I was riveting my VS skeleton rib to the front spar and could not find the rivets called out in the plans. I took longer rivets and used my belt sander to sand them down to the right size and bucked them. Is there any problem sanding rivets down rather than cutting them? I do not have a rivet cutter.
Van's Air Force
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Sanding Rivets
- Thread starter Naruto
- Start date
N908RV
Well Known Member
Heat?
Naruto,
As long as you aren't heating the rivets appreciably or marring them by whatever you are using to hold them with it is probably OK, but that is easier said than done. If you have overheated the rivets too much (easy to do with a belt sander) you may have inadvertently changed their temper and thereby changing their strength properties.
Definitely want to invest in a rivet cutter, you will use it enough in your project to justify the cost and they are pretty cheap anyway.
Good luck with your VS,
Rob
Naruto,
As long as you aren't heating the rivets appreciably or marring them by whatever you are using to hold them with it is probably OK, but that is easier said than done. If you have overheated the rivets too much (easy to do with a belt sander) you may have inadvertently changed their temper and thereby changing their strength properties.
Definitely want to invest in a rivet cutter, you will use it enough in your project to justify the cost and they are pretty cheap anyway.
Good luck with your VS,
Rob
I used a needle nose plier to hold the rivet which was a size 5. I sanded them down to about a size 4. The edges were smooth and not marred or burned. They did get hot from the sanding when I held them but cooled down in about a second. The rivet look like any other rivet after they were bucket. After I closed the VS, I found the size 4 bag under my workbench. I used about five sanded rivets when riveting the front spar and ribs.
Do yourself a favor
Naruto,
I'm guessing you'll probably be ok, but why bother and why take chances? Rivets are cheap and readily available. Maintain a well organized assortment of all common types and sizes (including half sizes) at your workshop, and it'll make your project go a lot smoother. You'll know immediately what you don't have (seeing an empty bin), and then you can order from Van's, Spruce, or any of a number of sources.
One of the best pieces of advice I was given at the start of my project was to first take all those little baggies from the kit and sort the hardware into bins or some kind of organizer. Packing the hardware into baggies make it easier for Van's, not for you. Sorting them is a PITA, but you only have to do it once.
Good luck,
Naruto,
I'm guessing you'll probably be ok, but why bother and why take chances? Rivets are cheap and readily available. Maintain a well organized assortment of all common types and sizes (including half sizes) at your workshop, and it'll make your project go a lot smoother. You'll know immediately what you don't have (seeing an empty bin), and then you can order from Van's, Spruce, or any of a number of sources.
One of the best pieces of advice I was given at the start of my project was to first take all those little baggies from the kit and sort the hardware into bins or some kind of organizer. Packing the hardware into baggies make it easier for Van's, not for you. Sorting them is a PITA, but you only have to do it once.
Good luck,
Yup, agree with Roee. By the time you get done ( or close) you will have boxes of rivets on the shelf and wonder how you could have been short during the Emp stage. Roee and I (although I have never met him) have a couple of sloooow builds, and suffered through some of these pains together via this site.
In any event, get a rivet cutter, they are cheap and you will use them more than you think.
For example, I use a lot of "cheaters" mostly for installing nutplates etc. Buy one small bag of "cheaters" about -8's and then cut them to any size you want them.
JMO
Larry
In any event, get a rivet cutter, they are cheap and you will use them more than you think.
For example, I use a lot of "cheaters" mostly for installing nutplates etc. Buy one small bag of "cheaters" about -8's and then cut them to any size you want them.
JMO
Larry
Right you are, Larry. But I have to say, I have nothing against rivet cutters, but I've never needed to use one. I too use NAS1097 rivets ("cheater" rivets, I presume?) sometimes for nutplates. But the only sizes I've ever needed are -3, -3.5, and -4, all of which I keep on-hand. Plus I have small quantities of a few bigger sizes, just in case I ever need them.
P.S. yep, I think my claim to fame is "slowest quick build ever"
How's yours coming along, Larry?
P.S. yep, I think my claim to fame is "slowest quick build ever"
How's yours coming along, Larry?
Mark Burns
Well Known Member
I always thought of them as "dikes" not "dykes":
And I just checked:
"Dikes ? as in the phrase "a pair of dikes" ? is jargon used especially in the electrical industry, to describe diagonal pliers."
But it goes on to say that "dyke" is an alternative spelling.
My dikes are manly dikes!
Mark
Naruto said:
And I just checked:
"Dikes ? as in the phrase "a pair of dikes" ? is jargon used especially in the electrical industry, to describe diagonal pliers."
But it goes on to say that "dyke" is an alternative spelling.
My dikes are manly dikes!
Mark
captainron
Well Known Member
Aren't they all?Naruto said:
I have a nice rivet cutter. I used it a few time but I find it's easiest to use lineman pliers (not diagonal cutters). Also, they don't seem to work well on flush rivets....at least I don't have any luck with them. So bottom line, for me, is that rivet cutters ended up being one of those "gotta have" tools that I never use. Lineman pliers rock. You may also hear them called "Kleins" for the same reason copies are called "Xeroxes".
You may end up with a funny looking, squashed/sharp end when you're done cutting it. As far as I can tell, this has no effect whatsoever on the quality of the set rivet....once it's squashed, you can't tell.
my $.02
You may end up with a funny looking, squashed/sharp end when you're done cutting it. As far as I can tell, this has no effect whatsoever on the quality of the set rivet....once it's squashed, you can't tell.
my $.02
Last edited:
brianwallis
VAF moderator
My Dykes/rivit cutter
A rivit cutter is worth it's weight in gold.. ps.. in the Army.. we did not say dykes... we said "pliers with comfortable shoes" as a joke... cause the women we had in our unit defininately had some interesting habits....
Best
Brian
A rivit cutter is worth it's weight in gold.. ps.. in the Army.. we did not say dykes... we said "pliers with comfortable shoes" as a joke... cause the women we had in our unit defininately had some interesting habits....
Best
Brian
roee said:
I started my RV-6A quickbuild on Dec 23 1997. First flight Oct 20 2006. (of coarse that was when quickbuilts where more like today's long builds). They say engineers are the slowest to build and I prove that since I worked continuously through the 9 years.
plehrke said:
LOL! Yeah, I'm an engineer too. [surprise, surprise, right?] And of course I am guilty of making lots of little design improvements to the kit, which definitely adds time. I started my project in Jan 2004, and right now my best guess for first flight would be 2009. So I guess you're still the record holder, and I hope to keep it that way
