Dimpling enlarges my holes....

a little too much for my comfort. I have dimpled all my wing skins and ribs, using normal pressure, and my holes have enlarged to the point that the clecos will not hold the pieces together without cleco modification.

The rivets sit well in the dimples, but wiggle around a bit too much IMO.

I have never had a problem with this until recently- possibly worn clecos?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Enlarged Holes

Hi Dave,

Some brands of temporary fasteners hold better than others. Yes, dimpling will enlarge your hole diameter very slightly. Take a deep breath...

Also, often times over deburring will cause the hole diameter to enlarge. Pull out some test material and inspect the drilled hole diameter, deburred diameter, and dimpled diameter. You may even want to squeeze a few rivets in your test samples to have some peace of mind.

Post some of your hole measurements so we can have a better understanding of what you are seeing. Using your numbered 0 - 60 drill bit set as a hole gauge will help.

Good Luck,

Chuck

The best clecos I have are made by Wedgelock... I also have clecos made by Cleco and some of them have the same problem ... you can see that the nose on the Wedgelock brand are slightly larger

What brand do you have problem with ?

Clekos

+1 on Chuck and Jan's comment.
Check your clekos. If they are Clekolock, the center pin is thinner and they don't grip as well in a dimpled hole. I separated and marked mine for that reason. It was scary and ultimately annoying.
Buy Wedgelock.

I have a box of the Clekolock brand that I painted red for use on only non dimpled holes for the same reason. It is most likely the clecos. Larry