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Cleveland vs PlaneTools Builders Toolkits

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PierrevdMerwe

I'm New Here
Hi Guys

I need to make a decision with regards to my Builders Tool Kit. I have ordered a RV-10 empennage kit and therefore is looking at the following:

Cleveland - COMPKITW + KITMOD-11(RV10 extra's) as well as the KITMOD3W(DRDT-2 dimple set)

Cleveland - COMPKIT08 + KITMOD-11(RV10 extra's) as well as the KITMOD3W(DRDT-2 dimple set)

PlaneTools - RV builders Toolkit plus the RV-10 options

I am a newby staying in South Africa, so I have to make the right choice and buy once as importing and waiting plus the costs can be an expensive learning experience.

Any suggestions wrt what is the best buy - please give your input.

Kind Regards

Pierre
 
Hello Pierre,

I am in the same boat. By the looks of things, the PlaneTools looks the best deal. It includes the DRDT2 C frame dimpler and a pneumatic squeezer at a cheaper price than Cleveland.

Can anyone comment on the service provided by PlaneTools.
 
Avery has very nice tools as well. But do make sure you buy the Cleveland braking tool...nothing matches it.
 
Sorry if this is a stupid question. Whats the Cleveland Braking Tool? Did a search on their site, but nothing came up.
 
I went with planetools (for my RV7), almost entirely because they included a pneumatic squeezer and the DRDT-2 as part of the package for a great price, both of which are awesome to have. I have been very happy with my choice to go with them FWIW. Their customer service was excellent also, they allowed me to subtract items from the package that I already had, which was nice.
 
Toolkit

If you want to save some money, you don't need the pneumatic squeezer or DRT-2. I built my RV-7 with the Cleaveland Toolkit which included the Main Squeeze and C-frame. They worked great. IMHO the time savings over the entire project with the pneumatic and DRT-2 are insignificant. The big time consumers are edge smoothing, scratching your head figuring out what to do, sanding glass components, etc.
 
I bought the Planetools kit three years ago. The service was very good and they were amenable to changes too. I wanted some extra bits and pieces (e.g. countersink cages) and they gave me excellent discounted prices on the extras.

I've not bought from Cleveland. I have bought from Avery Tools and got excellent service there too.

Same as Ron, the inclusion of the DRDT-2 and pneumatic squeezer in the Planetools kit was what sealed the deal for me. I'm still happy with the decision.

When shipping outside the US I've found vendors are happy to consolidate packages for you, which can save on shipping costs and import hassles.

Get smaller items from Vendor A, B and C shipped US domestic to Vendor X then Vendor X ships one box to you.
 
I purchased the Plane Tools kit as well and have been happy with it. I feel that the pneumatic squeezer is without a doubt worth every penny. But be aware that the kit does not include everything you will need. You will quickly find that several very important tools are not included, such as a vixen file, edge roller and backrivet plate that MAY be included in some of the other kits (I dont know for sure) Most of the tools are nice, but a few of them are ****, (the fluting pliers are a joke, but they do the job). Their service was fine on the phone when i ordered it and have not had any major problems with any of it since.
 
PierrevdMerwe said:
I am a newby staying in South Africa, so I have to make the right choice and buy once as importing and waiting plus the costs can be an expensive learning experience.

Any suggestions wrt what is the best buy - please give your input.
Click to expand...

Pierre,

You don't have to purchase the whole kit. I purchased about 3/4's of my tools from Avery, 1/8 from Cleaveland, and several vendors for the rest.

Not knowing how close you are to Rudi Greyling, I would highly recommend talking to him to get his experience with all these companies shipping to South Africa.

Welcome to the RV-10 community. Be sure to register on Tim Olson's site once you get your builder number.

bob
 
Pierre, while this may not help you make your decision, I also agree with what Bob is saying - My entire tool experience has been that you never get everything you may need in one single tool "kit." I bought my initial kit from Cleaveland. Since then I have supplemented it periodically with various other tools from mulitple vendors.

That said, I will put in my 2 cents for Cleaveland. I ordered the C-Frame, instead of the DRDT-2 (Came with the kit). While the DRDT-2 does make dimpling an easier task, I believe that you cannot do anything else with that tool other than dimple. (others will be quick to correct me if I am wrong here) The Cleaveland C Frame allows you to rivet as well as dimple, but it ALSO allows you to take the .401 die holder that comes with this unit, and insert it into a rivet gun, and use that in combination with a close-quarter dimpling tool that Cleaveland also sells, and you can get into all those tight spaces to dimple and set your rivets without any problems at all. Definitely get the Air squeezer - it's expensive but it will pay off early in the build. Cleaveland's customer service is also excellent.

Best of luck in your decision, but be prepared to identify and acquire other tools along the way as your needs and budget allow.
 
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For me the DRDT-2 will be an essential piece of kit. I have neighbours and I will have to stop the noisy stuff at 20:00 in the evening and possibly I will not be able to turn on the compressor on Sunday. In Germany, ze rools must be obeyed.

Thanks Pierre for pointing me to the PlaneTools website.
 
I am one of the bunch that thinks the pneumatic squeezer and the DRDT-2 are essentials. If you are working in the garage or basement you will find the DRDT will let you get more done because you don't have to worry about the constant banging noise bothering the people around you. I have tendonitis and it is much easier on my wrists and arms too. I didn't buy a tool kit as I had certain brands of certain tools that I wanted. I will say this, Avery's is a class act and I buy from them if possible. The vendors I used are Avery's, Brown tool, The Yard Store, and Cleveland Tool. I bought my Squeezer rebuilt from The Yard Store and it has worked perfectly for the last six years. Good Luck!
 
Sorry...lol...edge forming breaking tool. However you spell it Cleveland has the best one. You just put the edge of the aluminum against the edge of their wheel and pull. Its make a perfect break everytime. All of the others require that you control the "line"...easier said than done. Just my two cents.
 
Noisy C-Frames

islandmonkey said:
For me the DRDT-2 will be an essential piece of kit. I have neighbours and I will have to stop the noisy stuff at 20:00 in the evening and possibly I will not be able to turn on the compressor on Sunday. In Germany, ze rools must be obeyed.
Click to expand...

I can totally appreciate that - the C frame is noisy for sure. I guess because I live on a corner lot, with nothing but empty school property across the street from my garage, and a neighbor who is rarely ever home, I might be a bit spoiled in that regard! :)
 
C-Frame

I'm going to say dimpling with the C-Frame is slightly less noisy than riveting with the pneumatic rivet gun.
 
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