Mis-drilled Trim Tab and then some

So I am embarrassed to say, I mis-drilled the left trim tab completely. This was the first part i match drilled (bought partially built Emp kit). The horns were first drilled to #30 then I continued match drilling the rest of the skin to the spar with #30. Can I just use AN426-4 rivets in place of the -3 rivets? This happened last week and I've been kicking myself in the butt about it ever since.

Also, riveted 5 left elevator top skin ribs backwards..ugh!!! this happened today. Drilled out 2 of the ribs before the NEW sioux drill took a dump! Can I just upsize what used to be #40 (AN426-3) holes to #30 and use AN426-4 rivets for these 20 or so rivets on these 5 ribs?

Not sure whats up with the NEW Sioux drill. The drill sounds slow and continues to slow down with the trigger held until it stops completely. Hopefully its covered under warranty. Just got the thing last week. It rained a ton today and had the garage door open. Not sure if humidity was an issue. Have an email out to Cleveland Tools to see if they will replace it or if I'm screwed.

Finally broke down and sent an email to VANS support and started this thread.

ouch!!

Obviously wait for Van's response but in general here are some things to consider when contemplating upsizing...

First... slow down, read through entire sections before starting things to have a better overall understanding. Easy advice to give hard to follow.

Second... if you'll continually lose sleep mulling over the "fix" down the road replace the part now.

Edge distance for flush head rivets is recommended at 2 1/2 times the diameter of the rivet. Is there enough edge distance left in both the skins and the spars & ribs to allow for #30's?

If dimpling your probably OK but if countersinking the skin thickness must support the depth required for a larger head.

You should practice drilling out rivets so as not to bugger the hole. Drill the heads only and use an awl to pop the head off the shank. Then use a punch to drive the shank out of the hole.

You can purchase several different sizes of "oops" rivets from Van's which have a -3 head but a -4 shank. These can be used sparingly for holes you might have buggered up. Word of caution though the oops rivets are not structurally equivalent and should be used sparingly. This post covers it quite well http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=1025378&postcount=11.

bwestfall said:

You should practice drilling out rivets so as not to bugger the hole. Drill the heads only and use an awl to pop the head off the shank. Then use a punch to drive the shank out of the hole.

Click to expand...

Yup, holes are still nice and round, just a bit bigger.

This is the reply I received from Vans:

Well, we’ve all done something like this.

At this point, without too much work invested, it would be best to just get new parts for the trim tab and do it right. Using -4 rivets on light skins like the trim tab is difficult to do well. You might be able to re-rivet the ribs with either -3 or -4 rivets, depending on how much larger the holes have become. In the end, you’re the one who’ll have to be happy with it. The cost of new parts will be a pretty tiny fraction of the finished airplane.

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Check the trigger on your drill. It may have a stop nut preventing the trigger from engaging all the way.

Luis,

This might be a dumb question but i'll ask anyway, did you oil the drill? If not get some tool oil and put a couple of drops into the air inlet. Everything rusts here like crazy. Same goes for all the other air tools.
I insulated my garage door and got a portable air conditioner, otherwise there was no way I could work during the summer months. The other problem is that
if you sweat on the parts it doesn't do any good.
At least get a dehumidifier to save your tools from rusting.

You are welcome to borrow my drill until you get yours fixed.

Lenny

Check the trigger on your drill. It may have a stop nut preventing the trigger from engaging all the way

Click to expand...

The trigger feels the same. In other words, no change in distance. When I hold the trigger for full RPM, it sounds like its struggling, is certainly not spinning at 6000 RPM, and it slows down to a stop after about 15 sec of constant trigger pull. Something is definitely not right with it. I would take it apart and take a peak but I have never taken a pneumatic drill apart and its only 1-2 weeks old.

Called Cleaveland Tool yesterday because I had not received an email reply. They had already shipped a replacement via USPS 2 day priority mail in less than 24 hours of sending the email!! THATS GREAT SERVICE!! 2 THUMBS up for Cleaveland Tools!

Lenny Iszak said:

Luis,

This might be a dumb question but i'll ask anyway, did you oil the drill? If not get some tool oil and put a couple of drops into the air inlet. Everything rusts here like crazy. Same goes for all the other air tools.
I insulated my garage door and got a portable air conditioner, otherwise there was no way I could work during the summer months. The other problem is that
if you sweat on the parts it doesn't do any good.
At least get a dehumidifier to save your tools from rusting.

You are welcome to borrow my drill until you get yours fixed.

Lenny

Click to expand...

Lenny,

Yes, I have been putting 1 drop of oil at the end of every day I use the drill. That day it took a dump, it got 5 drops just to see if it would free up. It didn't help a bit.

Yup, insulated my garage door 5 years ago. Still super hot in the garage. Planning on a portable AC in the near future. I was testing out keeping the laundry door open to see if that would be enough. The laundry door open doesn't make a dent in the heat.

Lenny, I have to come by one day soon. Timing just hasn't been right yet for me.

oil it regularly

Sounds like you had a defective drill, but it is important to oil.

I had a 3x rivet gun that I bought in 1998 and never used, but that's another story. When I went to use it a few months ago it would sporadically work. I pumped WD40 and oil thru it like crazy. Fill it up till it comes out, cover the air exhaust with a shop rag and squeeze the trigger. After about 30 minutes it got almost perfect. Added a drop of oil every riveting session and it's working fine now.

Air drill? and a compressor running? and a hose to drag around? my drill of choice is the Dewalt 12V 1.9 Lb! built an airplane with it!

I have a lithium Bosch PS31 and I love it, but the little Sioux with a 3/8 polyurethane hose is not bad to haul around it's just awesome for drilling aluminum. Just don't try to drill steel with it at 6,000 rpm.