I just finished mine a few weeks ago. I found the -12 rivets a tad long, so I used the rivet cutter and got them down to about -11.5. Then clamping in a vice I used the rivet gun and a bucking bar. Had to drill out two and redo, but being you working with steel, they are more forgiving to drill/punch out.
After going through the process. It is not easy to use the gun and bucking bar as it is difficult to tell if you are exactly perpendicular with the rivet as the rod is a curved surface. I was thinking later about trying to back rivet them instead. Set up some blocks on the other end and let it act like a fulcrum. Rest the other end on the back rivet plate. Once you are happy with straight and level....use the gun and back rivet it. I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect it would get a better result than the gun/bucking bar method that I did.
Problem I found is that Van's does not provide many extra -12 rivets (maybe one or two) so you may want to order a few more just in case.
I like the bench vice idea to partially set them. I have a friend who likes to set some of his tricky rivets with a large flat punch and a hammer.
Last edited by Aero_Octaveus : 12-08-2016 at 02:33 PM.
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