I'm sure this is a widely used technique but since I didn't see it on here I thought I'd throw it up here.
This is a tip a friend and RV-4 builder Rick Blaes gave me. Infact he gave me the piece of steel described in the link. It basically involves using a very flat heavy piece of material to use as a bucking bar on the bench. Works great for bucking universal rivets locations where can lay the part on a bench with the shop head down onto the bucking bar. Make sure the bucking bar surface is parallel to the work so the rivet doesn't clench. If you like backriveting you'll love this (it's like reverse backriveting). I used it to rivet the elevator counter-balance ribs together on my -8 tail and the link below shows me using this technique to rivet the ribs to the spar. Relatively easy for those of us not quite up to jedi knight status with the rivet gun. (I have only used it on universal rivets.) Hopefully the pictures will make sense.
My kitlog
If anyone knows of any issues with doing it this way, please let me know.
Hope this helps someone!
Tip: Stationary Bucking Bars
Linear Mode
