Tip: Very Close Quarter Dimpling

[Rick6a]

The question seems to come up from time to time. A new builder asks, "How do you manage to dimple the holes at the narrowest portion of the _____________?" The typical answers offered up by most responders almost always include bending the flange to make way for the nail, or purchasing, cobbing together or otherwise modifying some specialized single purpose tool.

After a period of some headscratching while attempting to find a practical solution to this frequently asked about problem, the answer eventually revealed itself to me like a bolt from the blue. What did I discover? The rivet hole pattern on matched hole parts will work to your advantage on this one and you won't need to make or buy a new tool. Save your money. The technique shown below requires nothing more than using tools you are already likely to be using and you don't have to bend that flange out of the way either.