Another New Guy

Hey guys,

Just received RV Practice Kit-1 (the faux control surface), and am now beginning tool acquisition so I can actually build the practice project. I think I'm going to go mostly with Isham stuff.

Nugget
 
Nugget said:
Hey guys,

Just received RV Practice Kit-1 (the faux control surface), and am now beginning tool acquisition so I can actually build the practice project. I think I'm going to go mostly with Isham stuff.

Nugget
Click to expand...

i got my tools...most of them... from Isham. you won't be disappointed. they ship fast and look after you.

me too, i'm waiting for a dimpler to finish off my practice kit. got the toolbox done but i can't dimple the skin on the other without a frame or a dimple die. have the 9 emp waiting for us to put together. actually my building partner is already making the brackets and shims... then we do more match drilling and deburring!!
very exciting!! no really, it is!:)
 
Countersink

Hey guys,

i'm having an issue with countersinking on the practice kit. i've dimpled the skins and ribs without issue and now i'm doing the small spar section. i set the bit depth but have noticed that the bit likes to round out the hole. now i've got a hole too big for a 3 rivet:( have any others had issues with countersinking and the bit enlarging the hole? i'm pretty disappointed in this now. i thought i was making some good progress and now i've got this problem. i didn't have issues before on the first practice kit drilling some countersinks.
any thoughts would be appreciated. i'll wait to hear before i do the other side of it.
 
Welcome to building! :D

When you set an AN4263-4 (or what ever length) rivet in the hole you just countersunk, does it drop in too far? ...or just below the surface of the piece you countersunk?

If you're countersinking too deep on thin material, it will open up the hole. How thick is that material? .0040? If so consider dimpling it and see how that works.

- Peter
 
you know, i'm just measuring the thickness of the spar... .040 and looking at the section 5e in the manual that isn't enough to get a good machine countersink. on the practice kit it does say specifically to use the machine countersink??:rolleyes:
so yes, the reason is probably that material is too thin to countersink as the bit gets lower, the hole enlarges!

thanks for the info on it. and yes the 3 drops in too low now but before the skin would sit too high around the countersink holes and not flush with the spar.
 
I think the practice kit is an excellent learning tool if you have little or no experience. it covers most of the types of rivets you will need to do at the start, and the directions seemed adequate enough to me. i haven't read the other responses on this thread, but if you have little riveting time i say buy it and do it.
 
I chickened out and ordered the practice kits :D .

Tools still stuck at customs, and practice kits en route!
 
I received my DRDT-2 today and put it together to find a couple of pieces missing. Turns out it will work w/o the missing pieces so I was able to dimple my first pieces of aluminum and try back riveting. Not sure how good the rivets are, but I imagine they would hold in an airplane. A little smiley action on the back shouldn't be too big a deal. I do think I'll order some rivet gauges to help calibrate my eye on whether I'm driving the rivets too much or too little. Really looking forward to the day when I can order my -8 emp.
 
good work mike.

i finished most of the practice kit and was pretty happy with it. learned a lot doing that kit. i couldn't do the last rivets on the ribs as i couldn't get my small back-plate in there to buck the rivet. my trailedge has got a slight curve in it as well. i think i attained that while drilling/matching the trail-edge aluminum wedge.
i was going to go with the DRDT2 but in the ended decided on the c-frame. it made very nice sharp dimples in the skin... and was fast too.

now we've got the left horizontal already setup in the jig cradles after 7 hours of work on sunday. we'll do more tomorrow night and then match drill and then disassemble it all to debur and dimple the appropriate areas! :)
 
I just ordered the RV-8 plans, and since I'm a complete newb, the toolbox kit as well. I know I will need tools, but I wanted to get a look at the practice kit and plans and make a decision on which tool kit to buy. Well I just wanted to say hi, and I can't wait to start pounding rivets :D
 
awesome!! there are a few tool kits that show up for sale on here. i more or less pieced mine together from mostly Isham and the frame and a few things from avery. Isham is fast and easy to deal with from my experience.

