Am I riveting correctly?

[danielhv]

Got the practice kit in... just trying to get used to riveting... I tried using the 3x rivet gun... but im not sure when to stop... Then I did majority with the pneumatic squeezer. Pic 1, #1, #2, and #3 were all driven with the rivet gun. #4 was with the pneumatic squeezer. Which ones look ok and which ones dont? Im assuming that the #2 in the first picture was driven for too long this resulting in the little cracks?? Also, #4 in the 1st pic was driven with the pneumatic squeezer. All rivets driven with the squeezer seem to have that dot in the middle of the head.

[N916K]

Actually all the rivets you will be using start with those little dots. You just pounded them out with the rivet gun.

As far as the riveting, you have gone way too far with the gun. Get yourself a rivet gauge and use it until you get a feel for how far to drive teh rivet.

One thing that I found that works well is to run your line pressure all the way up and use the regulator at teh gun to control the amount of air flow. Start with it turned way down then slowly go up until it take a second or two to drive the rivet.

The dimple on the squeezed rivet looks like you need to drive the dimple a little more. You should have a nice crisp dimple and the skin around the dimple should be flat.

Best thing to do is get someone with some experience to help you out. You can learn most of the skills in a few hours.

Good luck and have fun

Cam

[Brantel]

Best advice is like he said above. Get some help and you will be amazed at how easy it is once someone shows you the small details of how to do it.

With 3/32 rivets 4 to 5 taps is all it should take with a 3X gun. 3 to 4 once you get the hang of it and can wind up the gun a little.

If your using the DRDT2 make sure you adjust it till it springs a little when dimpling to ensure you get a good dimple. Same if your dimpling with a squeezer.

[vmirv8bldr]

Like Cam said, get those gauges, and learn how to properly use them, they are a don't-fit gauge, not a fit gauge. Meaning a perfectly driven rivet will not fit through the hole in the gauge and will not slide under the slot (Aim for perfect with the squeezer and really close on the gun. It'll be impossible to drive all perfectly with the gun. Slightly overdriven is generally better than underdriven. "Slightly" is the key word in that last sentence.) You should only require the 3/32 and 1/8 gauges. The rivet should set with just a few taps of the gun, say 10 or so. If you're holding the gun up and banging away for say 50-100 hits, it will work-harden the rivet, and you'll get the cracks like the picture.

I strongly recommend you get the sheet metal tools Orndorff video. I think Vans carries them, if not you can go straight to the Geobeck website and order there, or post a WTB in the classifieds sections or maybe even at your local EAA chapter. That video should be required viewing before doing anything. (My personal opinion here, I have no affiliation whatsoever with George or GeoBeck other than being a satisfied customer.)

Don't worry, this will all be second nature in no time at all. You will find your eyeballs are quite accurate rivet gauges after just a few rivets. You'll also get a second nature feel of the rivet gun and bucking bars.

Congratulations on taking that first step, and never be afraid to post a question here!

Good luck!

[DGlaeser]

What pressure are you using for the rivet gun? I used a pretty low pressure - like 30 psi on my 3X gun for the small rivets, (about 50 psi for 1/8" rivets) and even then I was gentle on the trigger. A couple of short burst is all you need. The rivet gun will obliterate the dimple because the head is being pounded. You want the shop head to look just like the one the squeezer produces When in doubt, hit it light, you can always go back with another very short burst if needed, but it's harder to undo
Also, don't fret if every rivet isn't perfect. When one is really messed up, drill and replace, but be careful because many have drilled out reasonably decent rivets and ended up with a mess (I've been told - I never did it of course ) For instance, if the one rivet in your pictures with the over driven shop head was the only one in the row that was 'bad', I'd just leave it. If you had a whole row of those, I'd replace at least every other one, and if those went well maybe do more replacements.
The cracking on the rivet head is an indication of over driving.
After you've done a few hundred, you'll wonder why you ever had a problem After 15 thousand or so (?) you'll be all done!

[rv4dude]

Try this thread found in the "Test section" dated 2-20-08.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ad.php?t=27077

And

http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/Specs.htm

[rv9builder]

Beware of rivets without dimples (before setting). The dimple means the rivet is an "AD" rivet made from "hard" 2117 aluminum alloy with a minimum tensile strength of 38,000 PSI. "A" rivets don't have a dimple and are made from "soft" pure aluminum with a tensile stength of 16,000 PSI. I once had a vendor send me a bag of "A" rivets, even though I ordered "AD" rivets. Fortunately, I caught the error and didn't use the "A" rivets.

[G-force]

All of those rivets are overdriven. I see in the pic you have a pair of calipers...the width of the shop head should be 1.3 to 1.5 the diameter of the rivet. The -3 rivets are 3/32", or .0937" Thus the minimum diameter is: 1.3 x .0937= .121" and the max is 1.5 x .0937= .140" As mentioned, a 3x gun hits pretty hard, even at a low 30 PSI or so it should only take a quick half second "BRRAAAP" to set it. Of course it all depends on how smoothly you lead in and out with your trigger fingers as well. If your rivet started out the correct length (1.5 its diameter) the height should be fine when you achieve the 1.3-1.5 diameter. Alot of vans rivet callouts tend to be on the short side so in those cases I would shoot for the 1.3 diameter and measure to ensure the heigth is within spec. Sometime you need to use a longer rivet, sometimes this means cutting a longer rivet down to make the proper, custom length you need. Also, wrap your bucking bar in several turns of duct tape and leave just the bucking face exposed. Those time you do accidentaly hold it up the sheet metal, it wont scratch and gouge the heck out of it as showen in one of your pictures. The biggest key for me to get good rivets with a bucking bar and gun is to have the parts securly clamped so it is ridged and I can apply pressure with the bucking bar and gun without it moving on me.

Mike

[RickWoodall]

A couple simple things. The smallest rivets, drive with the mushroom head on end on the x3 gun at 30-40psi. When giving small blurps, put your finger in a hook on the surface around the mushroom head. Just so if you get carried away, the run wont slide up the skin and leave big dents.
The larger rivets drive with the mushroom head at 40-50psi
Anything you can squeeze with a pneumatic squeezer do, but set that air at 100psi.

DONT FORGET TO READJUST AIR for different driving needs. Forget once to drop from 100 to 30-40 for the x3 gun...ugly problems.

Wrap your bucking bars in tape except one flat surface so you get less scratches. You will love rivetting shortly....its not hard, but there is a short learning curve.

[Steve]

Be mindful of the edge distance. Ref the rivets in the corner in photos 3 and 4. The rivet centerline should be no closer than 2 times its diameter to the edge of the material.

Steve