Miscellaneous : Tools

This is a notching tool that I had custom machined. Saves an incredible amount of time creating the notches in wing ribs, and I suspect over the rest of the aircraft. See next post for a close-up of the jaws. If you're interested in one, contact me and I'll give you the name of the machine shop that I had do it.

This is a closeup of the jaws. The tool is actually a coaxial cable crimper. I just had the dies custom made for the tool.

A post in the forum mentioned the use of a "joggler". Here is a sketch that show the method of use. The width of the slot and the radius of its edges should reflect the thickness of the material and the bending specs for the alloy & state of temper. But the custom is to make your joggle plates for the worse-case and accept the resulting gap in the 'corner' (when the joggled pieces are fitted together) when doing thinner/softer stuff.

Instead of the sharp bends at the trailing edges of the rudder, elevator, ailerons and wing center section, a builder may elect to make such parts in two pieces, and join the trailing edges with 3/32" temper A (soft) rivets, perhaps backed up with urethane adhesive. A squezer is easily made from a pair of cheap pliers, here I've ground the serrations off the jaws, marked and center punched them.

Bob Hoover has educated us on the use of sheet metal screws as temporary panel fasteners. Here is a picture of them in use. These are #6 screws with nylon washers, straight from Ace. I used a #40 drill (standard 3/32" cleco pilot hole), but you can use a bigger pilot, up to about a #35, and have less of a burr to deal with in the end, when you finish drill to #30. I used a power scewdriver with the torgue set pretty lightly. They are a little slower to use than Cleco's, are substantially cheaper, allow you to drill right next to them without a long bit. My wrists bug me when I squeze a lot of Cleco's, so switching to PK's (brand of aviation sheet metal screws) is a nice break. Carpal tunnel is no fun.

These are the tools I use to set AD rivets by hand. A standard (used) rivet set of the proper sized is set into a chunk of scrap steel and a 2X4, which sits on the concrete floor of my garage. For smaller parts, I put the rivet set in my bench vise. Put the manufactured head in the set, and pound aggresively with the big bolt. The head is ground and polished, and there is a hand guard made from two nuts and a fender washer. Make sure the set is solid on the manufactured head before EACH and EVERY blow. Things jump around a bit when Sister Sledge parties. This tooling is a natural for spars in particular.

Here are my Cleco forceps, and a rack for Clecos I made from a biscuit tin. WIth the rack, you can insert and remove Cleco's with one hand, although I find it hurts my puny girly wrists to do so.

If you don't have a suitable vice, here is a way of pressing the flanges in lightening holes. From a Zenari 701 builder. Lightening holes save a little weight, they also stiffen a part, and allow a smaller sheet gauge to be used, saving still more weight. Plus they make it easier to align ribs while skinning (poke the offender with a long stick through the holes), run wires for needless lights, and may make it possible to use solid rivets.

Home made sheet metal brake using a piano hinge

The piano hinge brake going toether. This is the working face of the first leaf. Note that we're working with the "back " side of the hinge (puts the hinge axis closer to the bend line) and that a complete 90 degree bend will require a little boinging AFTER initating the bend with the bending leaf. You can barely see the rabbet I've set the hinge into.

Both leaves. Bending Bar (or, better thought of as clamp bar) is not shown. Clamping a long piece (this "brake" is 8 ft long can be a problem. If the workpiece will allow it, use screws, right through the clamp bar, the workpiece, and into the stationary leaf. In this design, the workpieces is going to move relative to the bending leaf - plan for that, and protect the workpiece with shipping tape.

End on close up of the brake. Pretty simple.

Clamping those long extrusions to work on them can be a bother, particularly if you're trying to put a long taper on them (NOT the way it shows on the plans, my wings are rather different than Calvins). Here's how I do it. A long plywood clamp screws into the face of my workbench.

Simple bending brake made from common 2" x 2" and 2" x 3" 3/16" steel angle. Use 1/4" or 5/16" bolts cut down for hinge pins. Minimal welding required and most welding could be bolted with angles etc. instead. Pictures soon..Feb 12/03

A couple of views of my $12 bending brake and also the homemade fluting pliers. The brake will bend up to .050 aluminum 30" wide. More details available from davestroud@rogers.com

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