[New Eight Guy]

Greetings RV Folks. I'm new to the forum and have a question about which bucking bars are most used/needed for building an RV8. I've seen a few adds about the tungsten bars and their small size vs. weight. Anybody have any good or bad to say about them?

 

[N941WR]

Welcome to the VAF forum...

The answer is every bucking bar you can get your hands on.

Tungsten bars are worth double their weight in gold! Not only are they smaller, they tend to be easier to handle as all their mass in located closer to the rivet being driven. Spend the money, you will very happy you did.

BTW, the first rivets you drive in the HS are some of the hardest to reach and is the place where you really need a tungsten bar.

 

[b17fe]

"The answer is every bucking bar you can get your hands on."
Well said Bill !
A large surface bar for wing back riveting of top skins helps also.
(Girl friend or non builder with too small of a bar = ouch! Ask me how I know.)
Good luck on your build!

 

[Steve]

ATS

The tungsten bars were relatively unknown to the RV community 5 years ago. I got by with the 5 piece set sold by ATS. I made up another one or two more to fit into tight spaces as the build progressed.

Steve

 

[rocketbob]

I have a drawer full of steel bucking bars. I got a tungsten bar, and it is likely I'll never use any of the bucking bars in the drawer again.