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Squeezer not squeezing

dmuro2

Member
Hey everyone. Ever have a squeezer that won't squeeze? I have a new squeezer that came in my kit, I've used it to dimple, and squeeze 3/32 rivets on practice kits, but I just started riveting on the plane and with the 1/8" rivets (universal and flush 4-5's) it's like it doesn't have enough power to squeeze it. The squeezer has full travel on its own, but stops cold when it meets the rivet. Is it a lemon, or a lemon setup …

My setup

Compressor line is at 90psi with a 25' line 3/8" dia with 1/4" fittings to the squeezer.
The squeezer has a 1/8" universal die on top, and a 1/8" flush on the ram.

Would greatly appreciate any wisdom for this newb. Thanks!
 
Don’t mean to be insulting but is the ram
Stroke set correctly?

If you don’t know, the “cam” action that actuates the ram is not a linear function/geometry. The real force doesn’t kick in until the last fraction of the Travel. Back the ram way off until it just barely touches the tail at full actuation and adjust from there. Tell us what you find.
 
Last edited:
Squeezer

Don’t mean to be insulting but is timber strike set correctly?

If you don’t know, the “cam” action that actuates the ram is not a linear function/geometry. The real force doesn’t kick in until the last fraction of the Travel. Back the tan way off until it just barely touches the tail at full actuation and adjust from there. Tell us what you find.

Like he said. If you don't have an adjustable ram, buy one. Also a set if quick change pins.
 
Thanks everyone, super helpful. I didn’t know about the cam and the power being in the last bit of travel, so that was super helpful. It was working opening the gap, but once I had it set and tried to do another rivet it would stop. Based on the Cleveland video (thank you!) looks like I need a 1/8” cup to pair with my 1/8” flush to get the biggest gap in there for long rivets. It’s on order, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Funny, I thought this part of riveting would be super fast and accurate and I’ve run into so many issues already, or at least more than anticipated. I took an EAA workshop and remember the squeezer being the easy part, lol. Anyway, onward and upward!
 
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