Pneumatic squeezer. What's best to buy?

Building a 9A. and was wondering if somebody could steer me in the right direction on what did to buy. Name model. I have a hand squeezer by cleaveland but those close calls make it a tuff job not to mention drilling out rivets. Or if somebody has one forsale and it did a great job i might be interested in buying itfrom you. Thanks, Ron in Oregon

ron sterba said:

Building a 9A. and was wondering if somebody could steer me in the right direction on what did to buy. Name model. I have a hand squeezer by cleaveland but those close calls make it a tuff job not to mention drilling out rivets. Or if somebody has one forsale and it did a great job i might be interested in buying itfrom you. Thanks, Ron in Oregon

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I can tell you that you can get no better service than buying from Avery Tools.

When I first got my squeezer, I ran into some of the typical issues squeexing longer rivets. Bob spent time with me on the phone teaching me how to appropriately use the tool.

A few days before SnF, I dropped the squeezer on the garage floor and it locked up and quit working. Although Avery was busy getting ready to head to SnF, I overnighted the tool to them. The day before the left for SnF, Bob rebuilt the tool and sent it back to me. He takes some vacation after the trade shows and knew that it would be a month before he could perform the repair. Since I was actively building, he didn't want to slow me down. If the turn around time wasn't enough, he didn't charge me for the repair when it was clearly my fault for the damage.

This is why I recommend Avery for many tool choices. Cleaveland has great support too. Bob Avery's service and knowledge on pnuematic squeezers is second to none. It looks like they may still have some specials on squeezers on their web site. Several are rebuilt units.

Call them and ask them which squeezer is better and ask what kind of deal they can give you.

I like Avery for lots of stuff and nothing against them but I bought my squeezer from Kim Goldin and it has performed flawlessly. He makes the dies himself and they are very high quality. He is now making them on super precise CNC equipment. The die set they sell has all the ones you will need to complete your RV except the -3 universal rivet set.

http://www.rivettools.com/

ron sterba said:

steer me in the right direction on what to buy. Name model.

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Ron,

The Chicago Pneumatic CP-214 Pneumatic Squeezer or a clone of the same is the most common that folks use.

Most of the major tool houses sell them and you can find them on auction sites. I bought mine from another builder.

Fred Kunkel of Clear Air Tools

I don't know if Fred Kunkel of Clear Air is still around or not, but you might try him at:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 888-777-1650/818-775-1650

I bought my rebuilt squeezer from Avery. It looks and works just like new. Came with a 3" yoke and adjustable set. Saved about $125 over new. I think they might have a few left.

Hi Ron, I sent you a PM

Thanks guys. I had the pleasure of speaking with BOB over at Avery and you are right! Personable and a builders friend indeed! I think I'am going to have to buy a pneumatic and it sounds like the likes of the CP 214. I just got off ebay and it looks like some of the yokes don't have hole for the dies. Do I have to buy different yokes or just different fingers (squeezers fingers)? All try clearair tools also & rivettools.com. Ok guys Iam on my journey. Thanks guys Ron in Oregon

ron sterba said:

I just got off ebay and it looks like some of the yokes don't have hole for the dies. Do I have to buy different yokes or just different fingers (squeezers fingers)?

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Those are no hole yokes, which doesn't have a hole on the opposite side. These are used to get into tight places for an AN426 rivet where a standard yoke and die won't fit.

I have a 4" no hole, a 3" standard, and a longeron. Between these three yokes, I've been able to do 99% of the rivets on my RV-10.

bob

I bought my CP214 from Avery in a weak moment when I logged into their site one day and it was on sale. But i'm really glad I did.

I bought more yokes from Fred at Clear Air Tools, he provided exceptional service in selecting the right ones for my project. If I had heard of Clear Air first, I might have bought the squeezer there too.

Both are great places to buy, in my opinion.

WHAT AIR PRESSURE FOR THE CP-214

Hey guys,

The used CP-214 I bought seems to take extraordinarily high air pressure to operate, like 400psi?

What pressure should I be able to make it work on?

Thanks --- Ron

RONSIM said:

Hey guys,

The used CP-214 I bought seems to take extraordinarily high air pressure to operate, like 400psi?

What pressure should I be able to make it work on?

Thanks --- Ron

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100 psi should be more than enough Ron! I don't even know where I'd find shop hoses I'd trust at 400!!

400 PSI

I found my pneumatic squeezer here in the Classified Ads forum. It's well-used but it came with two yokes and it works great for me. The CP-214 or its clone is the most popular pneumatic squeezer used by RV builders.

As for 400 psi......I don't think the squeezer is rated for near that much pressure! R U pulling our legs?? If you are serious, then that squeezer needs some serious maintenance.

Ironflight said:

100 psi should be more than enough Ron! I don't even know where I'd find shop hoses I'd trust at 400!!

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Not to mention the kind of air compressor that puts out that kind of pressure. Geeze!

rleffler said:

I can tell you that you can get no better service than buying from Avery Tools.

When I first got my squeezer, I ran into some of the typical issues squeexing longer rivets. Bob spent time with me on the phone teaching me how to appropriately use the tool.

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Bob helped me with this choice too. He’s great, always makes time for you, even though he’s covered in work. He’s good about critiquing his own tools, telling you the various pros and cons of each. Tell him what you are building, what you need it for, and he’ll steer you in the right direction.

As another said a 214 or clone of one is what you want. And get the three most popular yokes with it too. I also went with a foot pedal. It’s not really required, but might come in handy from time to time. I’ve got 18,000 rivets in a 4 someone told me. Plenty of those will be dimpled too. An air squeezer certainly won’t get all of them, but will still help considerably, and will be a lot easier on your hands at the end of the day.

RONSIM said:

Hey guys,

The used CP-214 I bought seems to take extraordinarily high air pressure to operate, like 400psi?

What pressure should I be able to make it work on?

Thanks --- Ron

Click to expand...

Ron,

Have you got the spacing setup right on the dies? All the squeezing pressure comes right at the end of the stroke. If you're using the wrong dies (too long) that prevent the end of the stroke being reached then it just won't set the rivet. I sometimes get this problem if I inadvertently try with the wrong dies. Swapping out to shorter dies and setting the correct spacer washers usually fixes the problem. As already mentioned, 90 - 100 psi should be plenty.

I would recommend a "re-built" squeezer from Avery, they are as good as new and sell for a good discount on the price of new squeezers from elsewhere.

Pete

THANKS FOLKS, I KNEW

that something was not right. My buddy bought it a long time ago, on ebay, for the -10 project. The only way he could get it to move was to hook it to an argon bottle, so it went on the shelf for several years.

Being of "a questioning mind", I am going to pull it apart and see what makes it tick (or stick).


Pulled the unit apart, cleaned the gunk out of it, re-lubed it, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Operates very well at 80-90psi and I have had a ball just squeezing rivits in scrap aluminum. Now I need another build project!!

Pneumatic Squeezer

Thanks to all. Bought that C 214 from Avery and presently lock the yoke in the vise and its GREAT to set every rivet perfect! Thanks Guys. Ron in Oregon

Pneumatic Squeezer

Thanks guys I love my Avery 214 c squeezer. I got a special $620 with two C yokes. 4" and curved 3" for the recessed jobs I put the C yoke in the Vise and it works great!.