Wing skins

[Av8torTom]

Wing skin rivets exceeding expectations - Wonderful...

Having your daughter operate the rivet gun - Priceless...

 

[krw5927]

Great work, you two! By the way, is that a brew kettle or just a turkey fryer that your daughter I resting her foot on?

 

[apkp777]

Great work, you two! By the way, is that a brew kettle or just a turkey fryer that your daughter I resting her foot on?

Looks like a home-brew pot?

 

[Av8torTom]

Sadly...

just a turkey fryer. My "home brew" skills are limited to boats and airplanes... well, part of an airplane so far

 

[apkp777]

Sorry about the seemingly disinterest in the wings (they look great), after your plane is done kickin back drinking some brew takes an important place in most builder's lives. Learning to play guitar also seems popular. For now keep on building!

 

[BSwayze]

Wow, NICE riveting work, Tom! Those look flawless. Nice riveting partner, too. (Can I borrow her for a while when you're finished? LOL)

Is that a red C-Frame I see reflected in the top photo? May I make a suggestion? Your dimples for the screws on the fuel tank are showing some shallow craters around them, indicating under-dimpling. If you take that C-frame out and give each one of those dimples another good solid whack or two, those shallow depressions will go away. You can thank me later, if you like. I learned this the hard way.

Keep up the great work!

 

[Av8torTom]

Thanks

Bruce - I totally agree; on my to do list to try. I wasn't thinking and used a squeezer. You think it will make a difference at this point?

 

[BSwayze]

Bruce - I totally agree; on my to do list to try. I wasn't thinking and used a squeezer. You think it will make a difference at this point?

Oh yes! Do it while you can, before you take the wings off the jig. It'll be much easier to take those tanks off and put them back on now while they're upright than it would be later when they're pointed down in a cradle, and especially before the bottom skins are riveted on. With such great looking rivets, you'll be glad you did it. The c-frame is the tool to use. You can rig it up somehow on the workbench, maybe get your riveting partner to help you hold the tank while you take care of them. Smack them HARD at least once or twice (I'd go twice). It'll fix them for sure.

 

[swixtt]

insp. covers

hey bruce, does that go for the insp. covers too?

i tried that on my covers and couldn't get a crisp dimple.

 

[BSwayze]

hey bruce, does that go for the insp. covers too?

i tried that on my covers and couldn't get a crisp dimple.

Absolutely! It's true for any dimple. However, I found that the bigger the dimple (i.e., dimples for screws) the more force it takes to get a good solid flat dimple. I really don't think you can hit them too hard or too many times. "Beat that aluminum into submission". I have to add, also, that I have good quality dimple dies. But this technique is the most important part. You can always practice on some scrap to prove it to yourself first, but once I learned this, it worked for me.