What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Dimpling fuel tank skins

F

Future RV 9 Flyer

Active Member
I started to dimple my fuel tank skins and them I heard about Clevelands fuel tank dimpling dies.Are they needed or are the regular 3/32 dies ok?
 
Tank dies

I used the tank dies. They make up the difference for the depth of the tank sealant so the rivet does not sit proud.
 
Agreed. Get the fuel tank dimple dies. Even just that little dab of sealant that you will put in every rivet hole makes up the difference.
 
I used them on skin and ribs of my first tank, then I read a bit more about them and heard they were not supposed to be used on the skins, only the underlying pieces, so that's what I did on the 2nd tank. To be honest though, I don't see a difference. Rivets are flush on both skins, so it appears they work as promised, and no leaks.
 
TANK SKIN DIES

I don't quite understand- I'm about to dimple my tank skins with the tank skin die. Is the "substructure" die the 3/32 or is there a particular die for the substructure dimple?
 
I believe the "tank dies" are intended to be used for the under structure, (to make a slightly deeper dimple). Then use the 3/32 die for the skin. The theory is this allows room for some sealant to get trapped in between the skin and the understructure.

Clear as proseal? :)

One potential problem is that if the skin dimples are not placed directly over substructure dimples prior to riveting, the cleckos will still go through and look right but the rivet may "tip" slightly when set. This will result in one edge of the manfactured head's edge protruding slightly leaving a sharp edge you can feel with you finger. I'm not sure if this was caused by using the tank dies or having proseal involved or both.

Bevan
 
Bevan said:
I believe the "tank dies" are intended to be used for the under structure, (to make a slightly deeper dimple). Then use the 3/32 die for the skin. The theory is this allows room for some sealant to get trapped in between the skin and the understructure.

Clear as proseal? :)

One potential problem is that if the skin dimples are not placed directly over substructure dimples prior to riveting, the cleckos will still go through and look right but the rivet may "tip" slightly when set. This will result in one edge of the manfactured head's edge protruding slightly leaving a sharp edge you can feel with you finger. I'm not sure if this was caused by using the tank dies or having proseal involved or both.

Bevan
Click to expand...

The "tank dies" are to be used for dimpling the SKIN to allow room for a thin layer of sealant between the rivet and skin. The "substructure dies" are to be used on the ribs to allow the slightly deeper dimple in the skin to nest properly in the rib dimple.

If you are doing structure other than that which requires sealant you can use the tank dies for dimples in structure for skins dimpled with "standard" dies.

In one instance, the wing walk, I used standard dies in the outer skin, the fuel tank dies in the wing walk doubler, and substructure dies in the ribs.
 
I agree with the previous post and stand corrected. The substructure AND skin would be dimpled with tank dies making a bit of room for sealant under the rivet head. I can't say this works any better than reg dies as the extreme clamping pressure of the rivet should squish out all of the sealant.

Bevan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top