you'll be wanting them right away ... after you get those kits!
 
swixtt said:
you know, i'm just measuring the thickness of the spar... .040 and looking at the section 5e in the manual that isn't enough to get a good machine countersink. on the practice kit it does say specifically to use the machine countersink??:rolleyes:
so yes, the reason is probably that material is too thin to countersink as the bit gets lower, the hole enlarges!

thanks for the info on it. and yes the 3 drops in too low now but before the skin would sit too high around the countersink holes and not flush with the spar.
Click to expand...

My practice kit said to dimple, but not expect perfect dimples due to the spar being .040 ... it then said to countersink the dimple to make it 'perfect'.... perhaps this is a factor for you...

Tom
 
hey tom,
yeah i did the other side of the spar in that manner. i dimpled it with the frame, which i didn't have before, then i manually used my speed deburring tool and checked each one.
i just found on the other side that i couldn't get the dimple on the skin to fit very well into the countersink. so i went a little deeper with the Machine Counter and this was my error. i shouldn't have gone as deep as i did.
to fix, i used the next size up (4) rivet and it worked perfectly!;)
 
Well, I built some tables. So I had to make sure they could withstand the weight of aluminum.

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Man is this stuff ever a riot! Next up. Riveting 101. Wish me luck :D
 
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Man, My clecoes haven't looked like that in over 30 years.
Come to think of it, I don't think they ever looked that new.
 
Look at these new cleco pliers! Both rubberized handles are still there:D Adam you better glue the lower one.
 
Mel said:
Unfortunately rubber hadn't been invented when I bought my cleco pliers.
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It was better then. Without rubber. I tried several brands of pliers and discarded all rubber handles. They just keep slipping all the time.
 
Back Drilling

Is it what I think it is? Just simply drilling through a hole into an untouched surface to "match drill"? I must clearly be over thinking this one.

On the aileron project I'm trying to fit the A-906-L/R ribs to the CP-3 Spar. The rib has the hole and I'm attaching it to the blank spar. Re: "Back-drill the spar using the outer holes in the rib flanges as a guide."

Man is this stuff exciting though. Finished the tool box with some minor bumps and bruises :D. I'll try to make this one perfect.

Things I tried and learned:

-You can't place the cupped set on the moving part of a pneumatic squeezer.
-I think I'm running my x3 too high as I've got some nice smiling manufactured heads from jumping
 
Adam Oke said:
-You can't place the cupped set on the moving part of a pneumatic squeezer.
Click to expand...
Sure you can. You just have to be careful to bring the squeezer down slowly with the cupped set held in place before the final squeeze. Everything takes practice. You'll get there.
 
hey adam,
good to see you're working on the projects now!! awesome!

yeah, that's where that nice 12" drill bit comes in handy.

we are about to do some dimpling on the skins and then prime the required parts before our first rivets. soon:)
 
Mel said:
Sure you can. You just have to be careful to bring the squeezer down slowly with the cupped set held in place before the final squeeze. Everything takes practice. You'll get there.
Click to expand...

Ah. I'll try that next time. The manual said to fully depress because all the power is at the end of the stroke. So I guess there are some exceptions.

swixtt; Thanks! I'll be keeping an eye on your blog for more progress.
 
Alright. Picked up a backrivet plate so I can move on.

More newbie questions:

How do you clamp the trailing edge? I figure cutting out a wood wedge. I'm curious if there is a better idea.

To drill that 84 degree angle, do you just cut a block at the right specs for a drill angle guide? What did you use?
 
yup, i used a small piece about 4" tall i think,,, then used the long drill bit held against it.
one thing i didn't do was support the bottom of the trailing edge... i had it raised up a bit(so i wouldn't drill into the table) and this caused a slight curve in it:( i know for next time now.
later
 
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