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How do I fix this?

mill2978

mill2978

Well Known Member
While drilling the HS skin my bit jumped and I ended up with this


IMG_3421%2B%2528Medium%2529.JPG


I am not sure what to call it, or how to fix it? It's in the underside of the trailing edge of the HS.

Thanks for your help!

Aaron
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Figure 8

Every situation is different, but it's rare that a single weak rivet installation is of major concern. It's on the bottom so it won't be obvious; just go with it. You can drill another hole with proper distance from that rivet to compensate, structurally.
 
Prep it for a rivet as ususal, put in a rivet, if it makes you feel better,:eek: put some JB weld on it & move on. It's on the bottom, out of sight, & no one will probably ever see or notice it. As Van says "you're building an airplane, not a watch.":)

Marshall Alexander
 
If it were me, I'd just debur it and counter sink like normal. When it's time to set the rivet, mix up a tiny amount of epoxy... Put a drop in... Then set the rivet. When it's smooth, sand it down with your finger and a little 300 grit, hit it with some primer and move on. The epoxy will give the rivet something to grab on too. Or you could just set the rivet and fill the void with superfil.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/superfil.php

Either way, no one will ever know, especially after paint.. Just make sure to debur, don't want it turning into a crack down the road. The loss of a little strength from that one rivet is negligible.
 
If you have the edge distance, you might as well drill it up to a AD4 rivet and re-dimple. That way, the larger rivet head will cover more of your mistake. Then just fill when you get to paint stage.
 
alpinelakespilot2000 said:
If you have the edge distance, you might as well drill it up to a AD4 rivet and re-dimple. That way, the larger rivet head will cover more of your mistake. Then just fill when you get to paint stage.
Click to expand...

Ditto...this is how I would fix it. Or just use an oops rivet. They have a wider shank but the same size head. This is no sweat...it won't be the last ding;).
 
Like several others have said; drill it out and put in an AD4. If you are a purist, scotchbrite it and fill with super-fill. After priming the skin come back with a piece of hobby shop brass tubing the same diameter as an AD3 rivet and lightly twirl it over the rivet. You will have a nice rivet outline that even the judges at OshKosh would love.

Just because I know how to do this doesn't mean there are any disguised AD4 rivets in my left elevetor, 'er I mean airplane :D
 
Yeah, seriously. I mean my airplane has every rivet size Van called for. Done right the first time. On every single one.

</sarcasm>
 
Fixing figure eights -siamise rivets

...what about countersinking the larger hole, squeezing a flush rivet in that hole, then drilling/countersinking the smaller hole for another flush rivet? I saw a guy do this once. A dab of fill/sand when painting will hide the evidence. No need to wait for epoxy of superfill to cure.
 
Don't enlarge the hole, just clean it up, dimple, and add the rivet. Fill the small gap with something (JB weld works great) and move on. If you're really worried, put one rivet on each side of the "Bad" one, halfway to the next rivet (verify that you're not gonna drill into anything).
 
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