What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV-7Will 369KW

Tywill25

I'm New Here
Hello All,

I recently started to pursue the long process of building an RV-7. Last week I built some EAA1000 tables for my garage and recieved a complete tool kit from Cleveland Aircraft Tools. This week I started to build the Vans practice tool box. I have used tools almost my whole life, but never riveting tools. I am so excited to start the empennage which is sitting in boxes on my garage shelf. Can anyone please look at my toolbox pictures and let me know how my dimples and rivets look? I am using a DRDT2 for the dimples and a combination of the Cleveland 22 Main Squeeze and 3x Rivet Gun/Tungsten bar for the rivets. Thanks

IMG_4007.JPG


IMG_4005.JPG
 
I cannot tell for sure - did you set the tail of the rivet in a dimple? That's only done in very special circumstances. I cannot say for sure, but you know you want the tail to be half the thickness, and 3/2 the diameter, of the original rivet shank.
 
Hammer harder

You are doing fine. But looking at the pictures I think you are making the same mistake I made on my Horizontal Stabilizer.

I was timid hammering the C-frame machine when doing those first dimples on the HS. When people walk up to me at Oshkosh and express worries as to whether or not they can build an RV, I assure them that I had all of those same worries. I show them two levels of craftsmanship on the Doll. I point out the riveting on the HS as compare to rivets on the elevator inches away. The difference suddenly becomes clear. The dimples on the HS are incomplete. I learned to hit the C-frame twice with the hammer. Once to set the dimple and a second firm strike to level the skin around the dimple. I was afraid of smashing and stretching the metal of the skin. I quickly got over that! Therefore, my HS dimples look kinda like yours. The result are rivets that are set in a mild depression where the skin is not level with the head of the rivet. This is not unsafe, just cosmetic.

Out of the hundreds of people that have looked at the Doll over the last fifteen years non of them have noticed, or made any comments about them, but I see them every time I walk by the tail. I would love to have a do-over there. I even considered building a new HS when the service bulletin came out on the front spar.

All in all the Doll came out pretty good, and earned an Outstanding Workmanship award on her first trip to Oshkosh back in 2000. I guess the judges didn't notice those HS rivets either.

So......Make sure the dimples are complete, and the skin around the dimple is level.
 
Last edited:
Hammer Harder

You are doing fine. But looking at the pictures I think you are making the same mistake I made on my Horizontal Stabilizer.

I was timid hammering the C-frame machine when doing those first dimples on the HS. When people walk up to me at Oshkosh and express worries as to whether or not they can build an RV, I assure them that I had all of those same worries. I show them two levels of craftsmanship on the Doll. I point out the riveting on the HS as compare to rivets on the elevator inches away. The difference suddenly becomes clear. The dimples on the HS are incomplete. I learned to hit the C-frame twice with the hammer. Once to set the dimple and a second firm strike to level the skin around the dimple. I was afraid of smashing and stretching the metal of the skin. I quickly got over that! Therefore, my HS dimples look kinda like yours. The result are rivets that are set in a mild depression where the skin is not level with the head of the rivet. This is not unsafe, just cosmetic.

Out of the hundreds of people that have looked at the Doll over the last fifteen years non of them have noticed, or made any comments about them, but I see them every time I walk by the tail. I would love to have a do-over there. I even considered building a new HS when the service bulletin came out on the front spar.

All in all the Doll came out pretty good, and earned an Outstanding Workmanship award on her first trip to Oshkosh back in 2000. I guess the judges didn't notice those HS rivets either.

So......Make sure the dimples are complete, and the skin around the dimple is level.

Danny,

I am not using the C-Frame or I would hammer harder lol. I am using the DRDT2, any tips on for that? I completely agree that the dimples don't look complete. The skin is level, but it seems that the rivets don't look flush enough to me. Thanks for all the info.:)
 
Hi Tyler,
I, too, am using a DRDT-2, a Cleaveland Main Squeeze and a 3X Gun/Tungsten Bar. I should say "have been" as I'm almost ashamed to say it's been a long time since I've been on my project in my shop. But that's another story...

There are lots of threads in these forums that touch on the DRDT-2. If you search, you will find a lot of information. I found one that I remembered from a while ago, and it includes a post by Paul Merems, who is the designer/manufacturer of the DRDT-2.

Here's the thread. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=106611&highlight=DRDT2

You will notice there are some differing opinions about the use of the DRDT-2, and even one stating it should be a boat anchor. My RV will be built to fly, not gather awards. There are thousands of RV's flying that have been built with the DRDT-2. I'm not promoting the DRDT-2 over the C-frame. Both do a fine job of setting rivets, if used correctly. As Danny indicated with his C-frame, it took a little time to learn how to properly use the C-frame. The same is true of any riveting method.

Hope this brief post helps.

P.S. Thanks for your service to our country.
 
Last edited:
Make sure the DRDT is adjusted so you can get a full 'squeeze' on the sheetmetal. I sounds backwards but if undersqueezed the dimples will be too large, because the last little bit of push flattens the area around the dimple. You should be leaving a light witness mark (circle same size as the OD of the dies) on the metal. Not cosmetically perfect but good enough for those of us not interested in cosmetic perfection.

Am I the only one who thought the title referred to an overseas (metric) airplane putting out 369 KiloWatts?
 
Back
Top