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Pop rivet grip range: 16 mm length is not the grip

Updated: 22 October 2026

A packet marked 4.8 x 16 mm is easy to misread: 16 mm is the body length, not the thickness the rivet will clamp. Measure the stack, including a washer, and turn it into a length for a 4.8 mm rivet. The pack claims come from the [blind rivets comparison](/hub/screws-and-accessories/blind-rivets). The bands below are Leitz’s UK shopper table, marked “about”. These packs were not measured in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A packet marked 4.8 x 16 mm is easy to misread: 16 mm is the body length, not the thickness the rivet will clamp. Measure the stack, including a washer, and turn it into a length for a 4.8 mm rivet.

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On this page
  1. 1.Grip is the stack, not the body length
  2. 2.A 4.8 mm length table you can use
  3. 3.Too short, too long, and a kit that says 1–10 mm
  4. 4.The short end of the range is a recommendation

Grip is the stack, not the body length

Grip is everything the rivet passes through: both sheets, thick paint, and a backup washer if you will fit one. A 4.8 x 16 mm rivet is about 16 mm long. On the Leitz rows that length is about 9–12 mm of grip. If your stack is 16 mm, the rivet is short. INCLY and Glarks supply backup washers. Adding one can push the stack out of the band. Most listings here print length only, so you still measure. Stanley’s POP notes say a short rivet does not form a proper secondary head, and too large a hole lets the body swell between the sheets. Hole size is on the how to fit a pop rivet page.

A 4.8 mm length table you can use

Leitz UK’s 4.8 mm table is approximate. A 10 mm length is about 4–7 mm of grip, 12 mm is about 6–9 mm, 14 mm is about 8–11 mm, 16 mm is about 9–12 mm, 18 mm is about 12–14 mm, and 20 mm is about 14–16 mm. About 13 mm of grip wants an 18 mm length. Do not average tables. Two 3 mm plates are a 6 mm stack, which sits in the 12 mm length, at the short end of the 6–9 mm row. Where a shop table and ISO 15977 differ by about a millimetre, say they differ. If the packet prints a grip range, that range wins. Length equal to grip plus one diameter is only a check. ANVINKU, HAOCHEN, HexinYigjly at 20 mm, TXXATX at about 19 mm, songhua at 20 mm, Zynthor at 10 mm and mawmuaw at 16 mm called “head length” do not print a grip range. You still measure.
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Too short, too long, and a kit that says 1–10 mm

Too short is the failure you can see. The mandrel may still snap, and the blind side has little or no bulb. A 4.8 x 10 mm rivet, about 4–7 mm of grip, through a 9 mm stack is that case. You wanted the 14 mm length, about 8–11 mm, or you needed to recount the washer. A body much longer than the stack can buckle or foul the part behind the sheet. If 13 mm of grip wants 18 mm, a 20 mm rivet is only the next row, about 14–16 mm. KLRStec lists lengths of 6–14 mm and a grip claim of about 1–10 mm. That is the spread of the kit. A 6 mm rivet and a 14 mm rivet cannot both clamp 10 mm. Measure, then match a published band.

The short end of the range is a recommendation

ISO 15977:2002 calls minimum grip a recommendation. A rivet may set below that minimum in one case. Lengths over 30 mm go back to the manufacturer. No pack here is claimed to meet the standard. A stack 1 mm under the published minimum might still set, and it might not. Set one rivet in scrap and look at the tail. If the packet prints its own range, use that range. One grip number for a whole diameter is why people buy 16 mm of rivet for 16 mm of sheet. Diameter and head sit on the how to choose pop rivets page.

Common questions

Is the second number on the packet the grip?
No. On a mark such as 4.8 x 16 mm, 4.8 mm is the body diameter and 16 mm is the body length. Grip is the stack the rivet must clamp. For a 4.8 x 16 mm rivet, Leitz’s table puts that grip at about 9–12 mm, not 16 mm.
How do I measure the stack?
Hold the sheets as they will be fixed and measure every layer the body will pass through. Include a backup washer if you will fit one, and include thick paint if it adds up. INCLY and Glarks washers change the grip the moment you add them. Measure again if you add a washer later.
What length is a 4.8 mm rivet for a given thickness?
Using Leitz’s approximate 4.8 mm rows: 4–7 mm of stack wants 10 mm, 6–9 mm wants 12 mm, 8–11 mm wants 14 mm, 9–12 mm wants 16 mm, 12–14 mm wants 18 mm, and 14–16 mm wants 20 mm. About 13 mm of grip is their example for an 18 mm length. If your packet prints a different range, the packet wins.
Do I include a backup washer in the grip?
Yes. The washer is one of the layers the body passes through, or bears on, and it increases the thickness you must cover. Add its thickness to the sheets before you choose 12 mm or 14 mm. Forgetting it is how a rivet that looked right on the bare panels comes out short.
Is the minimum grip a hard stop?
ISO 15977 calls minimum grip a recommendation. A rivet may set below that minimum in a single case, and it may not. Do not average the standard with a shop table. Set one sample and look at the tail before you rivet the whole job.

Related pages

Best pop rivets

Blind rivets

Aluminium or stainless pop rivets for a wet outdoor joint

How to choose pop rivets: hole, head and metal first

How to fit a pop rivet: drill, pull, check the tail

Sources

Public standards and UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the stored amazon.co.uk cards, not a live re-check. No pack is treated as ISO 15977 certified unless the card says so. There is no laboratory test.

  1. ISO 15977:2002 Open end blind rivets with break pull mandrel and protruding head (aluminium body, steel mandrel) (retrieved October 2026)
  2. ISO 15977:2002 sample, length and grip (retrieved October 2026)
  3. Danetre Workshop, blind rivet size chart (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Leitz UK, Rapid, choosing the right blind rivet (retrieved October 2026)
  5. bolts.co.uk, pop rivets (retrieved October 2026)
  6. HSE, using the right type of PPE (retrieved October 2026)
  7. BlueSpot rivet gun manual (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11, goods to match the description (retrieved October 2026)