Another newbie question

Morning all, I'm ordering the empenage for my RV 8 this week. I guess buying tools are never done until you're DONE. I did the 2 training kits and decided on getting a pneumatic squeezer, and this is not like getting a snap wrench. I noticed the different companies selling the same squeezer the is a interchangeable tool with Chicago Pneumatic squeezers. Domestic and import made, but I'm leaning towards cleveland or Avery. So what do i really need with this squeezer, accessory wise, yokes. I just would like to get only what I need; in the past I would get stuff and not use. Any help would be great.

Thanks
Trey

you can do almost everything you need to do with the standard yoke that comes with it. You can go broke buying specialty yokes for the thing, and I'd suggest waiting til you have a specific need for one before you actually buy it.

Obviously a good set of rivet sets and dimplers for it, but you should have those already if you have a hand squeezer.

Lots of people swear by the adjustable ram, but I've never had one. Without it, you have to shim the sets out with washers to get the throw you want.



By the way, you won't ever be done buying tools for this thing. I've been building for four and a half years and I get new specialty tools every couple weeks still

Yokes

You probably only need a 1 1/2" yoke for the Stabs. If you look at the preview set for the rudder and elevators you'll see the skin cantilevers across the front spar a couple of inches. You will roll the cantilevered skin after riveting to create the round leading edge. If you want to squeeze the rivets at the front spars, you'll need a deep yoke. I think I bought a 3" and have used it alot. That line of rivets could also be set with a gun and bar. Personal preference.

Good luck.

Yokes

I bought the pneumatic squeezer with a 3" standard yoke and an adjustable ram. I also bought the 4" no hole and a longeron yoke. I bought all from cleaveland tool. I routinely use all three yokes and I am very happy with everything I have gotten and wouldn't change a thing. IMHO buy it early on in your build to maximize the value. Good luck!!

In order of most used yokes:

3" C-Yoke
Longeron Yoke
4" Thin nose no-hole yoke

I use them all. All 3 came with my toolkit from Ishams (planetools.com) Love every one of them. The 3" C is a good general use yoke. The Longeron yoke is a must have. The 4" I could probably do without.

You DO want to get an adjustable set holder regardless! And don't waste your money on the quick change pins.

Just my .02!

tmbg said:

You can go broke buying specialty yokes for the thing, and I'd suggest waiting til you have a specific need for one before you actually buy it.

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I somewhat disagree with this... I have been in the situation where I did not have the proper tool to do the job, and ended up trying to make other things work so I wasn't at a stopping point. Ended up messing the part up in some cases. I've used all 3 yokes I mentioned above. Buy them and you WILL use them. When you're done, sell them. In the grand scheme of things, 2 extra "specialty" yokes are pocket change, yet extremely valuable when you need them the most!

In order of most used yokes:

3" C-Yoke
Longeron Yoke
4" Thin nose no-hole yoke

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This is about what we sell, similar numbers of each. RV8 guys are the ones that really like the 4" thin nose, but they will get used in all of the kits. First two are certainly the most used.

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clevtool said:

This is about what we sell, similar numbers of each. RV8 guys are the ones that really like the 4" thin nose, but they will get used in all of the kits. First two are certainly the most used.

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I can say that the thin nose yoke sure does come in handy in tight spots where u cant get the nose + die of another yoke in there (ie. trailing edge of ribs).

I got mine from planetools. They seemed to have the best deal at the time I purchased mine. I have a longeron yoke, a 3" yoke and a 4" no hole yoke. I have used them all, but probably the longeron yoke has been used the most.

I dropped mine and it got jammed. I sent it back and they fixed it for me at no charge. Nice service.

Thank you guys, for all the info.