Somewhere, there's a drunk, armless gibbon...

[Hal Bryan]

Who can rivet better than me, but it's a start.2081

[prasmussen]

Is this a test? Clearly this is the flap actuator from a Boeing 727. Where do I claim my prize?

[fly2kads]

LOL, education and recreation, Hal, education and recreation....

[Kyle Boatright]

I'm sure you have good teachers, but I always found that a steady workpiece and a big bucking bar were two of my best friends in bucking rivets. I still find button head rivets harder to shoot cleanly (no dings or cuts) than flush rivets. And all rivet sets are not equal. Some are much more forgiving than others.

[Flyfalcons]

Gotta start somewhere, Hal. It gets easier from here.

[Kevin O'Halloran]

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

[rwanttaja]

Who can rivet better than me, but it's a start.2081
Well, hay-ell, Hal, worse-looking pieces than that drop from my Fly Baby every couple of weeks.2082

Ron Wanttaja

[Bill Greenwood]

Hal, are you building a plane, or is it just general practice?

Anyway, don't worry about how it looks, after all a couple of coats of yellow and brown paint will cover up the rivets just fine.

I recall I went to a homebuilding clinic at EAA one winter at the museum. Someone asks the pros and cons of the different types of building methods. One man said that the epoxy for firberglass smells so bad and might have health hazards, and that builder answered that at least he never had a piece of glass jump up and try to hit him in the eye.
By the way, Osh in Feb. is one of the greyest, wet, coldest places you never want to be at.

[Hal Bryan]

Is this a test? Clearly this is the flap actuator from a Boeing 727. Where do I claim my prize?

Boeing headquarters in Seatt- err, Chicago.


LOL, education and recreation, Hal, education and recreation....

Not a bad mantra - add a dash of frustration every once in a while and you have the recipe for an informative weekend. :)


I'm sure you have good teachers, but I always found that a steady workpiece and a big bucking bar were two of my best friends in bucking rivets. I still find button head rivets harder to shoot cleanly (no dings or cuts) than flush rivets. And all rivet sets are not equal. Some are much more forgiving than others.

Good insights, Kyle - and the most important thing for me is that, before this past weekend, I would only have partially understood it "on paper." Now I can say I know first hand why that makes sense.


Gotta start somewhere, Hal. It gets easier from here.

Indeed, thanks Ryan!


It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...

Great words from the Rough Rider, Kevin. Next time I tinker with metal, I'll speak softly and carry a big bucking bar. :)


Well, hay-ell, Hal, worse-looking pieces than that drop from my Fly Baby every couple of weeks.2082

Ron Wanttaja

I find that strangely reassuring, Ron - thanks, my friend! :)


Hal, are you building a plane, or is it just general practice?

Anyway, don't worry about how it looks, after all a couple of coats of yellow and brown paint will cover up the rivets just fine.

Bill, this was part of a SportAir Workshop my wife and I attended this past weekend here in Oshkosh, so this was truly my first go at riveting.

You're right, I'm sure, that once it's suitably yellow-and-browned it will look a lot better. Keep an eye on your mailbox for a suspiciously heavy envelope... ;)

[Bill Greenwood]

Hal, don't let all those killjoys and tight ass perfectionists spoil your fun!
You don't really have to have every rivet as perfect as it looks in the instruction books. Why do you think they put so many rivets in anyway, to take up the slack if one or two are not perfect. And where is the aritistic freedom ofcreative expression if every rivet looks the same?
Besides, it is well known that just like a classic wooden sailing ship rides smoother than an iron freighter; so it also applies to airplanes.
A Chrysler sedan rides smoother than a race car.
A little slack in the rivets, a little looseness just makes a plane ride better in turbulence, same as an old house creaks a little bit in a windstorm.