Aircraft Tool Kits

Good morning VAF!

So, the first step of my aircraft building journey started on Friday. I received my Vans practice toolbox building kit in the mail. My brother got me a 3X rivet gun for Christmas, so now it was time to go to Lowes to get Clecos, a buck bar, etc. This is when I found out the Lowes, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, etc do not carry such tools. At this point, I went to Aircraft Spruce, Brown, Isham and found myself under the weight of too many choices and not knowing what is the best deal. I'm a firm believer of buying quality tools, but I have a limited budget. I also don't want to drop $1500-$2500 on a kit and not use everything I purchased. SO, the question is, what is the smartest way to go about starting my aircraft tool kit?

And....GO!

Matt

Tools

Matt
Welcome
You may want to look at this deal. Just posted. Very good deal.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=123985
I don't think any tool kit will have tools you don't use. There will be lots you need later!
You could piece meal but the cost would be much higher, plus all those shipments will really add up.
look at Isham, Avery and Cleveland. All good starter kits.
There are a few good noobie threads here. A quick search for "tools" should get you lots of results with recommendations.
Here's one.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=123640&highlight=tools

As said previously, those are starter kits

Expect to be out of more than $1500 - $2500 for tools, specially for quality tools. The tool kits will get you started but you will end up buying more tools.
The cost of the tools are only a small fraction of the cost to build an RV.

Stroh21 said:

Good morning VAF!

So, the first step of my aircraft building journey started on Friday. I received my Vans practice toolbox building kit in the mail. My brother got me a 3X rivet gun for Christmas, so now it was time to go to Lowes to get Clecos, a buck bar, etc. This is when I found out the Lowes, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, etc do not carry such tools. At this point, I went to Aircraft Spruce, Brown, Isham and found myself under the weight of too many choices and not knowing what is the best deal. I'm a firm believer of buying quality tools, but I have a limited budget. I also don't want to drop $1500-$2500 on a kit and not use everything I purchased. SO, the question is, what is the smartest way to go about starting my aircraft tool kit?

And....GO!

Matt

Click to expand...

Matt,
I was in the same position you are. I am on a tight budget, and I don't expect to finish this project in under 3 yrs. A few more weeks looking an waiting for tools to come for sale didn't make much difference to me. So I took my time and found what I thought was a bargain on a lot of tools. I am starting an -8, and have received the emp kit and practice kits. Take you time, keep looking on VAF classifieds, something will pop up as it did for me. I offered a low price, and it was accepted. The kit was not complete but it was a start. Also like was mentioned previously, you will always be buying tools.
Have fun and build on!
Scott

As others have noted, If you are patient you can find tools and sometimes entire kits for sale here. You will use everything in a kit, and then some.

Do yourself a favor. Tungsten bucking bar.

Tools

All of the advise given above is true. I'd like to put in my 2 cents worth. I was told that the cost breakdown on building an airplane is as follows:

1/3 on the airframe
1/3 on the engine and prop
1/3 on the avionics

This is true. However, what they didn't tell me is you're going to spend another 1/3 on tooling and 1/3 on shipping...

In short, you'll spend more on tooling than you expect. Buy quality stuff and you won't be disappointed.

I hope this helps.

Jeff

If you're sure you're moving forward, then buy a kit ... that's what EVERYONE has told me so far!

I'm not 100% sure, so I bought piece meal the strict minimum I think I can get away with for the 2 kits Van's sells.

Cleaveland has the "Get me started" toolkit which is more expensive than the way I did it, but still a good option if you want to not invest it all up front and spread the costs a little bit ... you can then get the rest of the kit in a second purchase when you ge to that point in your build.

You've got 2 basic options to acquire the unique tools needed to start building an RV - A tool kit or piecemeal.

With the tool kits, you'll immediately get new products tailored specifically to the job. There's competition from several vendors and the prices are fair retail prices. All of the kits will include the core of the tools you'll need without having to spend too much time researching every detail.

Piecemeal will save you money if you have the time and patience to shop. Van's has a good list and making a simple spread sheet including the tool vendor's kit offerings will show you what you'll need. Most shop for used here on VAF or ebay or locally. I did the piecemeal way and it took about 6 months to get what I wanted but I saved probably 40-50% off retail but most are used.

Everyone adds tools later whether they go with a kit or piecemeal. Most are not absolutely required but make jobs easier.

Drill

So, do I need an air drill? I've got a really nice cordless drill and dremel set. I'm just curious what the benefit of a air drill would be?

Matt

Smaller spaces can be reached with the air drill. I like the control better. But, you can take the approach of using what you have and when it reaches its limitation, buy an air drill. With longer bits, and right angle heads, you just might not see a limitation.

Side story/example. I sweated rivet removals, and needed to do that a lot in the beginning, so I learned a technique to do it reliably and no enlarged holes. I didn't need any stinking rivet removal tool - until I watched a video of how quick it could be used on a universal head rivet. I got one, I LOVE IT. I still have the skill for use otherwise, but now in a tight space, this will facilitate better quality work. If I had gotten it sooner, the skills (and confidence) would not have developed nearly so much. as always YMMV

Webster does not have a good definition of "tool". To me it is something that makes the job 1. doable 2. faster 3. easier and, absolutely, 4. a better result.

Early advice - get in the habit of keeping your mind on the job, not just the micro task. You are not just mindlessly assembling an airplane. Keep thinking. Mistakes are the benchmarks of when thinking stopped.