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Squeezer yokes? (& where is a 4" used?)

K?hler

K?hler

Active Member
I'm ready to buy yokes for my CP-214. I'm planning on a longeron yoke and a no-hole yoke. I also plan to get the adjustable set holder.

For the no-hole yoke, is a 4" really useful? Where is it used and how much? If that depth is only needed for 6 rivets maybe I'll just get a shallower one rather than haul that big chunk of iron around. (also concerned that set holder won't work with heavier base on a 4".) I haven't begun building so I'm not sure where there might be a bunch of rivets that are between 2.5 and 4 inches of the edge. Seems like they're either real close to the edge or real far away.
 
K?hler said:
I'm ready to buy yokes for my CP-214. I'm planning on a longeron yoke and a no-hole yoke. I also plan to get the adjustable set holder.

For the no-hole yoke, is a 4" really useful? Where is it used and how much? If that depth is only needed for 6 rivets maybe I'll just get a shallower one rather than haul that big chunk of iron around. (also concerned that set holder won't work with heavier base on a 4".) I haven't begun building so I'm not sure where there might be a bunch of rivets that are between 2.5 and 4 inches of the edge. Seems like they're either real close to the edge or real far away.
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I think the need for a no hole and the need for a 4" is low. This is why I went with a 4" no hole. I use either the longeron and a standard 3" most of the time. I've got a RV-10, so this may be different on the other models.
 
4" yoke

There are a number of places where the 3" doesn't reach and the 4" will. Also, the aft end of some ribs are very narrow, and the no hole will fit in there to allow a hard rivet. Otherwise you have to use pull rivets in those locations. A 4" no hole will come in handy. See if there is one around to borrow, if not, buy one, you won't be sorry.
 
Köhler;238096 said:
For the no-hole yoke, is a 4" really useful? Where is it used and how much? If that depth is only needed for 6 rivets maybe I'll just get a shallower one rather than haul that big chunk of iron around.
Click to expand...

That kind of talk is not allowed. Dont fall into the trap:eek:

Repeat after me-------

All tools are good.:D

It is a basic requirement that men buy any tool that they think they might ever need, no matter how small the probability of use, or number of times it may be used.
 
I built my entire slow-build kit with a 3 inch yoke and never, ever saw a need for another one. There may be a few rivets you need to set here and there where a different yoke would be nice, but that's what a rivet gun is for. Those yokes are very, very expensive and some of them you *may* use as few as 4 or 5 times on the entire project.

Even the longeron yoke is not needed...if you get the Cleveland tool kit you get long squeezer die that can get around most flanges. For the actual longerons rivets, I just turned my squeezer around and squeezed them from the inside. I think the last 10 or so on each side I couldn't squeeze so I just broke out the rivet gun and was finished in no time. Honestly, I think your tool money could be spent on much more useful things than squeezer yokes. As always, your individual mileage may vary.
 
Since I am about 98% done with the squeezable rivets, I can comment on this one.

The adjustable set holder is almost a requirement to make the pnuematic usable, definately get one!

I agree with Jamie. They are not required but in many cases, they sure are "nice" to have. I bought mine 8 years ago so the pain has somewhat gone away.

If I could only buy one yoke, it would be the longeron yoke. Not for longerons, but for many other places it makes it easier. This yoke coupled with some various thickness flat sets can get into some weird places. Like Jamie said, if you take a standard yoke and put a long set in it and a thin set in the ram, you almost have a longeron yoke.

Many times just turning the squeezer around the other way works fine.

I have an Avery hand squeezer that has not been used hardly at all after I got my pnuematic squeezer. Had a friend who built an RV7 with his wife all by squeezing and bucking. I showed him my pneumatic one day and squeezed a few rivets. He said "I will kill you if you ever show that to my wife!". He was afraid for his if she saw how much easier life would have been with the pneumatic.

I have a 1-1/2" regular, 2-1/2" longeron, 3" regular, and a 4" no hole. If I can squeeze it I do, if not I buckem. Most if not all of the solid rivets in the plane can be bucked so like Jamie said, they just ain't a requirement.

I like to squeeze way more than buck on things like the emp framework, thin rib flanges and webs like in the fuse center section, rear wing spar and stuff that is not rigid or tied down. Seems to be allot safer than bucking solo. If I have a rivet partner available, I could care less, just as easy to buck.

Borrow them if you can for the few times you would need a different yoke.
 
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I've always tried to stay "under-budget" through the entire build, but I'd advocate going ahead and buying whatever yokes you think will help you do better work. Given inflation and the fact that you can't "wear out" a yoke you could easily sell it for not much less than you purchased it.

The one big flaw in my argument though is that even though I bought the longeron, and 4" no-hole, yokes using the above logic, now that I'm close to done somebody will have to pry those yokes out of my cold dead fingers.
 
A local retired A&P has built several RV's and doesn't own a squeezer of any type. Based on that, I have to conclude that a 4" yoke, or even a 3" yoke is a luxury, not a necessity. Nice to have, though.
 
Thanks for all the input. I agree that the air squeezer, and any yokes to go with it, are a luxury. But I'm into all that...

I say unto thee: ALL TOOLS ARE GOOD. :D :D :D

Anyway, I already own a squeezer with a hacked-up 1.5" std yoke, and plan to buy a couple more yokes for it. The fork in the road is between a 2.5" no-hole or a 4" no-hole. Maybe the question is how many rivets are 2.5<x<4" from the edge.
 
As another data point, the only two yokes I own are the longeron and the 4" no hole yokes. I'm currently building my first wing, and haven't yet wished I had any other yokes.

But here's the real kicker, I prefer bucking over squeezing. :eek: Did I just say that out loud?? :D
 
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