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Minimum required tools for RV practice kit

Bynan

I'm New Here
After reading way too many forum posts and watching way too many YouTube videos, I have decided on a 12iS. But first I want to build the practice kit and the tookbox. However, I don't want to spend $1,000 in tools just for that, in case working on those discourages me, which I doubt, but still...

Can anyone point me to a list of the minimum required tools for accomplishing that task? And I mean a list with links to actual products on amazon or harbor freight or something? The Van's site has a list of tools with double asterisks by the ones needed for the practice kit, but it just says 'one 1/4" thingamabob'. If I don't really know what that thingamabob is, then it's hard to be sure I'm getting the right one.
 
Suggestion - find nearest EAA chapter. I'm sure tools can be borrowed for initial test build.
 
Welcome to VAF

After reading way too many forum posts and watching way too many YouTube videos, I have decided on a 12iS.

Bryan, welcome to VAF-----and congrats on your choice of planes.

Second to the EAA suggestion.
 
Tool

My most important 'tool' was a man who offered to help me get started. I am a very handy guy who has built houses and serviced a few autos and that didn't even qualify me to do an acceptable job on my RV-12 without help. Never worked with metal or fiberglass. My helper got me started off right including which tools to buy.

Go to an airport nearby, walk around, and look for someone who has an RV. Chances are good that that person will help you get started or direct you to someone who is currently building an RV. Helping someone else build his RV will get you started off well. You will see what it takes to work on an RV and then you may decide either to build or not build. You will find this out after only a few sessions wherein you help build the other persons RV. PM me if you would like to discuss this on the phone.
 
Mentor

My most important 'tool' was a man who offered to help me get started. I am a very handy guy who has built houses and serviced a few autos and that didn't even qualify me to do an acceptable job on my RV-12 without help. Never worked with metal or fiberglass. My helper got me started off right including which tools to buy.

Go to an airport nearby, walk around, and look for someone who has an RV. Chances are good that that person will help you get started or direct you to someone who is currently building an RV. Helping someone else build his RV will get you started off well. You will see what it takes to work on an RV and then you may decide either to build or not build. You will find this out after only a few sessions wherein you help build the other persons RV. PM me if you would like to discuss this on the phone.

Agreed. You could also look up the nearest EAA Chapter, attend a meeting and ask around for a Mentor. Build one or both of the practice kits together, drill them apart and reassemble. By then, youll have a really good handle on which tools you want/need.
 
I agree fully with both the recommendation to find someone to mentor your practice kit and to look for one of the EAA Sport Air workshops to get a good start on building.

Also, you should be aware that the practice kits use mostly solid rivets that are driven or squeezed, while I believe the RV-12 is mostly pulled rivets, so easier to put together. You might consider ordering some pulled rivets with the practice kit and substitute them to get a better idea of how the RV-12 will be built. A phone call or email to Van's builder assist may find someone to help you determine the best rivets to order to modify the practice kit.
 
Second Larry’s idea,

Before even starting practice with scrap the following: Assemble, take apart, and reassemble. Taking apart is a required skill. Try doing the reassembly with different style rivets (solid vs pulled) and then take apart again. Intentionally over squeeze some solid rivets and see how the parts “pucker” apart.

By the way this will not be frustration free.

-Dave
 
What will it be like to build the -12iS

Bynan, consider taking the fundamental course from Synergy Air in Eugene, Or.
https://synergyair.com/
They are just one state up from you. You will get a very good idea of what building the -12iS is like from their one day class. They provide all the tools. I took the class before deciding to proceed with the project. Have no regrets. The other thing I did was attend Oshkosh for the first time. Wow, that was a real eye opener. Leaned a lot. Good luck.
 
You can get by with minimal tools for a practice kit. There are many ways to do certain operations. Some of them are more time consuming than others. If you have any hand tools you probably have some of the tools that you will need. You can use a cordless drill for example until you decide you are committed to building more of the kits. I use some of the files I had previously for knocking off the punch marks before final sanding the parts edges. If you don?t have any files then just start with a little rougher sand paper and finish off with 220. The one thing you will probaby need is a hand rivet squeezer. I have a Tatco and really like it. There are clones too. Take a look at the yardstore.com they are very reasonable.

I would suggest you buy the kit and take it one step at a time. Just buy as you go. As others have mentioned take the EAA sheetmetal course and that will get you started. With the course they provide the tools and show you the correct technique. They give up in Wattsonville but maybe there is a place closer to you down in SoCal.

Also most builders would probably be willing to help you build a practice kit if you can track down a builder local to you.
 
All of these suggestions are excellent advice . . . for building an actual airplane.

But Bynan asked what tools he’d need to build the Toolbox. The practice kit isn’t only to “practice.” It also lets people find out whether they even enjoy pulling rivets, etc. — an important bit of knowledge for someone who’s never done it before. If building the practice kit turns out to be a chore instead of a joy, then building a whole plane can be skipped, and a factory-built or used plane can be purchased and frustration can be avoided.

If anyone has, or can create, the list that Bynan asked for, I’d love to see it too.
 
Practice kits for RV12?

For what it's worth, neither of the practice kits are particularly applicable to building an RV12. They predate the RV12 by years and are designed to teach rivet gun riveting along with some very basic sheet metal skills. The tools called out for the practice kits contain pneumatic rivet guns, bucking bars, back rivet plates, etc. None of these are needed or useful for an RV12 build.

Skip the practice kits. Don't spend any money yet. Take the advice of others here in the thread and find someone near that is working on a -12 and willing to share some time with you. There must be dozens of -12 builders in central Cal. near you. Van's can supply you with contact information.

A related question is what tools are necessary to maintain an RV-12 that perhaps you have bought and not built. In that case, a good reference point would be to look at an RV12 tool kit and go down the list deleting what is pretty obviously not needed. Examples of not needed would be any pneumatic tools. And you obviously would not need over 300 clecos but you would need maybe a dozen in each size. Using the list as guidance you could probably order items individually as you identify the need.
 
I started the RV journey this year by first attending Troy Grover's RV Build Class in Denver in late Feb before I bought any tools. http://grov-air.com/Classes.aspx. We built the practice kit together and his guidance was invaluable. I would highly recommend attending an RV-build workshop.
 
+1 for the EAA sheet metal class. That was my reality-check to see if this was something I really wanted to do. The class was two days about 7 hours a day.
 
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