Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  8-13-2011
Number of Hours:  1.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting - Part 02

The reason the riveting job took longer than expected today is because the new bucking bar comes with a couple of different shank lengths. There is a giant button on the back of the handle that releases the shank from the handle. But the foot is a simple tapered male/female arrangement. No threads, no release pins, nothing. I wacked and wacked and wacked on the foot trying to separate it from the shank. Nothing. Didn't budge. I had a pickle fork for spitting automotive ball joints, but it was too wide for the 5/8" shank on the bucking bar. At lunch time, I stopped by the local auto parts store and found that they had a smaller version of the pickle fork and when I got home I found that it worked perfectly at separating the bucking bar foot from the shank! Yahoo! The 6.5" shank is a little easier to get into deep areas. In areas like the wing or horizontal stab, the shorter shank would be the length of choice.

So, anyway, all of this dorking around changing shanks burned up a lot of time that could have been spent actually working on the plane. But, the utility of the tool made it ultimately time well spent.

I'm happy to report that both the left and right rows of rivets came out PERFECT! Not a single ding or smiley dent! Comparing the old fuselage (QB Builders) and the new fuselage (my handy work), I'd say that my riveting came out about a point higher in quality than theirs. Both look really good, though.
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Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

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Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

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Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

Canopy Side Rail Fuselage Riveting

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