RV Tool Kits

[MarineGrunt]

I've noticed several different suppliers that offer RV tool kits. There seems to be a large price difference between different "complete" kits. Has anyone ordered one of these? Were you pleased with what you got?

I'm in the market for one of these tool kits, and want to keep the cost to a minimum while still getting EVERYTHING I need.

This is for an RV-8 (tailwheel, non-quick build).

 

[avbug]

Aren't you in UPT right now? How on earth do you have time to build an RV while you're in UPT?

Several companies market kits for specific airplanes. Personally, I'd rather just put together what I want. I'm one who believes you can never have enough cleco clamps. Ever. Every kind, every size. Get on ebay and buy every one you can. Get some quality rivet guns that tease and feather well. I hate, with a passion, cheap rivet guns that are either blowing air and nothing else when the trigger is squeezed, or that are full out...nothing in between.

If you are serious about good pneumatic tools, Sioux is the name to go after. ATS (aircraft tooling supply) is the cheapest. Chicago pneumatic tools are about in the middle. Get good files, lots of them, to include a couple sets of jewlers files. Get all three metal snips (straight, left, right), and a good nibbler. Get a good drill, and have plenty of extra bits. Not just standard sizes, not just #30 bits for #4 rivets, but #29 for drilling them back out again...and you will. I'd go for a full set of numbered bits and then get bulk supplies of extra bits. Get more than a few bucking bars. You can never have enough bucking bars, and the darndest thing is that you can never find the right bar for the right job. Also true is the fact that you'll buy ten bars and use one or two of them 90% of the time.

Even though the plans don't call for it, consider alodining everything inside your aircraft, and shooting every rivet wet. Use PRC for all your joints, especially any lap joints. A slight bit more weight, but no shifting, no cracking from rivet holes or faying surfaces, no fretting corrosion. I dont like to shoot dry rivets. No smoking rivets, either. Get a rivet cutter for properly timming the rivets, and a rivet depth gauge. A hole spacer is a good idea, along with a metal ruler, etc.

Buy the kits, but realize that you may want more than what is there. I recommend your own air compressor, and don't go with a little one. You'll find the compressor running continuously if you're using the rivet gun much, certainly with a drill or die grinder. Speaking of which, get both the straight and angled die grinder, a plam drill, and you'll find a small 90 degree drill very useful. Not to mention rivet countersinks, die dimplers, etc. Back to that compressor, get at least a 30 gallon compressor but bigger is always better. A band saw is useful, as are metal brakes and shears. You can pick up some smaller reasonably priced equipment from harbor freight that will do what you want it to do. A good vise, an anvil, and a bench grinder are really must-haves in any shop...even if you're doing just one airplane.

Something else I find that is almost invalueable is a belt sander. One with the belt surface and a side disc. I use them for everything from light grinding to sharpening phenolic scrapers, edging or breaking edges on aluminum parts, etc. Very handy.

Buy a good toolbox with plenty of drawers to hold everything. Plan on at least five hundred bucks for that. Nothing worse than a cheap box. Craftsman makes great boxes, no need to break the bank for snapon or mac, though those are good boxes with high resale values. A lot of SEARS stores have scratch and dents on boxes; I have four sets of rollaways that are full of tools, and each box (top and bottom) was had for a fraction of the regular price because they were scratch and dents. All work great. My original box, the one I started with, was a throw-away by Rocky Mountain Helicopters many moons ago. It was a Craftsman, too.

Hand tools...Craftsman is hard to beat. I own a lot of MAC and Snap-on, too, but I also own almost everything that Craftsman has ever made, and I use them a lot. You'll save a lot of money going that route, and I wouldn't ever consider using any tools lesser priced or lesser quality. Don't use any harbor freight hand tools. Just say no.

For your pneumatic supplies, consider an inline oiler, and a small yellow coiled flexible hose for working from the bench. You should really also consider building a three way hose splitter and buying extra hoses...I hate changing tools over and over again to do one job. Have several hoses attached to a three way splitter for your air lines and you can have a drill, die grinder and rivet gun all available at the same time. You also have the ability to have more than one person working on the airplane at the same time...definitely time to have a bigger compressor available. Again on that, twenty five or thirty cubic foot and six HP or more. Bigger is always better.

