Tip: Driving better rivets

Here is a tip an IA who does mostly restorations gave me.

Before driving any flush rivet, put rivet tape over it. He didn't care if I was back riveting or not. His explanation was that the tape helps hold the rivet in the hole on those first few critical hits from the gun. I've seen him use tape even when using a squeezer.

Yes, it is a pain taking all that tape off when you are finished but the rivets do look a lot better. IMHO

You don't even need "rivet tape." Cheap masking tape works just fine.
Mel...DAR

One way that I found to end up with really flush rivet heads is to take a deburring tool and run it around a couple of turns in your dimpled holes. Don't go crazy here...just lightly run it around no more than two complete turns.

This takes out the slight bowed surface within the dimple and lets your rivet set more flush.

Regards,

I use 3M clear packing tape. I just cut a peice of tape long enough to cover 2 or 3 rivets at a time. It works great. You can see the rivet through the tape and it leaves no residue. I can usually get 75 to 100 rivets out of one peice of tape. After riveting, the skin looks the same as it did when you peeled the blue stuff off. No riveting marks what so ever.

Great tips!! I am ordering my tail kit today (-7), and these tips will definately come in handy! I have not yet decided if I want to paint the airplane, or polish the aluminum, so this 'drive better rivets' tip will really help if I decide to go polished.

Thanks!

Very good advice for new builders! I built my entire tail and some of my wings before I started doing this....the difference in appearance is unbelievable. The taped rivets look perfect while the tail rivets are scuffed slightly on almost every one! DO THIS, trust me!

Helpful, but by no means required

I would also endorse the use of tape over the flush rivet heads (I've used Scotch removable tape to date), although I know many other experienced builders who have pointed out that if they build a second one, they won't care/worry in the least about scuffed-up skins since the painting process scuffs everything up so much more than an untaped rivet set ever does. Still I do it anyway, because this is my first plane and I haven't learned that lesson yet.

For universal head rivets, I highly recommend the "Snap Socs" that Avery sells. A lot of people recommend just placing a piece of masking tape on the cupped rivet set, and I have used that with some success too. Last night, though, using the snap socs just to see how well they worked, I set all 75-80 rivets connecting my main wing ribs to the main spar without a single smile (or poorly-set rivet), and I am by no means an expert with the rivet gun--in fact,it was my first time using the offset rivet set. In the future, I will use them whenever I'm setting rivets that will be "high-stress" and/or difficult to replace if bungled. (By "high stress" I mean ones that create anxiety for me--like those on the main spar! )

Steve

All,
The Scotch removable tape is in the BLUE box at your local office supply store. There's somethings even Wal-Mart doesn't sell.

Steve