6061 for a solid rivet?

cdhknives

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The handle fell off (previous rivets cracked at the seam between handle and lid) a good Kitchenaid pot lid and I was going to turn 2 rivets to repair it. There is no reason to buy a box of 50 when I need 2! Most of what I have on hand are machining grades for the lathe. Will 6061-T6 deform well enough for this application? It doesn't have to be pretty, these are well used pots, but this is the lid most often used so I want to fix it... I could also use 316SS but I'd rather not deal with that stringy...stuff! Brass or copper would look strange in SS cookware.
 
I think there is a risk of corrosion between aluminum and SS, I'd use the 316.
 
I don’t know about electrolysis between stainless and aluminum. And because T6 condition, it could crack on you, depending on how much deformation you are trying to do…Dave
 
I don’t know about electrolysis between stainless and aluminum. And because T6 condition, it could crack on you, depending on how much deformation you are trying to do…Dave

I've heard you can anneal T6, and it'll form OK for a few hours (then it hardens again).. As for corrosion, it won't usually
matter: the rivets don't spend but a few hours a year in a wet condition, and both aluminum and stainless are
slow to corrode. For a ship hull, wet all the time, it'd be a BIG problem.
 
When I was making aluminum coolant tanks for Ducati 916 series bikes, I bought a 1000 aluminum rivets. The material for the rivet to deform yet hold its strength is pure science. Here is a list of aluminum grades from the site I bought mine:

https://www.rivetsonline.com/rivets/solid-rivets

I would think 6061-T6 would crack if the mushroom was quite large. 3 and 5 series aluminum is typically used for sheet metal as it does not crack when bending.
 
Got it covered, thanks guys. It turns out my Dad has a stash of ancient marine rivets from repairing an old boat...and amazingly enough the pan lid was drilled for 1/4", same as the rivets.
 
Stainless and aluminum are used together frequently in fresh water marine applications. My outboards have always been fastened with stainless hardware. I made custom transducer mountings for my boat using 6061 T6 and stainless hardware.

When I rebuilt my boat, I made a number of custom rivets from 6061. As long as you anneal the aluminum, it will work well.
 
Many years ago, I had an aluminum housing with SS screws tested per Mil-Std-810. At the end of the test I was amazed to find that the screws had been severely degraded. I don't understand galvanic corrosion very well - sometimes it is a big deal and sometimes not. It depends on the environment, the positions of the metals in the galvanic series, which metal is larger in size, and many other things.

But I wonder if a dishwasher might be similar to the Mil Std test.
 
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