Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David J. Beaulieu on August 12, 2013 at 8:53pm

Thanks Fred,

ATS keeps adding tools faster than I can buy them!   I wonder how those vise grip pliers do with dimpling in smaller access panel type openings...

Dave

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Permalink Reply by Dan Dempsey on August 13, 2013 at 9:55pm

I dimpled my skins for all the rivets and for flush (flat head) screws on all the nutplates.  It's not a lot of extra work, but it is extra work.  I don't think I'd ever counter sink a hole in an aircraft skin.

http://daniel.dempseyfamily.us/zodiac/fuselage/overlap.htm

I use a rivet squeezer for most of the dimples.  Then for the ones out in the middle of the skins I made a simple rivet tool out of hard wood that I had handy.  This worked really well. 

http://daniel.dempseyfamily.us/zodiac/fuselage/rivettool.htm

If you are going to dimple your skins another die type (especially for the 1/8 rivets) that is handy is the type of die with a hole through both the male and female die that you put a nail through and pull with a rivet puller.  You can get that type to places that would not be accessable otherwise.  I actually made a set of these for the 5/32 rivets because I couldn't find a source.

http://daniel.dempseyfamily.us/zodiac/wings/controlsurfaces/simpled...

 

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Permalink Reply by David J. Beaulieu on August 14, 2013 at 10:20am

Dan...I agree with not wanting to countersink in the skins - too thin IMHO.  I'll just be dimpling for access panels and nutplates and such.  Handheld squeezer with appropriate dies should suffice for what I need.  Thanks for posting the links, I like to see how other people innovate and problem solve.

 

Cheers!  Dave

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Permalink Reply by Dan Dempsey on August 17, 2013 at 8:28pm

I recently needed a few more of the "dimpled" type nut plates for finishing some access covers.  I found that the price on Aircraft Spruce had quadrupled since I last bought them.  They were 240 cents a piece.  Someone suggested I buy them from airparts.  They had conveyed that if the part number had a K in they were the dimpled type.  I found them on Airparts, bought the number with the "K" in it, but they were the wrong parts, not for flat head screws.   Then I found the  part I was looking for on Van's for 64 cents.  These were K1100-06

 

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Permalink Reply by David J. Beaulieu on August 17, 2013 at 11:04pm

Dan,

 

I ended up placing a minimum order of 100 thru Aircraft Spruce @ $1.5 per nutplate.  I went size 8, two hole lug with rivet holes only dimpled - non-dimpled threaded hole for the 8-32 fastener.  MS21047L08K

 

Dave

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Permalink Reply by Dan Dempsey on August 18, 2013 at 10:08am

One of the nice things about the #6 screws and nut plates is that they use the same size dimpler as the 5/32 rivets. These don't have the rivet holes dimpled, but that is easily remedied with a 3/32 dimple die.

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