The Riveting Begins

Today the first of over 12,000 rivets were placed. As much as we would like to keep count, I think we would soon lose track. Mark is going to keep the stems from the pulled rivets because a lot of anything is cool.

The rudder hinges are primed and riveted using squeezed rivets. He is going to be sore tomorrow! The rivets take an awful lot of force to squeeze to the proper size.

Today Mark had to attempt the first counter sinking that he'll need to do along with the placement of the first flush rivets. Even with practicing on scrap aluminum before touching the actual spar, he found that the micro stop countersink tool wouldn't fit for some of the rivets that were close to the flange. After a little problem solving and quick (make that SLOW) thinking he took the micro stop tool apart and put the bit into the drill press. With careful consideration he was able to get the holes properly countersunk so the rivets would fit well. He also was able to use the pneumatic rivet pull gun to pull the first few rivets.

"I am sure I will be able to do this more quickly with more experience but it is unreal how long it took to put these nut plates in." - Mark