We interupt this build

[chrishalfman]

+1

Originally Posted by BobTurner

....Practice on scrap......

If you don't have any, get some. I think I was building the fuselage before I got really comfortable riveting. When I was still on the tail, ever 'new day' to rivet I'd drive a couple rivets in scrap just to get myself 'the feel' back. It's a skill that will develop. Just like anything, it will take time.

[Michael Henning]

I never tried the tape on universal head rivets, sounds like a great idea. If I couldn't squeeze the universal head rivet with hand squeezers, I would get someone to help either running the gun or holding the bucking bar. I never could do the gun and the bar by myself on universal head rivets.

[rv7charlie]

This could evolve into the new primer saga. :-)

I used hockey tape, one layer on the set. Drove dozens before replacing.

My experience was that if I drove toward a solid surface, it was hard to control the process. If I drove toward 'free air', it was hard to control the process. What worked for me was to place the work on either something like a moving blanket, or (better) a sheet of something like 1/2" thick carpet underpad. For me, the work needed to move just enough to 'bounce' the bar away from the shop head, without moving enough in-line or laterally to let the set come off the head.

If I had to rivet toward 'air', I'd use as many free fingers as I could spare to push back on the work (not the bar or rivet) so the work couldn't move much. This, with as much hand pressure on the gun as I could manage & still control everything, helped to keep the set on the factory head.

No claim that all mine were perfect, but the above is what worked best for me.

Charlie

[leok]

I found I was letting up pressure on the gun before I let off the trigger .... smileys, especially on round head rivets.

It was a habit deeply ingrained from letting up on a drill as the bit began to break through.
It took time to unlearn and relearn to hold pressure until after the noise stopped.