removing name plates

[Mayhem]

Since I am working on the head of my mill at the moment, I thought that I would remove all the peeling paint and give her a new coat.

I want to remove the plethora of name and information plates, rather than paint around them like so many do. What is the best way to remove the pins that hold these on?

[krv3000]

hi well i have dun this by getting a pear of wire cutters and grinding the point of the front of then IE to mack the nose flat then get hold of the rivet and twist them out they have a spiral on them so they will not just pull out hope this helps one other tip i have read is to put a slot in the rivet head with a dremel and cutting disc and unscrew them

[TomG]

Darren,

In my experience, those can be a real pain to remove because they grip like crazy and there isn't much of a head to grab. What seemed to work best was to use an old wood chisel to drive under the head and pry them out. If that doesn't work, just grind the heads off and re-drill the holes when you re-mount the plates.

Tom

[Bill Gruby]

We have done them in three ways. First we chiseled the heads of but ended up damaging the plates. Then we pryed them out as Tom said. Again damage was caused. Last and the way we do it now is the Dremel method. Do not slot the head all the way to the plate, only part way. Too deep it becomes too weak to twist. Steady pressure and it will start to move. Just twist from there and they will come right out. Not mentioned yet, these pins have a right hand twist. Turn C/Clockwise to get remove.

"Billy G"

[Mayhem]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll start out with the Dremel and see how I go.

Cheers!

[f350ca]

Where do you get new rivets to replace them?

[TomG]

(06-25-2012, 09:28 AM)f350ca Wrote: Where do you get new rivets to replace them?

They aren't rivets, they are drive screws, little hardened steel pins with a high pitch thread that you drive in with a hammer. McMaster Carr carries them.

Tom

[November X-ray]

As always, Pictures will be expected!!!

[dallen]

(06-25-2012, 09:28 AM)f350ca Wrote: Where do you get new rivets to replace them?

Fastenal I just purchased a bag of a hundred 1/8 X 3/8 long for like 6.00 USD, any decent fastener place will have or can get them

[Tony Wells]

I need to do the same thing to my mill, and also my Monarch lathe. The Monarch has heavy cast aluminum plates, to my thoughts there were to simply grind way the head and remove the plate. Then I hope there is enough to grab with vise-grips to "unscrew". They originally aren't intended to be removed, but as we all know....where there's a will...

On the mill, the plates are more the normal thin etched and silkscreened tags, so the Monarch option may not work well. A slot in the head, coupled with a little persuasion from a thin chisel usually works. If not, I will simply drill them out and go with the next size up. There are lots of variety in U-drive screws, so replacing isn't a problem. If the back is accessible, a small pin punch can be used to knock them right out.

If you do end up drilling for new ones, pay careful attention to the hole size. It's rather critical.