R

rwarre

Well Known Member
I was dimpling the skins on the HS and punched a hole where I shouldn't have next to the hole I should have dimpled. Is there a repair for this? I will post a picture if someone will give instructions on how to.
 
Most people leave it and fill it when painting. If the hole is far enough away from the original hole, you can dimple and intall a rivet to fill the hole.
 
Probably make you feel better to get a new skin. Maybe it's just the photo, but the dimples don't look too crisp.
 
I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure most builders have done this a time or two and just "kept building". :rolleyes:

On a side note - and it may be because your pictures are grainy - but are you deburring your edges good enough? They look a little rough. It could be the grainy picture, though.

Last note, as stated above, your dimples don't look to "crisp". I'd dimple just a tad harder. Professional builders correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that having a very slight circular ring from the dimple die is normal. At least that's what I've been doing!
 
These holes should be reamed to final size before dimpling. Very little de-burring is needed or recommended for holes that are to be dimpled. Scratches need to be kept to a minimum, especially when going across, or radiating from holes.
 
I have done this a time or two. What I did was put in a set of flush dies and squeezed the hole back flush to the skin. This reduced the hole diameter and made the skin flat. Later, during the finishing stage, I will fill it in and, hopefully, it will be invisible under the paint. Now, if you wanted a polished aluminum finish, you will need a new skin.
 
my technique

I use the C frame tool from Cleveland tool and made the platform to rest the skin. I set the hole in the male die and hit the shaft with the female die with a ball-pene hammer. I use the weight of the hammer head as the force to dimple.
 
I've done it'; don't feel bad.


FYI, I did this at the Sportair RV building workshop years ago. Ken Scott, who was teaching the class, said "now if you'd done that with a skin, abandon the hole and fill it with bondo (or something) and drill new holes 1/4" either side of the abandoned hole. "
 
Bob Collins said:
You're not hitting it hard enough. Actually, when you dimple, there should be a very light circle around the hole. Give it a good whack.
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Ditto on hitting it harder. You cant over dimple it, that is set by how the dies are machined. There should be a light circular mark from the outside of the die surounding the dimple. Once you got the skin on the male die pin, push the female die on the rod down snug and hold it there and wack it with the hammer.
 
G-force said:
Ditto on hitting it harder. You cant over dimple it, that is set by how the dies are machined. There should be a light circular mark from the outside of the die surrounding the dimple. Once you got the skin on the male die pin, push the female die on the rod down snug and hold it there and whack it with the hammer.
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You may also want to try a different hammer. Don't know what you're using now, but these dead-blow hammers (Harbor Freight, etc.) do a nice job with minimal noise. This is a 1-1/2 pound which works well for lighter gauge stuff. Usually a couple of medium whacks will get 'er done.
 
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