Van's Air Force
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New Build!
- Thread starter Husker'87
- Start date
CharlieWaffles
Well Known Member
Didn't Vans tell you these kits are living things? They need air and they feed on blood from fingers and arms during the build. They also have a tendency to enjoy fragments of skin and copious amounts of sweat.
Staunch111
Well Known Member
Stop it you two. You'll scare him off before he even starts.LOL
blahphish
Well Known Member
haha aint that the truth.. and dont forget to sprinkle them with money to help them grow
Husker'87
Member
I went over to a fellow EAA members house who is building a RV-9 to talk with him, he had all of the tools he has used out on display and went around saying "see this tool, you will learn to hate it" or "you will pay a lot for this one and use it once". I think he was trying to scare me away. I'm either too stubborn or too stupid to take the hint!
ppilotmike
Well Known Member
HA!
Feed me, Seymour!
haha aint that the truth.. and dont forget to sprinkle them with money to help them grow
Feed me, Seymour!
JackinMichigan
Well Known Member
Get Organized...
Don't let these guys scare you.. It ain't that bad, even fun.
Get Organized.... Buy yourself several of those small parts organizers with drawers and get a label maker. At least 60 drawers. You can't have too many. Keep in mind, as more kits are bought, more of the same small parts will arrive. So you need someplace to store them and FIND them. Separate all the nuts, bolts, rivets, etc. Take inventory like they say. It takes time, yep...
Get some three ring binders and put in all your paperwork, especially the inventory list on the bags. I did all this, and even then a few times I had to call Van's and say I cannot find part no. XXYYZZ and they would tell me look in bag #575.. and yep, it was there.
Get the tools your buddy building the RV-9 tells you to buy. Help him do some riveting, both squeeze and air hammer type.
A few indespensible tools that I bought early is a small belt sander, and a 1/2 hp motor mounted vertically with a deburring disk (from Bob Avery) and a metal cutting band saw. They do not have to be heavy duty.
One item I did not buy, but in retrospect kinda wish I had is the air squeeze rivetor. I used the trusty old hand squeezer. At least I got some muscles a little back in tone.
I am handy with wood, and the minute I find it a little difficult to hold and item to work on it, I build a wood fixture. Lots made with 1x3" wood (furring strips), screws, and glue with some carpeting glued on so nothing gets scratched.
Good luck.. and ENJOY IT...
Don't let these guys scare you.. It ain't that bad, even fun.
Get Organized.... Buy yourself several of those small parts organizers with drawers and get a label maker. At least 60 drawers. You can't have too many. Keep in mind, as more kits are bought, more of the same small parts will arrive. So you need someplace to store them and FIND them. Separate all the nuts, bolts, rivets, etc. Take inventory like they say. It takes time, yep...
Get some three ring binders and put in all your paperwork, especially the inventory list on the bags. I did all this, and even then a few times I had to call Van's and say I cannot find part no. XXYYZZ and they would tell me look in bag #575.. and yep, it was there.
Get the tools your buddy building the RV-9 tells you to buy. Help him do some riveting, both squeeze and air hammer type.
A few indespensible tools that I bought early is a small belt sander, and a 1/2 hp motor mounted vertically with a deburring disk (from Bob Avery) and a metal cutting band saw. They do not have to be heavy duty.
One item I did not buy, but in retrospect kinda wish I had is the air squeeze rivetor. I used the trusty old hand squeezer. At least I got some muscles a little back in tone.
I am handy with wood, and the minute I find it a little difficult to hold and item to work on it, I build a wood fixture. Lots made with 1x3" wood (furring strips), screws, and glue with some carpeting glued on so nothing gets scratched.
Good luck.. and ENJOY IT...
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careful with words
I had none of these, so they are not "indispensable", just nice to have.
I did have a pneumatic squeezer which was very nice to have.
I had none of these, so they are not "indispensable", just nice to have.
I did have a pneumatic squeezer which was very nice to have.
ppilotmike
Well Known Member
Definitely get the pneumatic squeezer and a good drill motor (Sioux). I am also thankful to have a DRDT2 dimpler, a 90 deg pneumatic angle drill, a tungsten bucking bar and a pneumatic cleco runner (the 10 uses a LOT of clecos). In fact, buy more clecos (LOTS MORE) with your tool order.
Re: tools, you will likely buy various tools from almost all the usual suspects, but look for a good RV-10 tool package deal to get started. I bought my starter package from Isham http://www.planetools.com/. You will most certainly add to your starter package along the build.. Have Fun!
Re: tools, you will likely buy various tools from almost all the usual suspects, but look for a good RV-10 tool package deal to get started. I bought my starter package from Isham http://www.planetools.com/. You will most certainly add to your starter package along the build.. Have Fun!
Freightdawg
Well Known Member
Welcome to the asylum.
We've just passed one year of building, and I just came in from disassembling the tail cone for deburring and dimpling.
For the most part it's been fun--certainly educational--with moments of frustration where I've questioned my sanity.
Enjoy the journey.
We've just passed one year of building, and I just came in from disassembling the tail cone for deburring and dimpling.
For the most part it's been fun--certainly educational--with moments of frustration where I've questioned my sanity.
Enjoy the journey.
Husker'87
Member
Will be raiding my brother stash of Clecos and other tools this weekend. He built a Glasstar a while back and doesn't need them anymore.
Looking for a pneumatic blind rivet puller, the back rivet plate, drill press, band saw, small(er) debur wheel for either a dremel or die grinder for the tough spots, bench vice and grinder... More tools, more tools, more tools.
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Husker'87
Member
First Rivet!
I started on the control surface today... It was very educational.
Made some mistakes, but that is the purpose of the practice kit, right? Didn't have the right pressure for the rivet gun, dropped the skin once, drilled out some rivets, etc...
Fun time!
About half done.
Love the squeezer!
Opps! Too much pressure!
I started on the control surface today... It was very educational.
Made some mistakes, but that is the purpose of the practice kit, right? Didn't have the right pressure for the rivet gun, dropped the skin once, drilled out some rivets, etc...
Fun time!
About half done.
Love the squeezer!
Opps! Too much pressure!
agirard7a
Well Known Member
Novice move
Don't make the novice move I did in under dimpling
The horizontal stab. Use a firm blow with the hammer on a solid surface.
Don't use cheap dimple dies. Your skins should have clean crisp
Dimples with NO deflection around the dimple. If you under dimple, you
will get deflection. I thought I had used to much pressure on the rivet gun
Causing the deflection. Not the case. Flat skins will make you look and feel like a pro. Down load the rivet spec sheet from the Vans site. Use a 1,000 caliper to measure the shop head height and diam. Don't get tricked by rivet gauges.
They measure the mean. Not the min or max.
Don't make the novice move I did in under dimpling
The horizontal stab. Use a firm blow with the hammer on a solid surface.
Don't use cheap dimple dies. Your skins should have clean crisp
Dimples with NO deflection around the dimple. If you under dimple, you
will get deflection. I thought I had used to much pressure on the rivet gun
Causing the deflection. Not the case. Flat skins will make you look and feel like a pro. Down load the rivet spec sheet from the Vans site. Use a 1,000 caliper to measure the shop head height and diam. Don't get tricked by rivet gauges.
They measure the mean. Not the min or max.
longranger
Well Known Member
John,
You might try clamping your work to the bench to keep it stable for riveting. Chasing an assembly around on the bench with either a squeezer or rivet gun almost never ends well.
You might try clamping your work to the bench to keep it stable for riveting. Chasing an assembly around on the bench with either a squeezer or rivet gun almost never ends well.
