More tools
Spent the rest of the evening working on the garage insulation. It is finally finished.
I’ve been buying a few tools lately, too. Every time I need to buy something, I seem to order 2-3 additional tools. This is the list of recent acquisitions:
Vise-grip dimpler from Avery. This is handy for getting at the holes in the trailing end of the rudder ribs (and probably the elevator, too). Not sure how you dimple these otherwise.
Caliper and edge marking tool from Avery. No immediate need, but decided to get them.
Inline air regulator from Avery. The Cleavelend version of this is hard to do fine adjustments. Turning the knob 90 degrees goes from full on to full off. The Avery regulator has numbered notches and it takes several turns from on to off. That should make it easier to fine tune the air flow for riveting, and make it easier to change the setup for different rivet sizes.
Lightweight air hose kit from Cleaveland. This thing is so cool that I bought another one. The smaller hose is much lighter and more flexible than standard air hose. And the couplers are smaller and easier to get on and off. Well worth it.
Swivel mushroom set with rubber guard from Cleaveland. For some reason, Cleaveland includes in their airframe kit a non-swivel mushroom set w/o the guard. We were able to make that work, but the swivel set is 100% easier to use.
#12 drill bit from Cleaveland. This size is used at least once in the empennage (for the HS bearing). A 3/16″ drill bit is close to the same size, but not exactly right. Better to just get the right drill bit.
2.5″ longeron (a.k.a. flange-nose) yoke and 4″ thin nose yoke from Cleaveland. From what I’ve read, these two yokes make it possible to avoid several blind rivets in the tail, and will eventually be required on the wings.
Fly-cutter from Cleaveland. This is needed for making lightening holes in the rudder spar stiffener, and will be needed for other lightening holes in the wings. Only drawback with this thing is that it only goes down to 1.75″. Not small enough to do the 1.5″ holes. I would suggest getting the cutter from Avery instead.
#10 dimple die and #10 countersink cutter from Cleaveland. These are needed to countersink the rudder counterweight and dimple the skin that holds it. I guess some people use their deburring tool to make the countersink, but I’d rather use the right tool. These should have been in the original kit.
2″ precision square and needle file set from Cleaveland. I’ve been using a 12″ adjustable square, but it’s just too big for measuring things like the flange angle on ribs. I’ve also needed smaller files several times–time to get them.
Whew! I think that’s the complete list since I bought the original tool kit. You might have noticed that I buy most of my tools from Cleaveland. Their web site is easy to use when I’m trying to find a particular tool. I like that they send me the UPS tracking number via email, so I know when the package will arrive. And they usually ship the tools out the same day I order them.