Trigger Guard Rivets - My Rivet Method

7.62's method is certainly better, but I was in a bind and didn't have time to construct a full trigger guard rivet jig, so I improvised... hey, it worked for me!

Front Rivets

Method one - limited success due to the fact that the bucking bar material wasn't up to the challenge - only got two rivets done before it bent over...

Method two - used a 7/8" bolt shank as the ram, and notched it to work around the rails.  Set C-Clamps to squeeze against the side of the receiver to keep from deforming the receiver, and used my 5" vise to apply the ram pressure. 

It worked better than the first method... the bolt won't last for long because it is a milder steel, so I may make this buck again using a higher grade bolt:

Not the prettiest, but they are set:

Second attempt - made sure to square the shims better, and met with great success, this time with the swell-neck group buy rivets from 1-Pat:

Close-ups to show there is proper seating with the rivets.  Heads are not "perfect" but they are set.  I think I would need to mill a face plate onto the ram side of the jig to get a better head:

Fits with mag well.  Nice crisp lock/release.  Yes, I used my bolt cutters to seat the front rivets in the same afternoon I did the trigger guard:

The jig & shims:

Rear Rivet

I used some mild rivets from McMaster-Carr, and they set very easily.  This rivet was quite easy...

When I used some of the group buy rivets, they seem to be much stronger and don't set as easily.  In fact, they bent before they compressed, so I had to go back to the milder steel rivets:

Fits good!