ymc9

ymc9

Member
I initially planned to use only electric tools + Cleaveland Main Squeezer for the job. However as I encountered more and more solid rivets (e.g., the tail cone bulkhead), I've started to wonder if I would eventually get a pneumatic squeezer. I'm still finishing the empennage. Does it get worse when you get to wings, fuselage, etc.?

I'm wondering how many of you made such a switch from hand squeezer to pneumatic halfway into the project. If the chance is high, I probably should get it early 😄.

It's a really good exercise to hand squeeze those AD-4 though ...
 
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Cleveland Main Squeezer and a steady set of hands gets the job done. It will definitely be easier with a pneumatic squeezer though.
 
jhrubos said:
I agree. bought my squeezer used and it still works well. cannot imagine not having it.
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+1. Large number of nut plates to rivet in fuselage, a pneumatic squeezer will make things go much faster. Like any tool it has a learning curve. I bought mine about half way through the emp kit. those -4 rivets were too much for an old man to manually squeeze after doing 3 or 4 in a session.
 
I use both manual and a Numatx squeezer. If there’s only a few -3s to do the manual is fine but it’s nice to have help for big numbers. I’m another person that has trouble squeezing -4s manually.
The Numatx helps to get nice looking dimples too. Less chance of the tool going off 90° to the surface during the squeeze.
What ever you choose these tools hold quite a bit of their value for resale some day. ( But probably need to keep it for your next build)
 
When I was mentoring the high school's RV-12iS project, we'd bought a pneumatic squeezer and later they also got a decent manual one. Just before I left the project, some of the students said they prefer that, because it gave them more control. Other students preferred the pneumatic one. As I left, they purchased a second pneumatic one.

There are a lot of -4 rivets on the aft bulkhead, and those take a lot of force.

Dave
 
David Paule said:
When I was mentoring the high school's RV-12iS project, we'd bought a pneumatic squeezer and later they also got a decent manual one. Just before I left the project, some of the students said they prefer that, because it gave them more control. Other students preferred the pneumatic one. As I left, they purchased a second pneumatic one.

There are a lot of -4 rivets on the aft bulkhead, and those take a lot of force.

Dave
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Yes, I started to question myself after finishing the aft bulkhead. It was quite a lot of -4 squeezing 🤣
Maybe I've already passed the toughest part?

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ymc9 said:
Yes, I started to question myself after finishing the aft bulkhead. It was quite a lot of -4 squeezing 🤣
Maybe I've already passed the toughest part?

View attachment 70903
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You have a lot more squeezing to do, especially on the fuselage.

I'm another in the Numatix camp. It's a luxury tool, wish I had bought it earlier in the project than I did.
 
N8DAV8R said:
You have a lot more squeezing to do, especially on the fuselage.

I'm another in the Numatix camp. It's a luxury tool, wish I had bought it earlier in the project than I did.
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Got it. I’ll pre study the fuselage plans to make a decision.

Numatix looks great indeed. Does it require a powerful air compressor?
 
ymc9 said:
Got it. I’ll pre study the fuselage plans to make a decision.

Numatix looks great indeed. Does it require a powerful air compressor?
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No. I'm generally running it around 40 psi. When you first get one you set a few rivets to dial in the appropriate setting based on your own hose/reg setup.
 
If you get a Numatx I recommend you get the Flyboy Accessories hydraulic hose for it. The stock hose on my unit was thick, heavy and puffed up like a balloon when under pressure. The rest of the set up worked well. Squeezing a -3 takes ~40psi and a -4 takes ~80psi.
 
I bought the pneumatic squeezer from Cleaveland after finishing the tail cone and the wings. No regrets and lot of use for squeezing as well as dimpling.
Occasionally I prefer taking the pneumatic riveter against the bucking bar for hard to reach places, though and rarely I also fall back to my manual squeezer.
All operated on a small compressor.
 
Most will say you don't need a pneumatic squeezer and I can't argue. But I bought one early on and it's a nice tool to have. You can dimple with it too. Plus it's cool to hear the peesh-hoo and get a perfect rivet every time. And after the build you can sell it for $100-200 less than you paid.
 
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