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It finally happened

RVScooter

Member
An oops big enough for me to come here. Yesterday I was back riveting the stiffeners onto the rudder skin when one rivet missed the plate.

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When it happened I thought it wasn't a big deal and wouldn't cause any problems, but the more I look at it I'm thinking this might be a good time to call up Van's and get a replacement skin and stiffeners before I finish the rudder and then find out I should have replaced it. Any thoughts?
 
Replace it. Lesson learned and expect it to happen again.

Most of us do this for the learning aspect and of course the challenge. I doubt very seriously that anyone here popped out of their mother knowing how to build airplanes.
 
I'd replace otherwise I'd spend more time and lost sleep worrying about it than if I had just redone it. You'll find that once you make up your mind to re-do it, all the stress goes away!
 
An oops big enough for me.......When it happened I thought it wasn't a big deal and wouldn't cause any problems, but the more I look at it I'm thinking this might be a good time to call up Van's and get a replacement skin and stiffeners before I finish the rudder and then find out I should have replaced it. Any thoughts?

Hey Greg........i did the same thing:( no question imho but to replace it. I worked on mine and seemed to get it pretty good....but as i wz really inspecting it there wz some "oil canning" happening in that area...that equals skin cracking and a new rudder later along with paint and potential in-flight failure....REPLACE SKIN & STIFFENER.....parts=<$100......nice looking rudder & peace of mind = PRICELESS:D Bonus....now u will have scrap sheetmetal around if u need it! :D:D
 
Yep, I did the same thing, went too far over the backing. It should on the hit list of most likely things to do. Eager, in the rhythm, focusing on the speed and WHAM, off the backing plate.

I was lucky, and it was recoverable.

Happy Building, Happy Thanksgiving.
 
wha?

Somebody made a mistake? I've never done that (sheepish grin)... Well.... just replace it and keep it around somehow. Maybe make it into furniture and it will be a cool conversation piece sometime. Perhaps if you are feeling froggy, and you want to play with lasers, you can mount some from the ceiling that point out where the borders of your backplate are. Best of luck with the new one.
Brian
 
FWIW I bought a 4' long piece of 1/4" thick steel about 1.5" wide from Lowes, that I used for riveting trailing edges, and also wish I would have had it for backriveting other parts. It is long enough that once it's lined up you don't have to worry about running off the end of it (except on the flaps), and you can stack two 1/8" pieces of board or masonite next to it to create a flush surface. This keeps you from having to move the part or the backrivet plate every few rivets.

Chris
 
Replace it, or it will haunt you forever. I messed up a few items and lost sleep over it. Now when i have a oops, i just buy a new part from Vans. The parts come in very quickly.
 
Build on with new skins. Pretty soon it will be a distant memory like the two new tank skins I had to order due to initial using cheap dies that left the skin wrinkled :(
 
simple worktable setup

Not sure where I saw this, but I ended up covering my work table with two layers of masonite and then routed out and area the exact size and depth of my backplate. It also helps to draw extended lines from the edges so you can see past the skin. If you do happen to miss, it just makes an odd noise and you back off the gun. I didn't have any issues with any of my backriveted parts using this set up.

(The masonite makes a nice hard surface with some countersunk screws or losts of glue. You can then coat it a few times with polyurethane to make a nice smooth surface.)

Hope this helps, good luck!
 
Similar to Rick's suggestion, here's how I setup my back rivet plate. I just got a 12x12x1/4 plate from metal shorts and ground it down smooth.

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I have the same issue as Greg, I was moving along and them it just sounded different. Anyway new skin is in the shop, but I have another issue. As I was drilling out the stiffeners a few of the holes look a little bigger...I am perfecting my drill out technique. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Pat
 
I have found that setting -3 rivets will expand the hole slightly to begin with so even If you drill it out perfectly the hole will still be slightly enlarged. A new rivet will also expand a bit and fill that hole, unless it is enlarged much further from drilling out in which case you may need an oops rivet. My stiffeners contains a couple...
 
Oops explained

Thank you. Does anyone know if there is a thread with oops rivets explained?

Patrick......basically a -3 oops rivet has the body of a -4 rivet so u can match drill the enlarged hole the next size up and buck the rivet as u normally would. The head of the -3 oops rivet is the same as the regular -3 rivet so u leave the dimple alone. In other words it has a -4 body with a -3 head. When u install it it looks exactly like the rest of the -3 rivets.....only you and God know that it is a -4 disguised as a -3......kind of a covert ops in the e/ab world....ssshhhhhhh. Fot Eyes Only. :D

YOL BOLSON PATRICK!!!!
 
Where's your planishing hammer?

There's more to sheet metal than just riveting parts together. You've got little to lose by trying to fix it...

Get somebody who knows how to show you.

I made a compound curve fairing for my RV-8A from scratch once.

Ed
 
I did this too. I was 3/4 of the way finished with the rudder skin backriveting and got a little cocky, and slipped off the edge of the backrivet plate. It really is a sickening thud when the gun hits the skin without that big piece of steel under it. After a few loud words we're not allowed to write on this forum, I made a new rudder skin from sheet stock I had laying around the shop. I didn't even try to drill out the stiffeners. It didn't take much extra time to make new ones.

Since rudder skins can be prone to cracking over time, I wouldn't bother to try to fix it. Just replace it and enjoy your character-building exercise. Mine was cracked during the incident, so that decision was made for me. Ben came over to see what I was swearing about, and he said, "I'm sorry... there's nothing we can do." It sounded so much like a line from ER that I laughed. :cool:

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