Fuel tank dimple die/punch?

N62XS · #1 09-10-2015, 06:10 PM

are they necessary or will regular 3/32/" suffice?

bruceh · #2 09-10-2015, 08:06 PM

The tank dimple dies do work as intended. It is up to the builder to decide if having their rivets perfectly flush is "necessary". It probably depends on how much of a perfectionist you are as a builder and whether or not having a few thousandth's of your sealed rivets standing proud is going to bother you at all.

I used them, but for me it was just another excuse to buy more tools.

wirejock · #3 09-10-2015, 08:12 PM

Necessary? No. A lot if not a majority of RV were built before they existed.

I used them and continue to use them for substructure. I also use substructure dies when there are three layers.

rv7charlie · #4 09-10-2015, 08:45 PM

I used a countersink bit to slightly shave the skin after dimpling. Obviously, this removes the alclad in the dimple, but it gets lined with proseal when the rivets are set.

They came out very nice, but it was very time consuming. I was too cheap to buy the extra dies. If you're weighing time vs money & want nice tank skins, buy the dies.

FWIW...