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Webster Tool

I'm New Here
Just to make a comment on my buckingbar and give a little history as to the use of the bar. I fly for a major carrier and I know that tungsten has been used in maintenance shops for many years, but it wasn?t until I built my second airplane that I realized the value of using the right buckingbar.

On my first airplane, I experienced all the frustrations of trying various bucking bars that didn?t do the job. On my recently built RV-8, I used this tungsten bar and realized its usefulness. I really believe every builder should have one.
I have several of these bars out in the hands of RV builders in various stages of building and everybody loves it!

The 5/8 inch width will allow you to get under flanges that you just can?t get to otherwise. You still have available the 1 in. width if you need it??.In my opinion, the 4 inch length is easy to hold.

Grov-Air of Indianapolis, one of the best building assistance programs in the country uses this bar exclusively.

Please watch my website for more innovative products. I?m committed to offering a quality product at a fair price. www.buckingbar.net
Thanks for all the discussion
Dean
 
Webster Tool said:
Grov-Air of Indianapolis, one of the best building assistance programs in the country uses this bar exclusively.
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Dean, I took Troy Grover's Construction Skills Class at Grov-Air. Troy was raving about your tungsten bucking bar, but I don't think he had any in stock at the time (Feb-06), so I don't recall testing it. I'm glad to see your product is finally on the market.
 
I know Troy and he is a golden wrench kind of mechainc with first class work .. Highly recomend!!!!! You can take what Troy says to the Bank!!!
 
In case anyone is tempted to find their own source for tungsten...

Of course when I saw this bucking bar, my first thought was "I'll buy my own tungsten and make a bar." The quotes I've gotten back so far are for 1"x0.75"x12" bars (that would have to be cut down into 3 shorter bars). Prices are up in the $600-700 range. 1" dia rod is a little cheaper, but not much & not as useful.

At $120 ready-to-use, this bar is a steal.

My $.02
 
Tungsten Bucking Bars

I finally broke down and bought a Tungsten bar from Webster after fumbling around with about eight different shaped steel bars throughout the construction of my RV8. People who bemoan the cost of the Tungsten Bar just don't consider all of the time wasted trying to get a steel bar into a confined space. I'm about to finish my latest project and the Tungsten Bucking Bar has saved me countless hours of building time on this slow build RV10.

Ron Grover
 
Got the new bucking in today and I haven't used it yet. I can tell by the way it feels in my hand and the incredible weight for such a small bar that it will be a great tool. This weekend will tell for sure.
 
I don't want to dismiss the tungsten bar, but unless your budget is far more forgiving than mine, plain 'ol steel bars work pretty well. Beyond that, any machine shop will have scrap steel chunks in usable sizes that can be converted into custom bucking bars. For a couple of bucks you can usually get someone to chop the chunk(s) of steel into whatever shape you want. Then, you can spend 5 minutes on your bench grinder and/or scotchbrite wheel and polish the appropriate faces.

I made 8 or 10 unique bars when building my airplane. A couple of them were duds, but a couple were priceless. I've even thought of sending 'em to Avery or Cleveland to see if they had an interest in my better designs, which I've never seen anywhere else.
 
Report back to the group

rv9aviator said:
Got the new bucking in today and I haven't used it yet. I can tell by the way it feels in my hand and the incredible weight for such a small bar that it will be a great tool. This weekend will tell for sure.
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Make sure you report back after using it over the weekend. I'm planning for one of these too so I'd be interested in your thoughts...

Cheers,
 
I will bet the report will be good. The tungsten bars I have are great! Kyle is right, you don't have to have one, but they sure are nice. :)
 
Final 'yes'

Actually I've already been in touch with Dean and all but confirmed a purchase (to ship in with my fuse kit when I order it). Just looking for that final confirmation :)
 
What about an angle

Dean,

Have you thought about putting a 45 or 30 degree angle on the bar. Last night while assembling the left elevator we needed a small bar with an angle to set rivets where the two ribs intersect near the E-921 gusset on a 9A. I didn't have anything to use. I'm taking the elevator over to another builders place to set the rivets with a bar he has. Getting close to ordering a bar.

Just a thought.
 
Hey, What's the angle?

Already did that on the disc sander. Comes out nice, as you can see from the camera lens reflection.







Oops, guess I should've paid for it first! Oh well, as least this one won't be coming back, Dean.
 
A Word of Caution!

Tungsten and DEPLETED URANIUM look and feel the same. While depleted uranium makes just as good a bucking bar as tungsten, the potential health effects of DU are very serious. (Google DEPLETED URANIUM to learn more)
Believe it or not, there is quite a bit of Depleted Uranium floating around out there. One of the heavy jet manufacturers, (I think Lockheed) once used it for balast and flight control counter weights. Industrious A&P mechanics siezed this material for use as bucking bars! (Probably thinking it was tungsten). There is a test used to determine which is which, but I don't remember what it is. I will research it and add another post ASAP!
Also, the A-10 Thunderbolt and AH-64 Apache use DU rounds in their 30mm gun. Most of this stuff is hanging out on military fireing ranges, but don't think for a moment there aren't guys snagging that stuff and cutting it into nice, useful little bucking bars!
Anyone else who may know more about this, let us hear from you!
 
Webster Tool

Hi Guys
I was asked if we are selling depleted Uranium.
The answer is NO.
The Tungsten bar we sell is an alloy made up of mostly Tungsten with a small amount of Nickel and Iron.
Dean at Webster Tool
 
Depleted Uranium

Just to clarify, I wasn't questioning the guys who sell Tungsten bucking bars at all. I have every confidence that they are selling the real deal. My intention in the previous post was to make sure that if you buy a bucking bar from a friend or acquaintance, make sure what you are getting it the real thing. If you aren't sure, cough up a few extra bucks and buy from a reputable dealer. (IE. Webster Tool)
As for telling the difference between tungsten and depleted uranium, I haven't found a good answer yet. Perhaps a Geiger counter!
 
re: telling the difference.

I don't know specifically how to tell the difference between a depleted uranium bucking bar and a tungsten bucking bar, however I can say that depleted uranium will make quite a light show if you put it on a belt sander or even just smash it with a rock. It behaves somewhat like a very heavy chunk of flint.

I guess it depends on how much uranium is actually in the bucking bar if it will be noticeable or not but it would probably be noticeable if I had to guess.
 
I used my disc sander to put a small angle on the end of my bar from Webster's and no light show. It's a very nice tool!
 
The Real Deal?

amed said:
As for telling the difference between tungsten and depleted uranium, I haven't found a good answer yet........
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"Tungsten" bucking bars occasionally show up on eBay. Here is one of at least two designs being currently represented as such.

http://tinyurl.com/yc3zzs
 
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