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Help needed with empennage page 8-12

AndyWAUS

Member
Hi everyone. I hit a roadblock doing the RV-10 horizontal stabilizer. Step 2 of page 8-12 is to rivet the front spar assembly to the nose ribs. I can’t figure out how to rivet the two inboard nose ribs - this is in the middle of the HS. The instruction is to use the AN470 rivets, not the blind rivets as for inner nose ribs. But the pieces are in the way, so the pneumatic squeezer doesn’t fit there with any of my yokes, and the cup set for the rivet gun doesn’t seem to fit either. How am I supposed to set these rivets?

Thank you!
 
Be careful

Yes, those rivets are a bit awkward. I used a double offset rivet set. Tape the rivet set up so that it can't rotate in the rivet gun.

I strongly recommend you don't try and do these on your own. Preferably get an experienced builder on the bucking bar so you can focus your attention on what you're doing with the rivet set. You really don't want to have to drill any of those rivets out.

I also recommend you set something up and practise with that double offset rivet set before hitting the real thing, it's a different sort of weapon and you need to get the feel for it.

Good luck.
 
If I remember correctly I took the assembly out of the cradle. With it laying on the table I set those rivets with the gun (manufactured head) forward and a small tungsten bucking bar nestled in the rib on the rear.

This allowed me to use a straight set by flexing the nose rib a little out of the way
 
Is it possible to bend the flanges on the rib to the appropriate angle after the rivets have been set? Are the skins riveted in place yet?

Be careful when "flexing the nose rib a little out of the way" if the flanges have already been bent - this flexing will tend to pull the nose rib flange away from the spar when riveting.

Another option is a cherry max rivet instead.
 
Granted this was around five years ago, but I don't recall that flexing introduced a permanent set. As I recall the flexing needed was pretty minor. I have a long straight set specifically to move the bulk of the gun further out for tight locations.

It is certainly a bad idea to simply bend a part only to bend it back if for no other reason than fatiguing the metal.
 
Thank you everyone for your responses! I suspected the answer was going to be “double offset cup rivet set and a bucking bar” but wanted to make sure and quite honestly was hoping to avoid using the unfamiliar tool. :) I don’t really know other builders personally that I could ask to help, so had to rely on manuals, testing on scraps, judgement, and luck. Just set a few of those rivets, they turned out okay. I had to crank up the gun flow restrictor quite a bit, or I wasn’t getting much action from the bucking. But the cup set held the rivet manufactured head nicely, so the result looks almost as good as the squeezed rivets.

Thanks again!
 
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It is certainly a bad idea to simply bend a part only to bend it back if for no other reason than fatiguing the metal.

I was thinking of bending only after the rivets are set. Not sure how hard that is to do over the double offset, given the pain and gnashing of teeth that has elicited in other posts.
 
Appreciate the heads up.

I'll be doing this step (trying) in the next few days.

Andy
 
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