How to dimple tight spaces

[carrollcw]

I am trying to finish the rudder for my rv7. I have no idea how to dimple the last couple holes on 2 of the ribs. There is absolutely no space to get in there with my pneumatic nor hand die. What do I do???

[jwheeler313]

I just ran into that same problem this afternoon. I made a quick trip over to Avery's and picked up one of his vice grip dimplers. He also cut a small piece of wood to fit inside the rib to help spread the flanges just a little bit to give a little more clearance. It worked great.

[Ironflight]

Another tool that Avery sells is the pop-rivet dimpler - it is basically a male and female die with holes drilled in the middle - you thread a nail on them and "pull" it with a pop rivet dimpler - works well in tight spaces. I find it very useful to have on many occasions.

[ppilotmike]

Cleaveland tools sells a "tight space" dimple setup that is basically a thin strip of steel with a female dimple die, that attaches to your workbench. You can slide the tight area of the rib over the die, then using the specialized male die and your rivet gun, you make the dimple. Works great around those trailing edges.

[Lemmingman]

I have all of the above mentioned solutions. I have found places where they all have their use.

[randyintejas]

Yep.. have all use all!

[clevtool]

Originally Posted by ppilotmike

Cleaveland tools sells a "tight space" dimple setup that is basically a thin strip of steel with a female dimple die, that attaches to your workbench. You can slide the tight area of the rib over the die, then using the specialized male die and your rivet gun, you make the dimple. Works great around those trailing edges.

Thanks Mike!

http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/p...mber=DIE4263DF

[carrollcw]

I do have the solution Paul mentioned, but the last 2 or 3 holes are so tight that I can't even get the nail in the hole! Also, I popped the 2 nails already that came with the set, so I need to buy another few! Maybe if I buy a shorter nail I will be able to squeeze it in the space provided. Guess I will try that before I buy even MORE tools. The wife is getting tired of me nickel and diming this build!

[WenEng]

They work perfectly. With a little practice you will not even break any more. You don't need to pull that hard to make a perfect dimple.

[Shockwave]

1 1/2" 4D finish nails work well for me in the pop rivet dimple dies. There might be better but that's what I had on hand. I could set several before the teeth wore out the nail. I also couldn't get the nail threaded through when trying to do the narrow ends of the ribs so I went with the vise grip dimplers there. The pop rivet dies worked great on the rudder where I didn't want to peel the skin back any more to use the C-frame.