Just a few thoughts...

 

[MarineGrunt]

Aren't you in UPT right now? How on earth do you have time to build an RV while you're in UPT?

LOL. Yeah I am, and no, I don't have time. I'm planning on starting construction in a year or two. I'm trying to gather up tools, parts, instruments, etc, whenever I have the money to do so. It's gonna take a while!

 

[avbug]

Perfect. For what it's worth, Iv'e been burned a few times on tools on ebay, but I've also saved a LOT of money picking up one little thing at a time. That's the way to buy tools, anyway. One at a time, over time, and do some shopping. You'll see whole RV builder kits for sale in trade a plane and occasionally on ebay for very little. Good luck!

 

[d.fitz]

While it is nice to have every imaginable tool, I did hear you say you were on a budget, buying all in the things mentioned above would be nice but it is not necessary. I bought an RV specific tool kit (I was also building an 8) and it came with almost everything you need (I bought the high end kit). I ended up getting a few more files and a rivet spacer would be nice. The tool kit comes with about 5 bucking bars, when I needed a new surface to buck with, I got out a file and 'finished' the rough sides of the bucking bar. It wasnt that difficult. I shot the parts with an epoxy primer only and did not wet install the rivets. I chose to keep it simple for my first project. I would say the skin rivet quality for my first time riveting was about a ten when compared with how sloppy some 172's look...

I bought a campbell hausfield belt-drive compressor - they make less noise. Its not huge but its works.

 

[FracCapt]

I purchased a kit from Cleveland Tool. I substituted a pneumatic squeezer for a hand squeezer. I ordered twice as many clecos as they recommended. I ordered 2 additional sets of cleco pliers(the dang things always seem to disappear when you need them most, so it's great to have 3 or 4 pairs...they're cheap, anyways). I deleted the Sioux air drill from the kit as I already had a Sioux. Cleveland is not the cheapest, but not the most expensive, either.

Since you have plenty of time, watch on ebay and VansAirForce(www.vansairforce.net) for used tool kits for sale. On VAF go to the Forums section. You can save a good chunk of change by buying a good used set.

You will also need a good air compressor. Do NOT get the oilless type....they are too loud. Minimum of 30gal tank is my recommendation. As long as you have a tank that size, the compressor section itself will be big enough.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Plus, get a big one, and move it yourself on dity moves, their heavy = $$$

In that case it can't be TOO big, otherwise how else will I be able to fit those 4 pallets of sandbags?

 

[enigma]

Avbug mentioned Snap-On. Let me add a few thoughts on the subject of good tools. First, Sit down before you ask the Snap-On man how much they cost. Second, there is NO substitute for high quality sockets and wrenches. I have tools in triplicate, if not four times as many as I need. I buy Snap-On and Craftsman sockets and wrenches. I use the Snap-Ons if I'm working on a fastener that takes high torque (considering it's size) and for any fastener that might round off if the tool is sloppy. In other words, I use my Snap-On's for almost everything. I keep the Craftsman tools for the times when I might drop and loose a small socket. Don't get me wrong, Craftsman tools are quite good, but I highly suggest that you buy at least a set of 1/4 inch drive sockets and a small set of combination wrenches from Snap-On.

For what it's worth, I don't buy Snap-On screw drivers, pliers, hammers, etc. Those can be found other places for far less money.

I buy about half of my good tools from the pawn shop. However, I buy enough from the dealer to keep a good relationship. That helps when you find a speck of rust on one socket and want it replaced. If the dealer knows you, warantee is never a problem. On the other hand, with Snap-On, warantee is almost never a problem anyway.

I do have a few Kobalt tools from Lowes. They are made by a Snap-On sister company, but I haven't much experience with them. They do appear to be much better than that crap sold at Home Depot. (husky)

One more thing, having a full set of Craftsman is good in that you don't mind taking a grinder to one of them in order to make it fit into a place that you have a hard time reaching. You don't want to do that with the Snap-On. Did I say that Snap-On was expensive!!!

good Luck with the RV,

enigma