Has anyone purchased tools from Isham

Was going to buy the Avery RV kit (click here) with all the tools minus the 22 inch deep throat and adding the DRDT-2 and the # 214 copy pneumatic rivet squeezer with the longeron yoke. It will run around $2,950 with S&H to my door.

Isham (click here) is selling the same kit for approximately $2,600. Should I save the $300 plus and go with Avery. I heard good things about Avery however, nothing from Isham. Isham has only 6 or 7 kit for sale that include the free pneumatic rivet squeezer.

A Few Things

I've bought a few things from Ishams...a rivet gun set, dimple dies, etc. and so far have been happy. I'm only starting on my wings though, so I haven't gotten a ton of use out of all the stuff I've bought.

I'm pretty happy with my kit from Isham's. Do yourself a favor and get a 3/32 and 1/8 vise grip dimpler from Avery's though. Isham's has been around for a lot of years as a factory aircraft rebuild center I found out from my instructor. He buys parts for his Cessnas from them sometimes.

I purchased the kit that was around $1900 which was their deluxe RV kit with the DRDT-2. They didn't have a kit with the pneumatic squeezer when I purchased mine.

The "stock" rivet gun and drill are imports and I'd recommend upgrading the drill to the Sioux for higher rpm and the variable speed. I'm wondering if I should have gotten the better rivet gun also. I need to use a high end one to compare.

I bought my tools from Isham's in Jan. He shipped when he said he would and received the tools in less than 10 days. Not bad, coming to Canada. I phoned him and substitued and deleted some tools. Received the pheumatic riveter,DRDT-2, and sioux drill. Price was right and great service.
Ordering emp on Monday. Russel

Oh, and make sure you get the DRDT-2. It is the way to go. It's fast and quiet and I can even get my wife to help me with dimpling for those reasons. Just having her involved and liking it is worth it.

I had the same experience with Isham - all communication was prompt and shipping was excellent.

I bought a longeron yoke from Isham's. It was $99 compared to $140 everywhere else. And he shipped it quickly. Arrived in 2 days.
I like Avery's also. Bob is very knowledgeable and will gladly share his knowledge with you. They also have quality tools. I have bought a lot of stuff from Avery's also. I just don't like his pricing. Some of his stuff is just way overpriced.

Check out this thread...

Here are some other comments:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=4298

Avery vs Isham's

I did a side by side comparison of tools from both Avery and Isham's. I never used aircraft tools before, so mapping 1 to 1 was somewhat of a challenge since terms vary slightly. Assuming both are quality tools what I really discovered is how close the prices really were. If I remember correctly in order to get Avery equivalent from Isham's you need to add an 90-degree angle drill or drill attachment w/bits and upgrade the palm drill to the higher quality SIOUX. Then you'll need a back riveting plate and the dimple vice grips. You also get 6 more side grips each of 1/2"x1/2" and 1/2"x1". I also upgraded to the DRDT-2 and the pneumatic rivet sqeezer with both 3" and longeron yokes. Avery priced matched the pneumatic rivet squeezer & 1 yoke to Isham's. The price difference between the extra yoke and DRDT-2 turned out to be $20 more from Avery, but they bent over backward for my business and their reputation carried the day for $2840.