Echo Tango
Well Known Member
Building my -7A Empenage kit right now, and while I was finishing up the horizontal stabilizer I was having a bit of trouble getting one of my rib flanges to seat itself flush against one of the spar webs. Naturally, I put a cleco in the bottom hole of the rib flange into the spar, thinking it would sufficiently snug up the top hole. Nope! Still a gap!
So I decided I would put the rivet through both and "drive it" slightly to widen the rivet shank an eency weency bit (in order to provide a "tighter" fit). I then proceeded to place my bucking bar against the rib flange (near the rivet in question) and drove the manufactured head with my gun softly. It worked! The flange slid the rest of the way down the rivet shank and held it tightly against the spar and provided enough "holding friction" to keep the skins together. I then drove the rivet to final specification.
Question is: is this a bad practice? I did it again on the lower rivet, as that part of the flange wouldn't sit flush either, and it worked flawlessly.
So I decided I would put the rivet through both and "drive it" slightly to widen the rivet shank an eency weency bit (in order to provide a "tighter" fit). I then proceeded to place my bucking bar against the rib flange (near the rivet in question) and drove the manufactured head with my gun softly. It worked! The flange slid the rest of the way down the rivet shank and held it tightly against the spar and provided enough "holding friction" to keep the skins together. I then drove the rivet to final specification.
Question is: is this a bad practice? I did it again on the lower rivet, as that part of the flange wouldn't sit flush either, and it worked flawlessly.