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Date:  2-4-2018
Number of Hours:  7.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Riveting Vertical Stabilizer

I started this session by assembling the rear spar. I was able to use my pneumatic squeezer for most of the rivets, but it became apparent that the yoke I was using wasn't the best for this job. I would have preferred to have the plunger end contacting the rivet tail, but because of the shape of the rear spar and the yoke I had to have the cupped end on the plunger. A better choice would be a so-called longeron yoke, so I'll have to get that soon.

In any case, I was able to manage squeezing without incident, but it did slow me down because I was taking extra care not to let things slip and cause a real serious issue. I had to switch to a bucking bar and gun for a couple of the rivets due to space issues. Jay came by to help and it was pretty easy to get good quality rivets with two pairs of hands. I did have to drill out one rivet because we clenched it, but installed another without incident.

The skeleton was next. We couldn't use the squeezer due to clearance issues. On the last rivet, I let my attention wander and I got a smiley on the rivet head. Unfortunately, in my attempt to drill it out I mangled the head badly and couldn't really get a good center on it. I decided to stop there and give myself some room to think. We finished the session by dimpling the new VS skin.

After considering my options I decided to get a rivet removal tool from Cleaveland Tools. It's like a countersink cage in that it goes over the rivet head (universal heads only) and acts like a jig to center the drill over the rivet. It will arrive via UPS on Friday.
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Rear spar assembly riveted together.

Rear spar assembly riveted together.

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Skeleton almost done except for one bad rivet.

Skeleton almost done except for one bad rivet.

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