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Countersinking

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Elviar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
147
Location
Ortonville, MI
I've been using a pneumatic pop riveter and a die set from Aircraft Spruce to countersink the rivet holes in the ribs and spars, and it's been working well. But when I reached the area on the top side of the main spar where the S-mod angles are close behind, it wasn't possible to use this method. My solution was to buy a cheap imported channel lock-type knock off from ACE for ten bucks, regrind the jaws on my bench grinder, and drill a counter sink on one face. I had to tape a shim on one side to improve the geometry, but it works. If someone has a better solution they'd like to share I'd like to hear it before I move on to the left wing.

Larry
 

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I think it would take too much grinding to get them between the main spar and the S-mod angle, and then the strength would be gone. I like the mechanical advantage of the vise grip though. The right choice of vise grip might be a better place to start than a channel lock.
 
What if you were to dimple the spar prior to installing the angle piece?
 
I made what I called an offset dimpler from a couple of pieces of scrap steel and used it with a pneumatic gun. It worked so well that I even wrote an article about it for one of Fred's newsletters. I wouldn't say it's any better than your idea, just another way to skin the cat.

Ed
 
I know that John designed the wing mod and restricted the speed and 'g' for the original wing.... but was it really necessary? Or, did some goofballs go out and goon it up and get John in a legal battle? I here stories of people doing acrobatics with two adult bodies in the cockpit all the time. There is not a Sonerai on this planet that can carry two grown men and takeoff under 750 pounds. So what really happened?

ATB,
Chucker
 
Here is the info from the newsletter that came out at the time. John
 

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We use these knipex parallel pliers at work (I work on the RCAF bell 412 variant) for a few things in a similar fashion. They are great for setting flush solid rivets in tight spaces. I can do AD3 and AD4 rivets with them... Wouldn't want to do them that way all day, but for a handful it is fast and simple.

Similar to what you did, we have a pair that are drilled out to fit the dies for our big hand squeezers that work for the universal heads as well.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/kn...nUNLgUavWCLOjbmnF9saAkAxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
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