| Howdy Ya'll! |
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Do what yer' Momma said...
Go Play!
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Pop-Rivet Dimpler 101 |
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I jes' LUV these Pop Rivet Dimplers I got from Averys.
Here's a little tutorial on how they work. No, I'm not saying that you should use these guys. That's
your decision. For me, they work great on the thin sheet metal, but not on the thicker stuff. You'll need the
traditional C-Frame whack-a-rama or
the DRDT, sold by ExperimentalAero. If I had the
money, I would buy the DRDT and would prefer to use it over any other dimpler. Maybe I will be able to, later on down the line.
Some guys have been asking how the Pop Rivet Dimplers work, so here goes. All you need it is a standard
Pop-Rivet gun from your friendly neighborhood hardware store. Some have swivel heads, some don't. It don't
matter which one you get. Then you'll need some "6d" 1 7/8 inch coated sinker nails or you can use some "6d"
finish nails (with the small head). Ether one is fine. Last, but certainly not
least, the Avery Pop-Rivet Dimplers.
Oh yeah, one more thing, a little hand strength helps as well. NOTE: Sometimes the point of the nails won't go through the
holes in the pop-rivet dimplers. The trick with these nails is to scotchbrite the edges of the point of the nail off by
rotating the nail with your fingers over the wheel. It's a pain but it works. Once the edges of the point of the nail are
rounded off, the nail goes into the pop-rivet dimples easily.
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Every Pop-Rivet Gun comes with several heads on them. Just pick out the one
that has a hole that best fits your nail and screw it into the hole.
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Put the nail through the hole of the female dimple to where the female inset
is facing the point of the nail.
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Put the nail through the hole of your sheet with the female dimple, so
that the female dimple is behind the sheet. Then put the male dimple onto the nail, with the male set facing
down onto the sheet metal.
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Put the Pop-Rivet fun down onto the nail with the handle of the Gun wide open.
Then start squeezing the handles together until the top dimple lays flat against the sheet metal.
This will pull the nail up forcing the female dimple up onto the male dimple. If you don't squeeze hard enough,
the sheet metal will have dip in it around the hole. If you squeeze too hard, the nail will break. It's easy
to get a "handle" on the right amount of pressure by playing with a scrap piece until you get the hang of it.
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Here's the final product, A nicely dimpled rivet hole. The best test to see
if you've done it correctly is to hold it up to the light. You'll know real quick as whether you did it right or not.
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The proof is in the pudding, or the rivet. Have a goodun!
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| The "cover your butt" section |
This website was built to document my work on my RV-9A in
compliance with the FAA requirements needed to certify my aircraft. My experiences and comments are by
no means to be considered as instructions on how to build an RV-9A or any other aircraft.
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