Dorman 743-100 Hand Rivet Gun

After reading some of the negative reviews, I was hesitant to buy this rivet gun. It's so cheap! Something MUST be wrong with it, right? NO. This is an incredible deal on a heavy duty, well made tool. It even comes with five different sizes of rivets (10 each), five different sized nose piece tips and a little wrench to change them out! I used it like many here, to replace a window regulator in my vehicle (2003 Mercedes ML350). The OEM Mercedes dealer rivets are Stainless Steel and need a powerful tool to install them. All four rivets went in with two pumps. The first set the rivet, the second broke off the shaft and ejected it into the catch cup. Every time. Super easy! The only reason I can come up with for the bad reviews is they were using the wrong size rivets in the wrong size nose piece. If you try to cram a large rivet into a small nose piece, I can see it getting stuck inside. But, if you pay attention to the sizes, and choose the correct nose piece, this gun works fantastic. I will admit that when I first got it, I couldn't find the extra nose pieces and thought they must be missing. Then after looking closer realized they are screwed into the handle on both sides! D'oh! At first glance they look like nuts holding the handles on. You don't change the entire nose piece, only the TIP! I wonder how many negative reviews were caused people not realizing this and using the wrong size rivets in the stock tip?

Worked great for what I was working on good quality at a low price

Works well. However, 1/4" rivets will not fit into the mandrel. I am replacing power window regulators on a 1998 Ford Explorer, so I'll need to purchase another rivet run that accepts 1/4" rivets.

Needed for a project and worked fine.

Summary The most affordable well made riveter money can buy, I scoured amazon and several hardware store sites and this is the one with the highest overall rating. It matches up against a much more expensive riveter that a friend has, think his 60 $ vs my 20 $ at the time of my review. Pros Obviously the price Sturdy, Feels well designed especially at the price !!! It functions with no issues, i've already used it to install 6 1/8th inch rivets. I also did a test on the 1/4th inch rivet and while i had to be much more forcefull than the 1/8th it wasn't as hard as others had said Cons The smell.... But a little bit of off gassing is to be expected so i would suggest you leave it outside or in a well ventilated area. I suspect they didn't use a decent quality oil on the moving joints of the tool, But as another reviewer said this is quickly and easily remedied by adding a little of your own presumably decent quality lubrication. Hope this helps, And ignore that it kind of comes off as a "car only" riveter... That's just horrible marketing on the sellers part.... I used this to reassemble my computer case after having taken it apart/painting it and it worked wonderfully for that.

I used this with 1/4” steel shank, aluminum rivets, and it worked well

I haven't used it a lot, only needed or twice in the last year, but it sure did make my life easier.. handy little tool to have when threading a hole.. worth it!

I purchased this rivet gun to replace some rivets in my car door for a window replacement. It did the job but if you were going to plan on using the tool long term multiple times you may want to look for a better US made option or a company with good warranty. I cannot speak on the long term durability of this tool as i purchased as a one time use product. It did the job and still works. Also came with a few rivets which was convenient. Handle is pretty large so this is not good for if you're working in a tight space.