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How bad is it? (back riveting oops)

bkmerrill

Member
Well, I did it. The thing I said I wouldn't do. I riveted off the edge of my back rivet plate and damaged my rudder skin. SEE PHOTOS HERE.

Will be putting a call into Vans, but hoping someone here can talk me off the cliff. Is this a, "Buy a new skin don't even think about continuing," OR "A little paint filler after completion will take care of that?"

Few positives: 1) It was barely off the plate, so wasn't able to push down to workbench and punch through, 2) I caught it on about the 3rd hit of the rivet gun. I went ahead and dimpled the hole again, and that looks fine along with the stiffener, but wondering about the dent/crease on the outside of the skin. Thoughts?
 
Doesn?t look too bad to me, as long as the crease isn?t too sharp/deep? If the dimpled hole is compromised, you could just add an extra rivet either side and fill before paint, the same as you would treat the inevitable double dimple or smiley. My opinion only :)
 
I don't think that looks bad at all. Honestly do not beat yourself up. Many, many builders have done the same thing and quite frankly in my opinion every RV needs to have one of these somewhere for it to be a real plane :p;). I suspect they will get you to buff out the sharp edges and build on. A little filler and paint makes it disappear.

Call Vans and tell them the web address to see your photos. They always give the best advice.
 
You have nothing to worry about structurally. Do a very slight bit of buffing at the edges and move on; this is nothing to be concerned about. Your ego may be bruised, but your plane isnt.

Build on MacDuff!
 
Brandon,
You can also flip your dies in the dimple machine and you can get rid of the drag marks from hole to hole.

Boomer
 
Welcome to the club!

As others have said, eventually all of us make an "oops" like this. Sometimes more spectacular, sometimes less. :)

It's all part of the building / learning process. Doesn't looks like it's too bad and hopefully you can clean it up and build on. (If you are stressing over it, just order new parts) Just about anything can be fixed one way or another.

(I was worried you had a crack in photo 4, but looks like that was just the lighting for that one photo).
 
I don't think that looks bad at all. Honestly do not beat yourself up. Many, many builders have done the same thing and quite frankly in my opinion every RV needs to have one of these somewhere for it to be a real plane :p;). I suspect they will get you to buff out the sharp edges and build on. A little filler and paint makes it disappear.

Call Vans and tell them the web address to see your photos. They always give the best advice.

+1 I did the same, and have suggested to others to use a magnet to mark the end of the backplate, or make a huge plate so ends are never met.
 
Are you guys for real sugar coating this?

Pic 5 clearly shows a crack in the skin at the 270 degree position from the hole unless I'm mistaken?
If you look hard enough it is also visible in pic 1 & 10.
That definitely is a structural problem and will become a bigger one in time if not addressed now.
At the very least it needs to be stop drilled before moving on. ( or the skin replacing if you are building a "show plane")

Filler and paint can hide many mistakes but it does nothing for the structural integrity of the airframe.
 
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Are you guys for real sugar coating this?

Pic 5 clearly shows a crack in the skin at the 270 degree position from the hole unless I'm mistaken?
If you look hard enough it is also visible in pic 1 & 10.
That definitely is a structural problem and will become a bigger one in time if not addressed now.
At the very least it needs to be stop drilled before moving on. ( or the skin replacing if you are building a "show plane")

Filler and paint can hide many mistakes but it does nothing for the structural integrity of the airframe.

I was thinking there was a crack as well, but can't 100% be sure it wasn't from the light. It looked bad on one picture, but could have just been a reflection. OP will need to verify the dimple isn't cracked.
 
There is not a crack at the hole. What y?all are seeing is tape residue from the rivet tape I was using getting torn/smeared during the oops. I cleaned it off for some of the photos. The only visible damage is the dent/crease on the outside of the skin.

I cannot see the inside of the skin because the stiffener is already in place. I?m considering drilling out the stiffener enough that I can inspect the inside surface of the skin.
 
Brandon,
You can also flip your dies in the dimple machine and you can get rid of the drag marks from hole to hole.

Boomer

I think the drag marks are caused by the alcad. The outer pure aluminum part of the alcad is very soft. The marks dont matter, but I try to avoid them.
 
I cannot see the inside of the skin because the stiffener is already in place. I?m considering drilling out the stiffener enough that I can inspect the inside surface of the skin.

Don?t do it! You risk causing far greater damage.
Polish the hole a bit with scotchbrite and it will dull the surface giving you a better idea of the depth of the creases.
Since it is backed by the stiffener, you might try planishing the surface. Most dont have planishing tools, but a cuticle tool ?pusher? will work. It won?t ?fix? it but I have had success making the area smoother.

This is really minor damage.
 
Suggestion

I agree with everyone, it does not look bad at all. Put a rivet in it and see how it pulled together. If not, you could do an oops rivet.

When I built mine I did not like the way the fiberglass top merged into the tailbone. I filled all the rivets from the top skin of the tailcone as well as the rudder and VS. I really liked how it turned out and would do it again. You could do the same for the rudder and VS. Mine look like they are carbon fiber they are so smooth. I did not do the HS or elevators.

Just a thought. Keep pounding away and get flying!
 
Brandon,
You can also flip your dies in the dimple machine and you can get rid of the drag marks from hole to hole.
Boomer

After missing the die once or twice, with the male one on top, I moved the die to the bottom of the frame. Yes, sometimes I get a mild mark, no biggie, but having that male one on the bottom makes locating the hole much more likely.

Dave
 
After missing the die once or twice, with the male one on top, I moved the die to the bottom of the frame. Yes, sometimes I get a mild mark, no biggie, but having that male one on the bottom makes locating the hole much more likely.

Dave

I leave the female die in the bottom and take the C-frame return spring out.

I can then lift the die and place it in the hole manually, when I hit it I know the hole will be correct. Lifting the male die prevent any scratches.
 
I leave the female die in the bottom and take the C-frame return spring out.

I can then lift the die and place it in the hole manually, when I hit it I know the hole will be correct. Lifting the male die prevent any scratches.

I am with David on this one. Having the mail on the botom allows you to quickly locate the next hole and keep moving along the line efficiently. I never scratched any skins.
Whatever gets the job done but make sure you don't accidentally drop the ram or you are going to be very unhappy with yourself.
 
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