Helmet Question

[Turtle84]

Pretty shortly my new ears will be arriving so I decided to see how easy it would be to take off the existing ones. The two side screws on each ear came out fine but I ran into this problem. I started to feel very uneasy when I came to this so I figured I would hop on and see what you guys would recomend on how to remove this. It appears to be a rivet.

[ZeroRoom[TK]]

Fine drill bit (bout the same, tiny bit bigger, than the rivet stem) and drill right through. It'll pop right off.

[SCTrooper[TK]]

I have drilled these out before. Hold the inside of the helmet part of the rivet with pliers and drill carefully.

[sskunky]

Ditto what these guys have ready beaten me to saying.

[Marv]

Just take it really steady, might want to put a little grease on it just to mitigate risk of any heat.

[gh05ty]

Be aware these things can heat up fast, i would suggsest doing a few seconds at a time and letting it cool and like marv said use some grease to help more - it will take a little longer but you wont risk melting the plastic.

Edited September 10, 2011 by gh05ty

[NStrange]

This is the same way we remove rivets from nut-plates on Aircraft. Our Sheet Metal guys drill the middle out and typically it will break the rivet. I won't beat the proverbial dead horse but Heat is a usual issue and I know this plastic melts. But if you start out with a smaller bit you can carefully work your way up till it breaks the back piece off. Do as SCtrooper says with the pliers and you will be fine.

[Woulf[TK]]

Try a wet rag held to the underside to help keep the area cool and keep the plastic from warping

[Turtle84]

So to surmise everything, find a drill bit to fit the rivet, put a wet rag on the opposite side of the rivet to ensure cooling, and drill it in reverse to pull it out?

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

a little at a time from the outside and it will come apart easy

[Stutz[501st]]

So to surmise everything, find a drill bit to fit the rivet, put a wet rag on the opposite side of the rivet to ensure cooling, and drill it in reverse to pull it out?

No, drill it normally, in forward.