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RV-12 Toolkit supplier recommendation?

D

davepar111

I'm New Here
Any recommendations or experience as to which tool supplier to use (from Van's tool supplier list) when buying the RV-12 toolkit for a first time builder. Thanks. Dave
 
Avery tools

I purchased a pneumatic cleco tool from Avery. I tried it out, did not like it, and sent it back. Avery refunded my money with no questions asked. I recommend them.
I purchased clecos from another company, U.S. . . .. They shorted me on the quantity. The sealed plastic bag did not contain the number of clecos as marked. I complained to them and they sent me the missing clecos. However, on the packing list it said, "Customer claims that . . . clecos were missing", or something to that effect. It made me feel that they did not believe me. I have not done business with them since.
Joe
 
I bought the Kit from Isham Planetools.com, I upgraded the rivet puller to the industrial and added an air drill and some clamps so far so good. No offense to Avery but saved 100 bucks which is an hour of flying for me right now.

Avery's kit has the lower end pnuematic riveter but does have the torque wrnch but since I have 4 that was no big deal.
 
Cleveland Aircraft tools

davepar111 said:
Any recommendations or experience as to which tool supplier to use (from Van's tool supplier list) when buying the RV-12 toolkit for a first time builder. Thanks. Dave
Click to expand...

I had good luck with cleveland tools
The Main Squeeze and there edge forming tool is a must.
 
These comments have been most useful. I am leaning towards the Isham Planetools right now, any more comments are welcome.
 
Get the Avery tool set for the RV-12, get 2 additional countersink cages and buy the vise-grip seaming tool from Cleaveland Tools. Having a pneumatic drill is very nice.

Do not bother with the rivet puller from Harbor Freight. HF does have a nice 90 deg die-grinder that works well along with other misc stuff. Get a bunch of scotchbrite wheels (1.5") from Avery.

http://martysrv12.blogspot.com/2009/01/tailcone-assembly-continues.html

If you have any problems with any of Avery tools, call Bob Avery and he will help you or REPLACE it.

I also bought the MAIN SQUEEZE from Cleaveland.
 
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Cleveland Mainsqueeze

I agree. Get the MAIN SQUEEZE from Cleveland, unless you have powerful arms.
Joe
 
Cleaveland Kit

I bought the cleaveland kit. Very very happy with it. The main squeeze is great.
I liked theirs because I did not need to get some of the stuff that you only use later - like the tube-bending tools.

Add the vice-grip-roller edge forming tool and the little deburr bit that fits in a power screwdriver. You will use that a LOT.

Also add a #27 drill, they missed that in the kit. (I emailed them, they may have fixed that by now.) Good customer service.

I have just finished the tail kit, wings and fuselage arrive next week!

Bill
 
I see about a $350 difference in price between Avery and Isham for the "RV-12 kit". Does that mean Avery has tools that probably won't be used or does it mean Isham lacks some tools that I'll have to buy later?
 
I upgraded my Pneumatic rivet squeezer to the industrial from isham and it is very smooth and pulls a clean rivet at 90 PSI in one pull. Looks and feels like it will last forever

On the other post the additional "tools" i have bought have been an air drill for convenience, clamps, and parts bins.

Would have to buy them with either kit. with al upgrades from Isham except goggles and mechanics tools the kit was 100.00 cheaper than Avery
 
Is PRP26A Hand Rivet tool a "must have"???

Vans specifically recommends this particular pop rivet tool, however neither Avery or Cleveleand appears to include this one in their kit (both provide a "swivel head pop rivet puller" instead). Anybody have issues with using the swivel head tool as opposed to the (much) more expensive PRP26A tool?
 
P26A

The riveter is in the Avery kit. Maybe just a shortened number. Should be good. I got one with my early tool kit. Works well.

John Bender
 
Dpellet100 said:
Vans specifically recommends this particular pop rivet tool, however neither Avery or Cleveleand appears to include this one in their kit (both provide a "swivel head pop rivet puller" instead). Anybody have issues with using the swivel head tool as opposed to the (much) more expensive PRP26A tool?
Click to expand...

The PRP26A is part of the Avery kit and a real must for the -12. It saves you from having to use the wedge tool regularly and reduces it to really rare moments when a rivet is really close to a flange. It seems that they kind of designed some of the holes around the head of this little riveter as it snugs right in when everything else has not the slightest chance.
 
