There are many applications for blind rivets and there is a variety of types and tools for that may be used to do the riveting.
The concertina rivet gun, which are sometimes called lazy tongs puts larger rivets in heavy materials.
Riveting pliers are convenient for occasional riveting of light materials. The rivet is inserted into the riveting tool which, when squeezed pulls the end of the mandrel back through the body of the rivet. Because the mandrel head is bigger than the hole through the body, it swells out as it comes through. Finally, the mandrel will snap off under the pressure and fall out leaving the rivet body gripping the two sheets of material together.
A typical "pop" or blind rivet has a body, which will form the finished rivet, and a mandrel which is discarded when the riveting’s completed.
It's called a 'blind' rivet because there’s no need to see or reach the other side of the hole in which the rivet goes to do the work. In some types the rivet is plugged shut, so it's water-proof or pressure proof.
