I just did this. Any punch that fits in the rivet will "set" it. The act of pushing the dimpled end of the rivet expands the ends behind the hole. There's no need to beat the heck out of the punch, just a tap will do the trick. The dished end will "snap" to its other stable position to expand the end of the rivet. If you drive the punch all the way through the rivet, you will have ruined it.
The original rivets I removed still had the dished end intact, indicating that they were originally "set" with just a tap on the punch.


Kevin
1951 Chevy 3100 work truck
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1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car)
Busting rust since the mid-60's
If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.