Abstract: A head for a riveting machine for applying shear rivets, the head comprising a plate and a body that have both a hole and are slidable relative to each other, and a sliding chuck equipped with jaws and arranged within a sliding chamber, defined inside said body, so as to engage a stem of the rivet, said chuck being capable of taking a first, engagement position and a second, disengagement position, wherein a control member controlling the sliding movement of the chuck is provided, said control member being in turn controlled by the plate sliding. The invention further concerns the method of controlling the head.