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Bucking Bar protection: any one else do this?

Stockmanreef

Well Known Member
Maybe this is a common thing to do, but I got the bright idea to use strips of cardboard cut from cereal boxes to protect the flap and aileron spars from damage during bucking of rivets. Maybe I am just a hack riveter. As shown in the pictures. I taped in the cardboard for the edge line up with the side I was riveting. No damage to spar, but the cardboard was a bit damaged. After getting done with one side, I re-taped it to the other side. The second side is more important, since I won't be able to see it after I am done. well at least no easily.



 
Bucking bar tape

That works.
I use strips of Gorilla tape on the bucking bar. Sometimes I add a popsicle stick to the side so it maintains alignment in a blind space.
 
I am not sure that wrapping the bucking bar will help. here is a pic of the bucking bar I am using:



I am concerned about the hitting edge rotating and hitting the spar.

Using the cardboard, I can rest the bottom edge of the bar on the spar surface and buck the rivet. The bar won't rotate and damage the spar. Hopefully this makes sense.

I was using frog tape (green), but this was too thin. I use the frog tape to hold the cardboard in place.

ken
 
Wrapped

I wrap my bucking bar with blue painters tape. It protects well and comes off clean. No sense paying for more expensive frog tape. I found that if you tape the bar (except for the spot where it contacts the rivet tail), it protects the surrounding area quite well. A couple times I had to "ride" the bar up higher to clear some other rivets. In those cases, I used a bit of cardboard, but I also like the popsicle idea. You can tape the little bit of cardboard or stick to the bar and then "ride" along the whole spar, rather than taping off the whole spar. Incidentally, I also us the blue painters tape to cover my flush rivet set and back-rivet plate for the same reason (protection of the metal around the work area). This will give you nice, unscratched surfaces around your rivets.
 
I tape (frog tape, since it lasts longer) the flush rivet set and the cupped rivet set. I have not tried taping the back rivet plate. I do on the other hand tape the rivets in place with blue or green tape.
 
+1 for wrapping your Tungsten bucking bar the Gorilla Tape. It helps stop burnishing surfaces while bucking.
But I do like the inner-tube idea. Too bad I'm mostly finished bucking.
 
I've used ordinary duct tape around my bucking bars, and it has worked very well. I like the popsicle stick idea!
 
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