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Difficult Rudder Rivet

Mikeandmaz

Active Member
On page 7:10; Step 4, the instructions say rivet the aft 8 holes common to the Bottom rib, Rudder Skin Assembly, and Attach Strip. Fig 1, on the same page shows the rivets to be completed leaving the last hole before the TE open. Did that.
Step 3 rivets the Bottom ribs together, this I?ve also done.

But now it would seem impossible to rivet that last hole left open in Step 2 as there is hardly room to get the rivet in let alone a bucking bar.

Any ideas? Apart from drilling out the blind rivets holding the two bottom ribs together.

Thanks in advance.

Mike
 
Hey Mike, I built two rudders. Looking back I probably shouldn't have, but that's another story:). The first rudder, I followed the plans and ended up right where you are. I think I used the blade of a wood chisel as a bucking bar. I may have even taped a tungsten bucking bar to the back of the chisel blade as close to the tip as I could to give a little more mass. This worked "ok".
I know we're geared to use the solid rivets at all cost, but if it will fit, I think I might try Turners idea of the blind rivet.

Not going to help you Mike, but for future rudder builders: Building my second rudder I waited rivet the lower rib together (using the 11 blind rivets) until I had those aft 9 rivets set (think I used a no-hole squeezer yoke). This way, I was able to separate the skins slightly and squeeze those tight rivets near the trailing edge. This worked much better.
 
Thanks for the help, I?m not sure in the UK we can go ?off plan? without authorisation even for small things like this. I?ve tried on the practice kit bucking one rivet against the other, my technique is obviously rubbish as the result was a disaster! So probably going down the chisel route. I can?t believe the plans lead you to this situation just by following the plans. Oh well here goes.........
 
Just for information then, I shied away from the chisel method and ended up drilling out all 11 of the blind rivets together with the rivets of the Rudder Horn. This enabled me to pull back the skin to get to the rivet in question and set it with the squeezer. Job done!

Being a first time builder I seem to be getting my fare share of drilling out rivets, at least I can do something quite well!!

Thanks again for the replies.
 
Oh how I hated this part of the rudder! I used my squeezer and a thin nose yoke to get into this area. It still wouldn't fit, so I had to use some paint stirring sticks and small wood wedges to pry open the trailing edge a bit. Then I could get the last two rivets on each side (four total).

Since I scrapped my first rudder, I get to build another one. I'm hoping it'll be easier the second time.
 
I used a Cherry Max

These are legal AN rivet replacements in certified aircraft. Make sure the grip length is correct and I get best results with a pneumatic puller.
 
These are legal AN rivet replacements in certified aircraft. Make sure the grip length is correct and I get best results with a pneumatic puller.

I'm not sure there is a cherry max rivet that small. I think the smallest you can get them is 1/8 in. These rivets are AD3's.
 
What do you guys mean by bucking the rivet against the opposing one?
Does anyone have any pics or an explanation?

(Sorry for the ignorance).
 
What do you guys mean by bucking the rivet against the opposing one?
Does anyone have any pics or an explanation?

It's harder to explain than it really is .. a very easy thing to do.

You just put a back riveting plate underneath the rudder's opposing rivet, then just use that opposing rivet as the "bucking bar" for the rivet you are driving.

The skin will bend in slightly while riveting but will bounce back when you are done leaving a perfectly bucked set of rivets.

The tip of each rivet will touch and the new rivet will give way to the opposing rivet.

It's a recognized way to rivet, we went over it in the EAA riveting class I attended, but for my life I can't remember what the procedure is called.
 
That's interesting... i'll try it on the practice kit.

I assume you need to make sure the rivet length is not too long, so that the manufactured head isn't sitting out of the dimple? (i.e. tail touching the other rivet making the rivet sit proud?)
 
I'm just finishing off my 2nd rudder build and I found that using this bucking bar I got from Cleaveland tool was just the right size to be able to buck that forward most rivet c/t the skin and rudder horn brace.

It's tungsten and pricey ($150), but it has become my go-to bucking bar and well worth the price.
 

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