10 SEP
07 - First Rivets - 1.0 HR
I knew that I wouldn't have much time today, but I wanted to at least do some
riveting! So I finished drilling HS-411A&B (the brackets) and the Bearing assembly,
deburred them, and then primed the bearing assembly using SW988 self-etching primer
after Scotch-Brite rough-up and MEK cleaning. I gave the bearing assembly a few
hours to dry and then squeezed the rivets. The plans call for -5 rivets but many
builders use -6 rivets here because they feel the -5s do not give them a proper
shop head. So with that in mind, I squeezed a -6 rivet. And it tilted. So the very
first rivet of my airplane project had to be drilled out.
I didn't want to repeat that mistake again, so I decided to try the rivets the plans
actually called for (maybe Vans knows what they're doing afterall). The shop heads
were a little short and a little under-driven, but they will work fine. In the instructions,
Van's cites a study where slightly smaller than desired shop heads were tested and
"develop the strength of the rivet shank, even when the rivets are subject to a
straight tensile pull... where a large head is not needed for appearance, smaller
sizes of drive head should be used to decrease the required driving pressures."
The quote was from an excerpt from Alcoa Aluminum Rivet Book, dated 1984.
Long story longer, I'm using Van's call-outs for rivets from now on.
Brackets and bearing deburred and primed.
I squeezed the rivets with the pneumatic squeezer, and they turned out great.
The finished product! The first assembly of my airplane.
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