum mounts, sounds like a good setup, like you said. Especially for lots of outdoor exposure, which is where the panels do their best! When I laid mine out on the roof, I knew it was going to be a lot of wood screws into thin plywood, so I like your comment about spreading the load of all of those wood screws.
