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valve cover

  • Thread starter Deleted member 21878
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Deleted member 21878

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getting ready to put the new plates on the valve cover. where can i get a tool for the rivets? the closest thing i have is a snap tool.

Thanks
 

roscoe

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The tools for driving and bucking solid rivets are available from any aircraft tool supply place. Unless you plan on doing more riveting it might be worth while for you to take the cover, plates and rivets to a local aircraft shop and ask if they can just do it for you. For small solid rivets there is really no magic. You can do it with a properly sized hammer and a properly sized piece of steel to use as a bucking bar. If you can find something steel that cups the head of the rivet (a rivet set) you just have to put everything in place and put your bucking surface in a vise and tap the rivet with enough force to flaten out the opposite end on your bucking surface. You just have to be careful that the rivet is fully inserted with the "shop head"(the top of the rivet which does not get deformed) against the plate and valve cover while you are hitting it. For small rivets you can often get away with a flat item with which to hit the rivet head (such as a hammer face). One other caution is to avoid hitting the plate or valve cover with the hammer or whatever you use as a rivet set. You will forever see the marks that makes . You do not need to hammer the bucked end too thin, just enough to firmly attach the plates. If the rivet comes too long it must be trimmed in order to avoid bending , rather than flattening it. One last caution, since I don't know if the rivet goes through more than one layer of sheet material, such as an interior baffle, you need to take care that everything it does go through is firmly sandwiched together when you strike the rivets. Hope this helps. Also, it is reasonable to hold the bucking bar in your hand rather than a vise, but that gets to a place where you sometimes need another couple of hands to keep things from shifting while you are beating upon it.
 

elrey

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Excellent advice from Roscoe. Look up 'rivet bucking bar'online. There are many sites online both video and print that explain all aspects of riveting. The key is PRACTICE. Before you rivet the plate to the cover... Mock up a practice plate and perform the operation a number of times on a piece of scrap until you are both familiar and pleased with your results before attempting the actual joining of plate to valve cover. Piece of cake.
 
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thanks for the tip. i am going to go get some extra rivets tomorrow and play around a little.
 

Brinkerhoff

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I just turned the valve cover upside down and bucked the rivet head on a vise base then peened the rivet down . I seal the inside with a dab of silicone to prevent leaks.
 

BruceAllcorn

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Three and one-half years ago when I purchased my BT7 a new valve cover had been installed but one of the plates had never been installed. I decided I didn't want to drill holes in the valve cover so I cut the heads off the rivets and used J-B Weld at the holes on the plate to both "glue" the rivets in place and hold the plate to the valve cover. So far, so good!
 
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i ended up putting a steel plate on top of my vice.then covered it with three layers of masking tape so i would not scratch the newly painted valve cover. i used some masking tape to hold the rivets tight in the plate and i used a piece of tape to hold the plate to the valve cover while i flipped it over. the rivets seemed to stick thru more than i expected so i added a washer on the underside. then i held the cover tight to the plate while i held a 1/2" x 4" bolt tight on the rivet. took a 22oz hammer and gave the bolt a wack. it flattened pretty easily and was nice and tight.
oh and a dab of silicone under the washer. everything is nice and snug. Looks fine.
 

elrey

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Bravo! And thank you for the description of you efforts. BTW, I have a 16" length of narrow gauge railroad track that makes a fine anvil for that sort of thing and it can slide around on my workbench for easy positioning.
 
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