When I bought my RV-9 empennage kit I also bought a tool kit from Bob Avery. At the time (about 10 years ago) I'm not sure Isham was in business (at least I had not heard of him) and Cleaveland Tools just didn't make my radar screen for some reason. I'm now working on the finishing kit and I'll make a few observations.
1. I don't think there is any tool in the Avery Kit that I have not used and found to be necessary, which says a lot about how carefully he thought his kit out and what to include and not include. I have added stuff.
2. The quality of the tools in the Avery kit has generally been very good to excellent. The exception was the right angle drill (which gave up after less than an hour of actual use). The countersink cage is marginal, imo and gets too hot, too fast. I still use it but you can find better ones used on e-bay if you look.
3. Dealing with Avery Tool, and Bob Avery in particular is been a great experience. He has been absolutely fair to me at a minimum and one one occasion went well beyond the call of duty. I have bought tools (particularly drill bits) from him because of their quality and because of him.
4. If I were doing it again I'd likely buy the basic kit from Avery (possibly Cleaveland) but I'd delete two items for sure - the aforementioned right angle drill. I'd bite the bullet and buy a good one, not an add on for a drill. Second, I think I'd delete the dimple dies and get them from Cleaveland tool. There's nothing wrong per se with Avery's dies but I think the design is better on the Cleaveland die. Mike Lauritsen seems to be something of a tool design connoisseur. He redesigned the dimple die and the improvement is observable. He's also done this with the Main Squeeze (something else to consider substituting) and I believe a couple of other tools.
5. Somehow (I know this is almost unbelievable) I have managed to drive or squeeze all of the 15,000 +/- rivets so far without either a DDRT-2 or a pneumatic squeezer. If I were doing it again though, I might give both of these a second look. Neither are necessary but both are apparently nice. I figure I save 700-1,000 bucks by not buying these tool (well the DDRT-2 wasn't around when I started). I have no regrets.
6. Don't go cheap with any of your tools. For the ones you use all the time like your drill (and drill bits) bite the bullet and go first class. I love my Sioux drill. Consider at least one tungsten bucking bar.
7. In a related matter, build several EAA tables (I use 3 regularly) to prep and build the smaller parts and assemblies and most important, add lots of light to your shop. Tables and lighting make a big difference in how you're able to use your tools. If I were to add one tool, and oddly I've never seen it mentioned here, it would be a drill doctor. It sharpens bits and once you learn to use it, it's simple and quick to use. Dull bits wonder off, don't cut round holes, are hard to use, etc. Keep your bits sharp. As I recall it was about $100 and was money well spent.
