VS Bottom Ribs Bad Rivet Removal

I decided to drill out one of the -4 rivets attaching the bottom VS ribs to the spar. I ended up drilling a little too deep and damaged a hole in the rib and decided to drill out all three rivets to replace the rib. While pounding out the old rivets with a punch the holes in the spar became slightly indented. I did support the backside of the flange using clamps, but it was very tight and difficult to secure well.

Two questions.

1. Is there a better way to secure the work piece to prevent this? There is quite a bit of force required to drive out -4 rivets, so it seems unavoidable to have some indentation.

2. Is this spar still ok to use? Should I use a flat set to remove the indent? On the top spar I also drilled out a river and it left an indentation around the factory head but I didn?t remove it prior to setting a new rivet. Too late now.

http://https://eaabuilderslog.org/?blprojentry&proj=7YL1dRvO9&e=7Ye0U8q3z&listcat=

I started out like you trying to drive the rivets out of the hole with a punch after drilling the head. Like you I buggered my share of holes. Especially ribs and frames that have the ears for rivets.

A better solution for me for most rivets is to drill out the head and snap it out as normal. Then take a pair of diagonal cutters to remove the tail. Place the cutters flush against the skin and grab ahold with a slight rocking. It works best if you grind the diagonal cutters super flush so that your almost able to get under the tail. Makes it easy ... change your life.

I think there is an eaa video for this method. I surely didn?t come up with it.

Good luck!

Drilling rivets

TFeeney said:

I started out like you trying to drive the rivets out of the hole with a punch after drilling the head. Like you I buggered my share of holes. Especially ribs and frames that have the ears for rivets.

A better solution for me for most rivets is to drill out the head and snap it out as normal. Then take a pair of diagonal cutters to remove the tail. Place the cutters flush against the skin and grab ahold with a slight rocking. It works best if you grind the diagonal cutters super flush so that your almost able to get under the tail. Makes it easy ... change your life.

I think there is an eaa video for this method. I surely didn?t come up with it.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Good advise. I would add a couple things.
Start with a bit at least 10 smaller. For a #4, use a #40 bit or smaller. If it's centered, go ahead and drill past the head. The hole will relieve some pressure when it's time to drive the rivet tail.
Use a drill stop to drill the head so you can't go too deep.
Make a set of bars for the job. Check my blog. Kitplane Tips.
If you work solo, consider a rivet punch tool for your gun. Dangerous, but used properly, it drives rivets out. Check my blog. Kitplane Tips.

Great advise from both. Thanks. The second question related to whether I can still use the spar? Does it look still serviceable? and should I use the flat set on each hole to remove the indent?

Put a proper sized bucking bar flat on the concave side, use a flat hammer and tap gently the convex side. This is a standard operation to finesse metal around distorted holes I do believe so try it, if unhappy with results get a new spar but I'm sure it will be ok. Seemed to always work for me.

The photo does not look so bad to me. First learn to drill perfectly in the middle. I use magnifiers to see well and look every few revs to ensure the hole is in the center. Sometimes angle the drill/bit like crazy to get it back. That is where the undersize bit helps like Larry said. You can do thatnuntil your skill is fully developed. I use a -3 size, but . . experiment. Larry had a post long ago where he made a tail bucker to backup the shop head when you remove rivets, it works great!

For over set rivets you can drill the head, then an undersize down deeper, but NOT through the shop head. That will relieve it a little more and they come out easily.

Section 5 is an excellent reference.

Practice practice practice.