DavidHarris
Well Known Member
I have a question about RV-12is hole tolerances. I'm starting with the wing and frequently fighting to insert pop rivets into holes. It's a particular issue on the LP4-3 rivets joining wing skins ribs, where there are a lot of rivets to insert. I'm always able to get the rivet in, but often have to put it in a hand rivet tool and push pretty hard while twisting. Occasionally I have bent the flange on the underlying substructure and have to remove the rivet and rework the flange. Whatever misalignment exists is too small for me to casually observe without magnification.
I would like to better understand why this is so difficult. The RV-12is holes are all CNC drilled to final size so I haven't been match drilling. I just debur, cleco, and rivet. The clecos are slightly smaller than the holes so that could allow a tiny bit of misalignment. I've installed rivets about every 5th hole, which I hoped would force everything into alignment, but inserting the other rivets remains difficult.
I don't recall nearly this much difficulty on my RV7 wings, but those were AN426 rivets in match-drilled holes. I was also accustomed to occasionally run a reamer through the holes again whenever a rivet was hard to install.
I'm contemplating reaming the RV12 wing skins on the ribs now with a #30 reamer to solve the problem, and then debur the rib after reaming.
I would appreciate any insight into whether other people have this difficulty, whether it's due to something about my construction technique, and whether there are drawbacks to reaming all the wing skin holes.
Thanks!
David Harris
I would like to better understand why this is so difficult. The RV-12is holes are all CNC drilled to final size so I haven't been match drilling. I just debur, cleco, and rivet. The clecos are slightly smaller than the holes so that could allow a tiny bit of misalignment. I've installed rivets about every 5th hole, which I hoped would force everything into alignment, but inserting the other rivets remains difficult.
I don't recall nearly this much difficulty on my RV7 wings, but those were AN426 rivets in match-drilled holes. I was also accustomed to occasionally run a reamer through the holes again whenever a rivet was hard to install.
I'm contemplating reaming the RV12 wing skins on the ribs now with a #30 reamer to solve the problem, and then debur the rib after reaming.
I would appreciate any insight into whether other people have this difficulty, whether it's due to something about my construction technique, and whether there are drawbacks to reaming all the wing skin holes.
Thanks!
David Harris