Rivets for the Bluebird K7 restoration

Avdel® helps rebuild Donald Campbell’s historic Bluebird K7

The BLUEBIRD restoration project

CUSTOMER NAME: The Bluebird Project
LOCATION: Coniston, Lake District, England
INDUSTRY: Marine
MATERIALS MANAGED: Monobolt® multigrip breakstem fasteners, ProSet® PB3400 18V cordless structural blind rivet tool

Challenge

Bluebird K7 was the first successful jet-powered hydroplane with which Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records in the 1950s and 1960s.

The famous hydroplane and its owner came to a tragic end on 4th January 1967 on Coniston Water in the English Lake District while making a bid for an eighth water speed record.

For many years the wreckage sat on the lake bed until a diving team led by Bill Smith recovered it between October 2000, when the first small sections were raised, and March 2001, when approximately two-thirds of the main hull were salvaged.

In 2006, Gina Campbell, Donald’s daughter, formally gifted Bluebird K7 to the Ruskin Museum in Coniston and in agreement with the Campbell Family Heritage Trust and the museum, Bill Smith and his Bluebird Project team set about the mammoth task of restoring the historic boat to full running condition.

Bluebird K7 was built like a supersonic aircraft and is heavily overengineered. It is held together by thousands and thousands of rivets, with 7,500 used for the floor alone.

Bill and his restoration team are committed to retaining as many original features and materials of Bluebird K7 as possible and his research showed that POP Avdel fastenings were used to build Bluebird in 1954

Solution

Bill Smith contacted STANLEY Engineered Fastening to help him locate the right rivets for a historically accurate restoration of the boat.

The Bluebird restoration team used the original rivet holes wherever possible so they needed high strength, precision manufactured rivets which are designed for demanding applications where safety and performance are paramount.

The right rivets for the application were 4.8mm (3/16”) and 6.4mm (1/4“) Avdel Monobolt rivets. These multi-grip structural rivets are a high strength, structural blind rivet with a locked stem and a positive hole fill for use in heavy duty applications.

Thanks to the ProSet PB3400 18V cordless structural blind rivet tool, the Bluebird Project team was able to quickly place the thousands upon thousands of rivets needed in the hull, consistently every time.

The PB3400 is a high-speed cordless power tool combining great strength with excellent ergonomics. Capable of placing up to 1,000 ø 6.4 mm (1/4”) rivets per charge (4.0 Ah battery) the tool saves time in continuous operation without ‘tool overload’.

Its lightweight and compact design allowed the team to work speedily, effectively and comfortably, even in confined spaces.

“The ProSet PB3400 from Avdel is a fantastic piece of equipment. It is light and elegant and makes easy work of pulling rivets.

Owing to the nature of our project, we needed a riveter that would set thousands of rivets perfectly every time. It can be a fiddly job but the PB3400 delivered consistency and ease of use which made our work much more pleasant.

The stem on the Monobolt rivets lock into the body meaning the joint is Challenge Solution CUSTOMER NAME: The Bluebird Project LOCATION: Coniston, Lake District, England INDUSTRY: Marine MATERIALS MANAGED: Monobolt® multigrip breakstem fasteners, ProSet® PB3400 18V cordless structural blind rivet tool CASE STUDY: THE BLUEBIRD PROJECT Avdel® helps rebuild Donald Campbell’s historic Bluebird K7 strong and resists vibration.You can also quickly visually check the lock. The hole fill is great too which is really important when undertaking such delicate restoration work.

STANLEY Engineered Fastening has been fantastic. They are always on hand to help providing the right advice and they have found a way to make our work easier and more fun.”

Bill Smith, Team Leader at the Bluebird Project