Riveting the larger parts

Fitting

Two workers hold the steel frame with the rivet hole exactly over the rivet and fix the frame. Only now can the third worker use the pneumatic drill.

Overhanging

The rivets must have an overhanging length of exactly 13 mm. They are lengthened to this size before they go into the forge.
Only with this overhanging length do the rivets then have the right rivet head form and size.

Steam

As soon as the riveting hammer hits the hot rivets, clouds of white smoke develop, which obstruct his view.
For this reason, a worker always stands nearby with a compressed Air machine to blow away the steam.
This also explains why the workers wear face masks during this phase of work.

Finished rivets

This is what the rivet heads look like after all this effort.
Identically sized half ball shaped rivet heads can be found on both sides of the frame.

During the metal cooling which takes place after the riveting procedure, the distance of the rib between both the visible heads shrinks, pulling both metal parts even tighter together - such a tight bond could not be achieved with screws.