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Miscellanous Tips

anonymous contributor to the Western Canada RVator

Drilling Out Rivets

There may be a time when a builder is faced with the unwelcome task of drilling out one or many rivets due to a need to replace for whatever reason.  I just de-riveted the entire rear spar of the H/stab I am rebuilding, and did not damage or over-size one hole.  Here is how to do it.  The larger the rivet, the more daunting it seems, but it is no big deal.

First, mark the centre of the rivet with either a #40 drill bit, or even a push-punch.  Next, drill the head with a #30 bit, and snap it off with a 1/8” punch (or point of the drill bit, if you’re lazy).  Change back to a #40 bit, and drill as far down into the rivet as you can without going right through.  Take a 3/32” punch and tap out the rivet with a small hammer, using soft blows.

You will be able to take out as many rivets as you need to without any damage to the original rivet hole.  Remember, I’m talking about 1/8” rivets and up.

Leading Edge Dents

Dropped a bucking bar on your nice aileron or elevator ?  I had a fuel tank all finished except for the rear baffle, when I stood it on end to slather some rivet tails.  It fell over onto a concrete floor, like a tree in the forest.  Bang!  I nearly S*** my drawers.  Can you imagine building up a new tank and matching all the holes in the spar, et cetera?

There was a dent in the leading edge right at the cusp.  What I did was get a piece of 2x4, round the nose of it (flat side top and bottom), reach into the tank with it, and press and roll the metal back.  You can’t have any edges or corners or it will transfer these to the damage you already have.  If space is too restricted, try a piece of hardwood, rounded, and work the dent the same way.  You may try the handle of a hammer (rounded) or whatever works.

If you gently rub the area with a piece of steel (very gently), this will cause the area to shine so that you may see it better.  Then you want to hold a rounded piece of steel, such as the nose bucking bar that Avery sells, against the dent, and then use a plastic hammer to gently tap, tap the damage on the outside.  It wont be perfect, but it will be much better than before and you can fill it with Bondo or whatever filler you want.  My dent is now so faint, (before any filling), that I have to look for the ding that was there.  (Remember that you can only tap metal against metal so much before you will begin to stretch it and end up with an oil canning spot, especially in the very thin skins.)

Try it, it worked for me.

Countersinking Thin Material

Another tip;..if you want to countersink thin material for nutplates or whatever, and are afraid of wobbling a big hole, get a “rosebud,” which is a tiny bit such as is found in Dremel hobby kits.  These things look like a tear or water droplet on a thin shank.  Put it in your drill and dress out the hole for countersinking, using deft little touches like a dentist would do drilling out your enamel.  No pilot guide is used and you can see and control your cuts very well.  Furthermore, no scallops or chatter type cuts ensue.  Beautiful little tool.  Ask about it.

For real tight spots where you need to put a nutplate, such as mounting the wing tanks close in by the inboard end, and you can’t get a dimpler in there because of no room behind, ask Avery about their one side dimpler.  This tool uses a die and an Allen wrench to pull the dimple from the outside.  It’s a gem.  Many thanks to Scott at Van’s for this one.
 

Removing Smileys

Another tip; if you have put a smile in a rivet and feel that it is not serious enough to warrant removal, but you don’t want the smile to show, get a “radius file” (a thin file with a curved, hook like tip, which is shaped to accept your finger-tip) and use this to dress out the scar.  The rivet no longer has a blemish on its head.

Also, a thin, round, rat-tail file is handy for rounding out and radiusing tight corners on aluminum.

Unibits

Another wonderful addition to your goody box is a “Unibit.”  These do a very nice job of cutting clean, large holes, unlike a conventional bit that will dig in sometimes and beat you in a wrist wrestle faster than Whipper Billy Watson.

Unused Proseal

Lastly, if you have any Proseal  (unmixed) left, keep it to attach fairings, such as the tips on the tail group.  This stuff may smell like it would gag a maggot, but I love the stuff for its versatility and utility.

Elevator Trim Tabs

Almost forgot:  when you make up the trim tab for the elevator, don’t bother trying to bend those little tabs over and get it just perfect.  Instead, use the blocks of particle board that came in the kit, (the sharp ends) and a scrap of .020, and make up two little ribs.  You can do a nice job of riveting the top of this little rib and just use pops on the bottom, and “VOILA,” you have a great looking tab and elevator that line up perfectly and leave a uniform gap just the way you want it.
 

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