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| While most of the Sonex is put together with stainless steel pop-rivets, the spar uses solid rivets, which are much trickier to install correctly. | |
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Here are some solid rivets. On the right are protruding head rivets and on the left are flush head rivets. 3/9/99 |
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Here are examples of the AN470 or universal head rivets. I was able to use a rivet squeezer to set many of the rivets. 3/9/99 |
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Here are examples of the AN426 or countersunk rivets. I also used the rivet squeezer for many of these rivets but did so before attaching the spar-caps. 3/9/99 |
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This is one of the test parts I made to check the riveting techniques I was using. After dimpling, countersinking and riveting, I cut the part in half on my bandsaw to check it out. 3/9/99 |
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Here is a test part that I did not countersink enough. You can see that the bottom sheet does not lay flush to the upper plate. 3/9/99 |
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Here is a better test part that was countersunk just right. The bottom sheet lies flush to the plate and the rivet head is flush to the surface. 3/9/99 |
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Here are the two test parts side by side. 3/9/99 |
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Here is the test spar I made to practice my riveting technique. 3/9/99 |
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The "shop" head of the rivet should be 1.5 time the original diameter of the rivet and the height should be 0.5 times original diameter. This is a gauge I made to check the dimensions of the set rivet. 3/9/99 |
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Here is an example of a badly set rivet. The head got smashed to the side. It will have to be replaced. My technique for removing a solid rivet is to use a drill smaller that the shank of the rivet to drill through the center of the rivet from the factory head side. Be careful not to let the drill wander out of the rivet and into the surrounding material, enlarging the hole. Then use a chisel to knock off the shop head and a pin punch to knock out the shank. 3/9/99 |
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Here are two kinds of pop rivets. On the right are flush rivets used on the leading edge of the wing and on the left are the protruding head rivets used everywhere else. 3/9/99 |
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These are well formed rivets with the mandrels pulled in tightly. 3/9/99 |
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The mandrels have fallen out of the two rivets in the middle and must be replaced. My technique for removing pop rivets is to drill off the factory head with a drill slightly larger that the rivet shank and then use a pin punch to knock the shank out. 3/9/99 |
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Here is a rivet where the mandrel did not pull tight before the rivet "popped". It will have to be replaced. 3/9/99 |
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The technique for removing stainless steel pop-rivets is different that the technique for removing solid rivets. First, try to knock out the mandrel with a small pin punch, however, don't bang to hard or you will dent your skin. Then, hold the shop head with pliers so the rivet won't spin as you drill the factory head. I use a drill bit that is slightly larger than the diameter of the rivet shaft. I find that it will cut through the shaft while leaving most of the head intact which acts as a drill stop and prevents the bit from going through the aluminum and enlarging the hole. In fact, as you can see in the picture, the head gets stuck to the point of the drill bit. 7/13/99 |
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I use a 3/16" Vermont American Sidewinder drill bit to drill off the factory head. The Sidewinder bit has a unique shape to the point that I find cuts through the SS very well. It will even cut through any part of the mandrel that remains in the rivets. Standard drills don't seem to want to cut through the mandrel easily. A 3/16" bit is perfect to drill out a 1/8" rivet. In this picture you can see the point of the Sidewinder bit on the left compared to a standard drill on the right. 7/13/99 |
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In this picture you can see three rivets with the heads removed. The remaining shaft of the rivet has been punched out of the hole to the left. You can see that the hole suffered very little damage. 7/13/99 |
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Here is a look at the flush pop-rivets along the leading edge of the wing. . 1/14/00 |
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I used a pop-style dimple dies from Avery and they worked perfectly. They are advertised as 100° dies for AN rivets but the work fine for 120° pop rivets. I had previously purchased a dimple die from Aircraft Spruce but the female die was too large and it made poor dimples. 1/14/00 |
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 CAUTION:
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All products mentioned are not necessarily recommended for use, but are
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