OK so give me some help. If I order the Isham kit, what upgrades and additions should I expect to purchase, in addition to the pneumatic rivet squeezer? I am an A&P and have plenty of the main power tools of course.
I am having trouble finding that PRP26A pop rivet puller tool or who has it, does someone have a photo of it? Is it hand powered or air powered?
 
The tight space rivet tool came in my kit from Isham, still needed the little self created wedges in a few places but it was the only way to set the pulled rivets closest to the Spar Flange on the Vertical Stabilizer
 
clucier said:
The tight space rivet tool came in my kit from Isham, still needed the little self created wedges in a few places but it was the only way to set the pulled rivets closest to the Spar Flange on the Vertical Stabilizer
Click to expand...

Buy an extra cheap Stanley rivet puller, grind the angle in to the removable nosepiece and you can throw those little wedges away.
Put the rivet into the larger nosepiece in the handle and pre-bend the nail to the same angle
This is how I pulled the rivet in the AST next to the Control horn
Out of sequence as planed
 
I've been happy with the Isham kit, but I wore out the hand pop rivet puller by the time I got to the wings. I just happened to have an old Craftsman one lying around that's working great.

When there is room, I use the cheap Harbor Freight pneumatic puller.
 
How did it wear out, did you contact Isham for a replacement?

I have worn out my craftsmen hand puller but the "wear out" was the serrated lever that bites and pulls the shank through, replaceable for a few bucks
 
I wore out three Harbor Freight pneumatic pullers, all wore out the serrated teeth as well. If they can be replaced that makes a big difference.
 
clucier said:
How did it wear out, did you contact Isham for a replacement?

I have worn out my craftsmen hand puller but the "wear out" was the serrated lever that bites and pulls the shank through, replaceable for a few bucks
Click to expand...

I've been too busy to contact Isham. It stopped 'biting' the shank. I assumed because the cam wore down.
 
DonFromTX said:
I wore out three Harbor Freight pneumatic pullers, all wore out the serrated teeth as well. If they can be replaced that makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

Mine is going strong and I've just started skinning the wings. Whenever I have a problem with the jaws releasing a shank, I give it a squirt of WD-40 and it works again.
 
RV-12 Toolkit Supplier Recommendation?

I use an Avery rivet puller. It too will jam after a while. When you pull a rivet, a small amount of metal is removed from the mandrel by the jaws. This metal mixes with the lubricant and forms a gummy mess which will eventually cause the jaws to lock up. It's a simple matter of pulling the nose piece appart, cleaning the parts with solvent and relubricating with WD-40. After reassembly your good to go for another 2K rivets or so.

Art Pennanen
 
Harbor freight rivet puller

My harbor freight rivet puller worked great for half of the RV-12. When it quit working, I took it apart and cleaned it and changed the dirty oil. It has worked fine ever since and finished the plane.
Joe
 
Sounds like my rush and living a mile from a Harbor Freight store made me careless. I don't think I ever considered trying to fix them, just tossed them in the trash.
 
Just one more endorsement for a great tool

1064.jpg


My dad showed up yesterday to work on the plane and had this tool with him. I wish we had this when we were working on the wings. I can rivet in tight spots twice as fast. It is really nice to have the handle.

http://www.averytools.com/prodinfo.asp?number=5012
 
Link for the Avert prp riverter doesn't sem to work for me....however I read somewhere that somebody just modified a cheap store bought riveter.....anybody done that in lieu of the expensive prp26A?
 
I already have that pop riveter, but was of the impression I would not need that tool between the riveter and the aircraft part. Not so?
 
Very handy tool

For tight-place riveting, you can supposedly use the AEX wedges provided from Van's with the kit. However, the Avery tool is much easier to work with, in that the AEX wedges are just too small to keep track of. In addition, I find that the Avery tool is a very handy widget for pushing the rivets into place, saving a lot of callous build up on your fingers. Well worth the $15.
 
I second that! I have this tool now for a few weeks and wonder how I could get along before without it. This makes so many tight rivet session so much faster and easier and helps pushing those rivets into holes that I'd put it on the required-tools list.
 
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