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Would I ever need this many Wing Nut Clecos?

blueflyer

Well Known Member
I picked up 224 wing nut clecos the other day from a friend who was getting rid of his tools. I cant imagine I would ever need this many of these things for an RV build. Can anyone think of a reason I would need this many of these things to build any model RV?



 
I'm down to the cowling work on my 9A, and I haven't used a wing-nut cleco yet.
 
There's not much need for them in an RV that I can see, however, it's always good to have a few around.

With that in mind, if you want to sell a half dozen or so of all three sizes, let me know.

Thanks
 
Since when do the words "need" and "tools" have to go together? :)

Some things are just cool!

I've got a bunch of wing nut clecos I got in a similar fashion - from a friend who had too many (who got them from another friend....). I actually used them on the -3 project when I needed some long-reach cleco action in tricky spots. Never used a single one on my RV-8 QB build before that though.
 
I've built a few airplanes and have never used a wing-nut cleco.

Of course, I use pop rivet dimplers almost exclusively so what do I know?
 
.... It's always good to have a few around.

With that in mind, if you want to sell a half dozen or so of all three sizes, let me know.

"ME TOOOOOO"
Thanks, Allan
 
If you want to sell perhaps 12 of each size to me, I'll take them. Open to options of purchase, donate to VAF, cover shipping, etc. I don't need them yet but as mentioned, need is highly subjective... I'll send you a PM.
 
Mel, I need to introduce you to the wonders of Compressed Air... :D

I've been using compressed air for over 55 years and couldn't live without it.
I just prefer to use the manual method for this job.
BTW, using this method, I can promise that you will NEVER got an extra unwanted hole.
 
I don't think I am really interested in selling them, I was just a little floored when he handed me all these! I also knew I hadn't needed any of these yet on my 7 project, but I couldn't bring myself to say, "No thanks, I'll pass on these."
 
In what situation would I use one of these instead of a spring cleco? I'm guessing you can get them a bit tighter than a spring cleco, but I've had even spring clecos pull through under too much load. Do the wing nut versions have any more grip length?
 
1/2" I think

I believe the wing nut clecos have a 1/2" grip length according to Avery Tools website. I believe the spring cleco has a max grip of 1/4".

http://www.averytools.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1070

In what situation would I use one of these instead of a spring cleco? I'm guessing you can get them a bit tighter than a spring cleco, but I've had even spring clecos pull through under too much load. Do the wing nut versions have any more grip length?
 
I used them on the line of rivets on both sides of the top skin on the 7A. but NEED. No. That many? No.

But I have a dozen for sale in the great hangar clearance sale (which I haven't really started yet) if you decide it's something you want. I might have a dozen of each.
 
I haven't seen this mentioned lately, but there used to be lots of complaints about having to use longer-than-specified rivets in various places on the plane. If someone has this problem often during the build, this might be an area where the wing nut style would prove useful to show whether a longer rivet is really needed. As a bonus, they might get a 'tighter' airframe.

Charlie
(yes, I used a few)
 
Old thread, obsolete - but it's worth mentioning that these will come in handy if you're building an RV-3B. That kit isn't like the newer ones....

Dave
 
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