For those who have come before me, share your wisdom.
I am a week or so away from riveting the fuselage forward top skin on my RV-7A (tip-up). This will mark a milestone in my seemingly never ending project, the last of the riveting on my RV.
I have been thinking about the riveting process due to the fact that I will be squeezing my 6'1" frame under the instrument panel and trying to buck some difficult rivets. I even lay in bed at night thinking about it (I should be counting sheep or watching late night tv).
I will remove my instrument panel to gain access through my glove box and radio rack cutouts in the bulkhead forward of the instrument panel. That will help with a few hard to buck rivets. However I am a bit concerned about the -4 rivets that join the skins/longerons/weldments at the firewall. It appears that the engine mount bolt heads will make bucking the most forward rivet very difficult, if not impossible. One possibility is to remove the engine mount bolt, buck the rivet and then re-install the bolt. With all the wires, brake lines, tank vents lines in this location it looks like the last few rivets maybe hard to buck. I would prefer not to use CherryMax rivets in these locations if possible.
I am not as young as I used to be when I started the project almost 8 years ago (rather embarrassing) and dread the contortions my body will undertake.
So if any of you experienced forward fuselage top skin rivet buckaroos out there have any tips to share I will appreciate it.
Cuts will heal.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Bruises will fade![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Skin dents are forever!![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I am a week or so away from riveting the fuselage forward top skin on my RV-7A (tip-up). This will mark a milestone in my seemingly never ending project, the last of the riveting on my RV.
I have been thinking about the riveting process due to the fact that I will be squeezing my 6'1" frame under the instrument panel and trying to buck some difficult rivets. I even lay in bed at night thinking about it (I should be counting sheep or watching late night tv).
I will remove my instrument panel to gain access through my glove box and radio rack cutouts in the bulkhead forward of the instrument panel. That will help with a few hard to buck rivets. However I am a bit concerned about the -4 rivets that join the skins/longerons/weldments at the firewall. It appears that the engine mount bolt heads will make bucking the most forward rivet very difficult, if not impossible. One possibility is to remove the engine mount bolt, buck the rivet and then re-install the bolt. With all the wires, brake lines, tank vents lines in this location it looks like the last few rivets maybe hard to buck. I would prefer not to use CherryMax rivets in these locations if possible.
I am not as young as I used to be when I started the project almost 8 years ago (rather embarrassing) and dread the contortions my body will undertake.
So if any of you experienced forward fuselage top skin rivet buckaroos out there have any tips to share I will appreciate it.
Cuts will heal.
Bruises will fade
Skin dents are forever!