Maybe we can make this a sticky as it would be tremendously helpful for new guys.
Most of us are new to the building process and a lot of these tools. One of the most useful tools is a Pneumatic Squeezer for clean dimpling and riveting.
When you first start out, just just kind of buy what you are told, such is the case with a Pneumatic Squeezer.
But, as a new guy, you probably have never used one so you don't really know how it's supposed to work.
We went through half of our empennage kit before realizing our Pneumatic Squeezer wasn't working as it should. You are supposed to have a good bit of control of the trigger.
The one we purchased, which was a Chinese copy of an American made unit, provided in one of the popular toolkits, just "slammed" shut as soon as you put any pressure on the trigger. Of course, this made riveting with it impossible, so we went back to the rivet gun.
Later, I watched a video that made me think that we were a) doing it wrong or b) had a bad Pneumatic Squeezer. I went back to the shop, did some testing, and then ordered a new unit.
The new unit arrived and wow what an amazing difference, full control over the squeezing process, everything was consistent and as it was supposed to be.
But how was I supposed to know that the Chinese knock-off wasn't working correctly? It was working, just no consistent trigger control, we simply didn't know any better and it lead to so many missed opportunities to use the squeezer.
For the new guys, squeezing rivets can give you a much nicer finished product than hammering on them with the rivet gun while your riveting skills are honed. It's also faster and more comfortable to use. Not all rivets can be squeezed because you simply can't get to them with the squeezer, but a lot of them can.
Hopefully this will help someone from making the same mistake we did.
The American made squeezer that I upgraded to and works like it's supposed to is sold by Cleveland Tool. It's expensive, totally worth it, and most importantly a joy to use.
Most of us are new to the building process and a lot of these tools. One of the most useful tools is a Pneumatic Squeezer for clean dimpling and riveting.
When you first start out, just just kind of buy what you are told, such is the case with a Pneumatic Squeezer.
But, as a new guy, you probably have never used one so you don't really know how it's supposed to work.
We went through half of our empennage kit before realizing our Pneumatic Squeezer wasn't working as it should. You are supposed to have a good bit of control of the trigger.
The one we purchased, which was a Chinese copy of an American made unit, provided in one of the popular toolkits, just "slammed" shut as soon as you put any pressure on the trigger. Of course, this made riveting with it impossible, so we went back to the rivet gun.
Later, I watched a video that made me think that we were a) doing it wrong or b) had a bad Pneumatic Squeezer. I went back to the shop, did some testing, and then ordered a new unit.
The new unit arrived and wow what an amazing difference, full control over the squeezing process, everything was consistent and as it was supposed to be.
But how was I supposed to know that the Chinese knock-off wasn't working correctly? It was working, just no consistent trigger control, we simply didn't know any better and it lead to so many missed opportunities to use the squeezer.
For the new guys, squeezing rivets can give you a much nicer finished product than hammering on them with the rivet gun while your riveting skills are honed. It's also faster and more comfortable to use. Not all rivets can be squeezed because you simply can't get to them with the squeezer, but a lot of them can.
Hopefully this will help someone from making the same mistake we did.
The American made squeezer that I upgraded to and works like it's supposed to is sold by Cleveland Tool. It's expensive, totally worth it, and most importantly a joy to use.
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