Some more tools bought along the way...
The picture below show a center drill. It can be used on both side and has the same effect both ways.
The center drill is used to make a first pilot hole for larger drill sizes. I use it quite often to make the initial positioning of the hole in my bench drill.
They are designed to drill a small diameter pilot hole followed by a 60° countersink that provides a bearing surface for the 60° point. Center drills are also used extensively with the milling machine to accurately start holes
Bought another unitbit, this time the small needle version.
Unibits should always be used to make larger diameter holes in sheet aluminum. Don't use regular drill bits in sheet aluminum. An even better solution for deeper holes are the Rotacut drill sets but they are quite expensive.
Ahaaaa.. here is one of my favorite new tools : the drilling housing and bushing kit.
It's a hand held guide to keep you drill bits at exactly 90° to the skin surface. It speeds things up a lot as you don't have to constantly care about being perpendicular. Result: speed increase and better quality holes. Just setup the drill in the air drill so that the length of the drill bit remaining is slightly longer then the hight of the bush housing + material thickness and fire away.
The drill bushing can be interchanged in the same housing. This tool is also often refered to as an “eye cup” drill guide. It's made of clear plastic for easy viewing of hole location while drilling. The threaded drill bushing size -1/2-13 threads. Kit has (4) bushing: #40, #30, #21, #10 + 1 housing
I slightly grinded little of the plastic out of the bottom on one end because it fits better then in the spacing between two holes when one of them has a cleco in it. This tool is a must have if speed is important for you.
Got another bucking bar. Very thin and small point. Haven't had a lot of success yet in using it. I bought it for rivetting the end rivets in the end of the triangle shaped ribs for the elevators and rudder - hoping I could set the end rivets on the narrow end with this - but never had any success and used pop rivets after all.
A fly - cutter.
Install this in the bench drill for making variable size large circular cut outs out of aluminum sheet.
This is a very dangerous tool ! Handle with care and NEVER EVER use it in a hand drill. Always in the bench drill.
They are kind of hard to find. I found mine at Sears.
3M 2'' SUPER FINE DISC and 3M 2" disc pad holder.
3M ROLOC™ discs and holders feature a threaded male button attached to the back of each disc for quick and easy mounting to the ROLOC™ (female threaded) pad holder. With a quick half-turn, the disc is locked securely in place.
You install the holder in the die grinder.
The super fine disc is a kind of polishing disc. I turn it at high speed and use it to buff out light scratches in aluminum parts.
Digital laser level from Avery tools.
Check plumb and level using the traditional bubble vials and measure slope angles in degrees and percentage using the digital functions. You can even measure relative slope angles and the built-in laser projects level and plumb lines as well as angle settings onto surrounding surfaces. Accuracy is +0.1°. Calibrations are simple to do and requires no other measuring instruments.
I used it to level all my jigs.
Aluminum tubing bender (Imperial eastman)
Will be used primarily for bending the aluminum tubes for the fuel line system.
Tool for creating flares in aluminum tubing. (PARKER 37ø ROLO-FLAIR FLARING PARKER)
Liquid Boelube.
I had used the hard wax stule boelube so far. This one is liquid and ensures a longer life time of your drill bits and lubricates while drilling more difficult and thicker material.
Bought the next in Belgium. Lithium grease to grease the air tools like the internal mechanism of the pneumatic squeezer.
Rapid tap cutting fluid.
EZ Turn Lube or also called FueLube 5 Oz tube.
EZ Turn is a specialty lubricant/ sealant used for fuel and oil line valves and is resistant to high temperatures. It is expecially effective where high octane fuels & harsh enviroments are presents. EZ Turn is also extremely efficient as a gasket paste and anti-seize agent. EZ Turn will not gum, crack or dry out. Good to temperature range of 600° F. Excellent for tapered valves, aircraft engine manufacturing, and marine applications. EZ Turn is the functional equivalent of Fuelube. Mil-G-6032D AM1 Type 1 Military specified Lubricant.
Assortment of tapping bits with corresponding drill bits.Needed them first time to tap the thread in the tiedown ring bracket on the wing.
Telescopic Inspection mirror.
What if you can't see the inside ? This tool will help. Put some light in and look with the mirror at the work you did.
#1to #60 COBALT DRILL SET from avery tools
In some occasions, you'll need to drill a number that was not given in the standard toolkit (eg #11) . A versatile drill set will avoid frustration and delay just because you didn't have the right drill bit.
Safety gear !
Plastic safety glasses that close on the sides, Ear protection for during rivetting and long drilling sessions and a set of Craftmans gloves.
How good is it to build an airplane if you are going to loose half of your hearing ability during unprotected rivetting... Not... so wear them. (Also when it's warm)
Caution: never use gloves when using a circular saw if you like your fingers !
In a previous article on tools, I have shown the small 1" deburring tools that fit into the die grinder.
I added this picture to give you an idea of how they will look like after you used them for deburring and polising the edge of the lightning holes in the ribs.
Plumb bobs.
You will need at least 2 of these. 3 is better. They will be used first to measure the twist in the wing by hanging them on a fishwire on the main spar and measuring then the distance to the rear spar of the wing.
The pneumatic squeezer...
My all time favorite.
I hesitated long time to buy this as I was thinking that this is pure luxury and I could do it all by hand.
Forget about it. I got the avery hand squeezer and after dimpling the empenage, I ended up having a tennis elbow. The 4 doctor visits in the meanwhile have costed me as much as this tool costs.
Connect the squeezer to the air line and set the PSI to 90. The squeezer will produce a force of 3000 psi on the ram.
You can use it to squeeze rivets (especially those 1/8" that are hard by hand). You can also use it to dimple spars and ribs. Skins should be avoided and done with the C-Frame.
Don't set the pressure too high when dimpling. All that force will litteraly squeeze the material and deform it. So handle with care on dimpling.
Look twice while dimpling. Not aligning the dimple on a skin of rib will push the male die right through the material next to the hole creating what is known as an 'short eight as a hole'. So be carefull upon dimpling... I warned you.
Get one, you won't regret. I promise. You can't live a happy life without it !
An aluminume tubing cutter.
This small size is used for the 1/4" vent tubes and 3/8 fuel tubes. Don't use a hack saw to cut tubes. the cut needs to be as clean as possible if you want to pull flares on them.
Cut with this little device. Set the cutter against the aluminum, on the first turn, make sure the cutter is straight back on the initial spot, then give it half a turn on the know and rotate again and again until it feels free turning again, then give it another half turn and repeat the procedure until it cuts off. This will produce a very smooth cut. Use sandpaper when cut to sand down slightly at 90° angle before pulling a flare. Rotate sandpaper around the end so the sleeve will move on easily.
