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Tricks for riveting 601J angles to firewall on 7/9?

A

alpinelakespilot2000

Well Known Member
I'm refabricating and replacing one of the F601J (I think) alum. angles on my firewall--they are the ones that attach at the center bottom of the firewall and point aft. One of my originals did not get drilled as straight as I would have like, so this time I drilled it using the drill press.

All that aside, has anyone found a real good way for riveting the four holes in those angles that are right at the inside radius? They are so close to the bend that I haven't yet riveted them for fear of them setting funny. I back riveted all the others with success but don't think I can get the back rivet set on those 4. Better just to do it with a flush set and bucking bar? Also, maybe I'm just worried about nothing, but it seems like the shop head is going to have to sit on the radius a little. Any quick suggestions? Thanks.
 
Timely Question

Wow, good timing on this question. I just drilled the pair of F601-J's this morning for my 9A firewall. Was wondering the same thing!
 
The rivets do sit on a bit of a radius. I did these almost two years ago on the bench using a C arm and back riveting, as I recall. I put a flush set in the bottom hole of the C arm and back riveted through the top C arm hole. I wasn't real pleased with the riveting results but I have since looked at the prototype RV7 and my rivets are set as well or better. The rivet call outs are a little short as I recall, but be careful. Longer rivets tip easily here. Since you are replacing an installed part you can't very well use a C arm. I have a rivet set I have had for 30 years that is very handy in these kinds of tight situations. Don't know where I got it. (Try The Yard.) It is a flush set with the face the same diameter as the shank. It is good for getting into tight places but it is a two handed operation for sure. Woe unto him who slips off of the rivet! I would get (or make) one of these sets and back rivet. Good luck. Steve
 
Ditto on the c-frame. That's how I set them. I've actually started setting all my AN426AD4's and AN470AD4's with the c-frame if it's possible. Very consistant results. Three good whacks with the dead blow hammer and I have a good rivet.
 
Thanks for the replies. It sounds like this is where the C-frame really pays for itself (and the one place where my DRDT falls short)! Since I don't have the c-frame, I'll try to find another way to back rivet, probably along the lines Stephen and William mention. Suicide set... that's a good one! :eek: Have a good weekend.
 
You do not need to put this in the C frame to back rivet. You can do it as you did the stiffeners in the empennage. Assuming you have a back riveting plate. Lay it on that and back rivet using the C frame rod in a rivet gun or use a hammer and any available piece of steel that you can use to strike the shop head. I have several flush rivet sets of various diameters or you could use an old rivet set for a standard rivet and grind it flat. Usually, if you purchase a riveting set you get a set for a very large rivet that you will never use....so why not grind it flat and use it occasionally?
Anyway, this should end up being easier than you think.
 
Stephen Lindberg said:
You don't have to whack. Use the rivet gun. Steve
Click to expand...
Ok, pneumatically whacking it works too. Many, many people use the c-frame method for riveting and it is perfectly acceptable. There is absolutely nothing magical or special about a rivet gun. Using the c-frame allows one to drive very precise rivets every single time with almost never an exception. Here's why:

a) it allows you to very precisely set the rivet. You ever squeezed your rivet gun on a rivet to drive it a little more and overdid it? With the c-frame you can just tap it lightly until it's the exact size you want.

b) It gets your work perfectly perpindicular every time. In other words, you won't get any tipped rivets, no smilies from the universal head set, etc.

c) This method works very well when you're riveting something very thick (i.e. those angles mentioned by the original poster). Contrary to popular belief, when you're driving a rivet through thicker material it takes longer to set the rivet because the thicker material is absorbing some of the impact of the gun. I used this method to rivet my vertical channels to my center section and it worked beautifully. In the old days of RV building the plans called for the c-frame method to rivet the entire spars.
 
Thanks for the posts. They helped immensely. I tracked down a c-frame and the 4-5 rivets I still needed to set turned out great. Like Jamie mentions, the hammer was all that was needed. If I were doing a whole bunch the gun on the set would be great, but 3-4 hits were all that were required and was very controllable with the hammer in a way that they would not be with the gun. Highly recommended method and, if I ever build again, will buy my own c-frame to complement my DRDT2. Thanks again.
 
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