• A common rivet gun is a handy tool.riveter and rivets image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com
  
  Rivet nuts are fastened using a tool that creates a bulge in the rivet, which acts as a clamping force to hold the riveted objects together. Riveting tools come in a variety of forms, ranging from manual to pneumatic. Pneumatic rivet guns are typically air powered and require a tank of compressed air to operate. Guns for setting rivet nuts are individualized in that they work from one side of the object that is riveted.
  
  

Mechanical Rivet Tools

• These tools allow you to set rivet nuts by hand. They are similar to a drill in appearance and use compressed air to set a rivet nut. Manual rivet nut guns set rivet nuts using a pneumatically powered piston to deform the central shaft of the nut.
  
  

Manual Rivet Tools

• Manual riveting tools are hand tools used to set a rivet nut. Hand-operated manual riveting tools use a hand-turned crank to set rivet nuts. Plier-style rivet nut tools use a plier-style hand lever to push rivet nuts into position while lever-type setting tools use a configuration similar to that of bolt cutters to place rivet nuts.
  
  

Automatic Rivet Tools

• Automatic rivet tools use automatic systems to set rivet nuts. These systems provide a variety of options and features, including error control and a variety of styles of riveting, ranging from press style riveting to spindle lifting.