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Tungsten bucking bar

D

dareha

Member
I'm just about to order the tools so I can start working on a RV 9. I hear so much about getting a tungsten bucking bar but due to the price who can order every size and shape made. Is there one basic tungsten bucking bar that would be used more than any other shape and size? At least it would be a start.
Thank you,
Darrell Haas
Southern Oregon
RV 9A
 
Yep, the one that is slightly smaller than a Snickers bar with the slight angle on the end. I have used that bar 98% of the time.
 
You are in for a very long adventure, so invest in tools that will make the job easier and more enjoyable. There are many tools you will buy along the way that aren't always found in the standard tool kits. A tungsten bar, pneumatic squeezer, and pneumatic cleco gun come to mind. Many will say these are not required and they are right. But they will make your build more enjoyable. Buy good quality clecos. I suggest dealing with Mike at Cleaveland tool. He is always willing to help and has quality tools.
 
Bar

dareha said:
Any other advice you have as far as tools or building tips are welcome. Thank you, Darrell
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Yep. Snickers bar. Get a few. :D kidding, that's my go to bar.
I recommend starting basic and buying what you feel is needed later.
Here's a few of my recommendations...
Pneumatic squeezer with adjustable set and quick change pins, 4" and longeron yokes.
Lots of Wedgelock clekos.
Reamers
 
And you will need 45 pairs of cleco pliers as they have the ability to hide in plain view. I have spent more time looking for tools than I have building. Ditto on the tungsten bucking bars, that is an essential bit of kit.
 
This is the place to go for W-bars http://www.tungstenbuckingbars.com/prices.html

B13 is the only W-bar I own and I use it 99.9999% of the time. In any other case, I've c-clamped a piece of steel to it as an extension to buck something I cant reach with the -13 and that works for me. Gives the steel the mass it needs. I think I've done that for only 5 or 6 rivets total, and I'm basically done with rivetting now.
 
I have the cleveland tool kit, with tungsten BB. Agree with the comments above. Also recommend the DRDT dimpler, and a no-hole (thin nose) yoke. Getting ready to purchase one of those myself
 
dareha said:
Any other advice you have as far as tools or building tips are welcome. Thank you, Darrell
Click to expand...

Get the Main Squeeze! Because I have this squeezer I've never felt the need for a pneumatic squeezer. I like to be able to hold the parts together and rivet them at my desired pace, instead of all at once the way a pneumatic squeezer does. The cam leverage makes riveting easy. 1/8" rivets take a little effort, but I can set them all day without tiring. 3/32" rivets are a snap. After a while of using it, I could tell if a rivet was set all the way just by the amount of pressure I had to use. It's the best tool I own.
 
Nihon_Ni said:
Get the Main Squeeze! Because I have this squeezer I've never felt the need for a pneumatic squeezer. I like to be able to hold the parts together and rivet them at my desired pace, instead of all at once the way a pneumatic squeezer does. The cam leverage makes riveting easy. 1/8" rivets take a little effort, but I can set them all day without tiring. 3/32" rivets are a snap. After a while of using it, I could tell if a rivet was set all the way just by the amount of pressure I had to use. It's the best tool I own.
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I think folks should use whatever works best for them, but I have to point out that if you are using a pneumatic and beleive that it can only rivet "all at once", then you're using it wrong, or it is defective. Our standard pneumatic squeezer has a wonderful feathering trigger that allows us to take as long as we want to set up the alignment before actually upsetting teh rivet (or the dimple).

Paul
 
Ironflight said:
I think folks should use whatever works best for them, but I have to point out that if you are using a pneumatic and beleive that it can only rivet "all at once", then you're using it wrong, or it is defective. Our standard pneumatic squeezer has a wonderful feathering trigger that allows us to take as long as we want to set up the alignment before actually upsetting teh rivet (or the dimple).

Paul
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I completely agree. With a pneumatic squeezer, you can set a rivet blind, upside down, backwards, left handed, with a pinky finger, fast, or so slow that dinner will get cold. I've done them all, and yes, I've eaten cold dinner!

My favorite is upside down, blind, left handed, pinky trigger. Just to show off :). Of course always followed by a careful magnified inspection by all observers.

Build on!
 
I love my pneumatic squeezer. I am seriously considering getting a foot controller for it which I have heard makes them even easier to use.
 
Ironflight said:
I think folks should use whatever works best for them, but I have to point out that if you are using a pneumatic and beleive that it can only rivet "all at once", then you're using it wrong, or it is defective. Our standard pneumatic squeezer has a wonderful feathering trigger that allows us to take as long as we want to set up the alignment before actually upsetting teh rivet (or the dimple).

Paul
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Paul,

Thanks for the insight. Perhaps the one I tried didn't have a feathering trigger -- or perhaps I was using it wrong. Even so, I'd still stick with the Main Squeeze. Perhaps I just don't know what the other side is really like, but I've been happy with it and haven't found a reason to search for another solution.

Paul brings up a good point that took me a while to discover here on VAF. There are a lot of areas where people just like what they have, although they have very different things. (Just search for primer, constant speed props, aileron trim, etc. and you'll see what I mean.) Tools is definitely one of those areas.

Rob
 
During my build I have a friend that has helped me buck rivets when I needed it. He has a tungsten bar that he always brings with him and seems to love. I guess everyone likes something different but I have not really liked it, I prefer one that is big enough to get a good hold of, I use the biggest one I can fit in the space. I feel like I can control the bigger bars better. With that said the tungsten bar is great for getting in tight places.
 
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