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Flap spar rivet help

amaris

Well Known Member
Does anyone have any tips on how to best get the blind rivets on the top side that hold the spar to the ribs? I'm afraid of bending the top skin back too much to get the rivet gun in there. I tried pulling the skin back but I put a tiny bend in it so didn't want to go any further.

Thanks.

It's these on the top. The curl of the skin is getting in the way.

Screen_Shot_2018_03_16_at_2_30_35_PM.png
 
Does anyone have any tips on how to best get the blind rivets on the top side that hold the spar to the ribs? I'm afraid of bending the top skin back too much to get the rivet gun in there. I tried pulling the skin back but I put a tiny bend in it so didn't want to go any further.

Thanks.

It's these on the top. The curl of the skin is getting in the way.

Screen_Shot_2018_03_16_at_2_30_35_PM.png

I just bent it back and kind of used the rivet gun as the lever to keep the skin out of the way while i set them. Once it was finished the skin went back to normal. That curl is going to be mostly hidden under the wing skin anyway.
 
I had my wife come down and help with getting these rivets. I also used a scrap piece of trailing edge wedge (had some from a practice kit) to make an angled pulling surface to get to the rivet. I cut a small piece from the trailing edge wedge, drilled a hole in it to match my rivet stem.

Then I placed the rivet in the hole, bent the stem just slightly, and placed the wedge over the stem, then stuck my rivet puller on it. This gave me a bit of an angle on the puller, enough to get away from the skins.

I also had my wife gently pulling the skin's curve back so I could get in there. It took a little finagling with the wedge piece and her pulling the skin but we got them.
 
I just did this job and found it helpful to put a 3/8 inch wooden dowel under the edge of the skin and gently pull the skin back with that. That way I?m not putting all the pulling force at one point, risking bending it.

Also for the inboard rivets I found I had to use my special filed down ?Z bracket? pop riveter in order to reach the stems.
 
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