Rivet Selection

[jrbirdman47]

Wings done. Moving on to tail and looking at rivets. I am lead to believe that in order to get the best shear strength, (Aircraft grade) I'll need something like the stainless Cherry rivets. Just wondering if there was something as good but cheaper, since I'm estimating about $130 to do the tail, just for rivets. What kind of rivet have y'all been using?

[jrbirdman47]

Also wondering how you handled the rivet length problem if the minimum grip length is .063". (Seems they'd be too long to use on two layers of .020")

[Dan_]

You may not be able to see the video but they answer your question about length.  Basically use Avex rivets and you can rivet 1,2 or three sheets together with the same rivet length.  Avex are a lot cheaper than Cherry, hardware store rivets are cheaper still.

https://www.eaa.org/Videos/Hints-for-Homebuilders/Sheet-Metal/3256374427001

Also here is some reading on it...  http://www.zenithair.com/kit-data/ht-87-1.html

[Kamcoman77]

I used Marson stainless steel rivets with stainless mandrel. SSB4-1S for 0" to 0.063" grip and SSB4-2S for thicker items. Listed on ebay. Photo shows two 1S rivets in a test piece. Used 0.020" gusset wrapped around a 3/8" x 0.035" empennage tube.

[jrbirdman47]

Thanks Guys!

[jrbirdman47]

Just for reference, if you're at this stage and looking for rivets at a good price: I found mine on the Sonex website, at about 1/4 the price the other places wanted and they had the proper size and were aircraft grade.

[Dan_]

https://www.sonexaircraft.com/eshop/cart.php?target=category&category_id=291