RV10Rob

RV10Rob

Well Known Member
Hi, all... I'm squeezing the 1/8" rivets used to attach the doubler plates to the forward elevator spars. About half the time, the shop head cracks when I squeeze. I'm not oversqueezing and the rivets came with a kit purchased less than 2 years ago. The only thing I can think of is that it's a little colder than normal in the garage (maybe 50 degrees), but I can't imagine that would make a difference.

Any ideas?

Thanks...

-Rob
 
I already drilled them all out, but if it happens again when I try later, I'll take a picture. :) Basically, if you look from the side, it's always a diagonal crack (usually two) the entire length of the side. On most of them, you can also see the shop head is distorted (if looking straight down).
 
What type of squeezer? It is important that the rivet be squeezed exactly along its axis. Some squeezers do a very poor job of this.
 
Do you know how old the rivets are? Rivets will harden with age and can crack when you squeeze them
 
Thanks, all, for the replies. The kit is less than 2 years old, so I assume the rivets aren't too old. I'm using a pneumatic squeezer with a longeron yoke... pretty sure I'm squeezing them straight. The rivets could be too long--I'm using the ones specified by the plans, but the shop head is a little big (thicker than the gauge indicates it should be). Should I use smaller rivets than called out in the plans?
 
ive had this happen

when its around 40 deg this has happend to me. come back the next day at 60+ never happens.

this is why i took this picture. it was happening to several rivets and i captured it. never happens above 50 or so.
 
Last edited:
We have a winner! I brought the rivets and spars inside the house and put them near the gas fireplace for a few hours (which probably made them ~80 degrees). When I tried again, all rivets squeezed with no problem. I had no idea such a small temperature change could make such a difference. Lesson learned.

Thanks again to all who responded...

-Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.