edge former

[davidkarlsberg]

Okay... I am about to do my scarf joint on my top wing skins. My holes are already dimpled. Then I remembered something about ?rolling my edges?. Sure enough I have an el chepo edge roller that came with my avery kit. I also found the instruction which say make sure to roll my edges before I dimpled them. So what do I do now?

 

[TShort]

I just riveted my top skins on yesterday.
I did the sanding / filing part of the scarf joint, but did not edge roll the area at all. When I riveted it, everything laid down flat and looks great.

YMMV. I have had mixed results with the edge roller, probably poor technique / user error but I don't like it much.

Thomas

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Just a tool suggestion. Throw away the cheap Avery roller and get one of the Cleaveland vis-grip edge formers. The Avery version is really easy to mess up an edge with. Every skin that overlaps should be edge formed for best results and it's virtually impossible to mess up with the Cleaveland version. You'll be doing a lot of overlaps on the flaps and ailerons as well as a whole bunch of fuselage skins, so getting the tool would be a good investment. It's not that much anyway.

 

[RV7Factory]

In the ditto department...

I also found the instruction which say make sure to roll my edges before I dimpled them. So what do I do now?

I was in the same boat... I remembered to roll the edges after I dimpled. Like Thomas, I just riveted the top wing skins on this weekend. I haven't had a single issue and it looks fine even thought I didn't roll the edges.

 

[szicree]

I think the edge rolling thing is a bigger deal on thin skins like flaps.

 

[Mel]

I too, have had mixed results with edge rollers. I use seaming pliers to break the edges. This method can be used after dimpling. However, since you are doing only about 4" at a time, you must be careful to overlap the crimps to avoid leaving marks. I don't recommend this method unless you are quite experienced with seaming pliers. It is difficult to keep the edge uniform.