Blind rivets provide a way to join parts together when you don't have access to both sides. They consist of a rivet (a hollow body with a head) and a mandrel (a thin nail with a bulbed end). Rivets require a setting tool for installation. Riveted joints are strong, tight, and extremely reliable. How to install a blind rivet. Insert the rivet through a hole that passes through both materials being joined. Using a rivet tool with the same size nosepiece as the rivet diameter, grip the mandrel and pull the trigger or lever. The tool pulls the mandrel through the rivet, deforming the rivet's body and breaking off the excess mandrel.