Anyone done home-made panniers with aluminium and rivets?

[teriyakimonkey]

I was thinking about having a bash but reckon I'd mess up welding aluminium. Has anyone done anything with sheet and angle aluminum and a load of rivets? Excuse the painfully bad drawing but this is what I mean:

[Xander]

I was thinking about having a bash but reckon I'd mess up welding aluminium. Has anyone done anything with sheet and angle aluminum and a load of rivets? Excuse the painfully bad drawing but this is what I mean:

I played with the idea for a long time, but decided that all those sharp rivet heads are a bad thing.. on the inside they will slowly eat anything that touches them ...on the outside.. well ouch.. so I gave up that idea..

HOWEVER the other day surfing around I came across these..
http://www.pemnet.com/fastening_products/pdf/sfdata.pdf

from
http://www.zygology.com/newproducts/newproducts.asp

All you need is a hammer... and an anvil.. easy...

these seems like the solution to me ... other then that it should be a relatively easy project to do as long as you are rather good with a mitre box. Let us know how you get on.. and if you do decide to go with the the above flat rivets I may be interested in buying some as well...

Just remember to get some kind of sealant between the angle and the sheet before you rivet down.. I suggests sicaflex..or the like cus post hoc sealing is a major pain in the a$$ and does not look nice.. (and can mean no powdercoating or such)

[Krtek]

Yes, some friends of mine did that. I'd point you towards some pics but the site seems to be offline. Here's one thing I remember: I believe they solved the problem of sharp rivet heads by using square tube inside the corners so the rivet heads never come into contact with the luggage.

I'll post here if I can find the pics.

[Jenna]

them surface rivets are great if you use enough, they can be very weak if the panels are only joined in a few places.... (how about going along the lines of squirrelciv who made a nice set) and use to pre bent halves, this is way easier and stronger (and less likely to leak!)... if you want go the whole hog get the to halves radius bent instead of a square corner, and get the half on the inside rebated so the two overlap that way you only get one set of rivets down the join!..



do some nice bits on that website Xander.. lol and a bit i was looking for to use on a future project. ( hear Kymmy groaning already.. )

[davsato]

if you work out the folding you will keep the seams (and the rivetting) to a minimum, this will also increase the strength of the box.
i believe this is how metal mule cases are made?

difficult to do at home though, need a proper folder really. your way will weigh a ton but be much simpler to make.

[teriyakimonkey]

Thanks folks. Good tips. I was gonna try and keep rioveted joints to a minimum and look for a metal shop where I can use a folder. I was going to get 2mm alu and "score" the fold to make it easier to bend and maybe reinforce it after. I found a French fellas home made panniers on google and they were good. He done about 35K km with them off road! What is eloxed aluminium? He used one thickness at 1.5mm. Good idea about the square section. Wouldn't take up a lot of room inside neither.

Keep 'em coming!

[Xander]

This page is in Italian but with lots of pics it may have what you are after
http://www.sahara.it/bm/saharaThree/...miniobmw.shtml
and then there is this topic on the HUBB
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...anniers-4354-3

[aandy]

I had a neighbour weld some 2mm aluminium together in box fashion and then added brackets at the back with rivets to hang on to the pannier bars on the bike. the inside was covered with duck tape (so easy, i dont understand why people make it so complicated) to stop everything turning black.

the whole lot cost €50 per box, and was perfect for the roads of europe, russia, (off) roads of kazakhstan, and asia, including lots of off road tipovers and one road spill. all items intact in all accounts including glass bottles...

[Dilbert]

Ordinary "pop" rivets will give you a smooth surface on the outside, using the "rivetting into a box section" method will be fine on the inside as suggested, if you use thin sheet and thin aluminium box and angle sections then the weight shouldn't be much more than commercial ones, the trickey bit will be cutting the box and angle to make the sides to base interface.

[Ashley M]

Its not on the same scale as making panniers, but I have made
My own tool box under the number plate using the same method
Its been on for nearly two year and its still water proof, I used mastic
Between the joints and lined it with a cork tile, it works so well I
Have been very tempted to have ago at some panniers.