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Rivet pullers - hand, pneumatic, add-on, cordless

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karmarepair

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If you're building an aluminum airplane, even one designed around smashed rivets, there are going to be at least a few places where you'll need to pull a rivet, and an RV-12, Sonex, Hummel Ultracruiser, Airodrome replica, Graham Lee replicas, Zeniths, are all designed around inexpensive pulled rivets.

The force required to pull the rivets depends on their size and material. My 62 year old hands can pull 1/8" aluminum shank aluminum body rivets without resorting to Technical Terms, but the even this size in Stainless Steel (Sonex favorite) or the 3/16" aluminum/aluminums I can no longer easily squeze by hand, even with liberal application of Bad Words.

Hand pullers come in several versions; the very cheapest are junk, but you may need a pair to get into tight spaces. Any of the hand pullers that have a seperate "nose", distinct from the handles, have in my experience been pretty much the same. PERHAPS if you're using them a lot, a Name Brand puller like a Cherry or Pop is worth the extra dosh vice an Ace Hardware or Harbor Freight version, but I certainly don't want to use them enough to notice a durability difference.

It used to be the next step up was an air puller. Great if you have compressed air. This usually means a noisy compressor, but I've heard of a builder using a scuba tank and the first stage regulator to step the air pressure down to the 20-40 psi needed. The Harbor Freight version of this tool is fine; I have heard of them lasting through several airplanes.

Lately you can get rivet pullers you chuck into a cordless drill for small money. The example I've been using is Lom Vum brand. My compressor is out of service, and it's too noisy anyway to use in my tight inner suburb backyard shop. The disadvantage of these attachments is they take two hands, to react the torque of the puller itself. But for me, and my setup, it's a game changer. About $20-40 from several internet sellers found either on E-bay or Amazon. NOTE: you MUST reverse the drill to get the shank out before starting on the next rivet.

Milwaukee makes an All In One cordless rivet puller in their M12 Fuel series that looks great; it's also about $200 bare tool, about $350 for the kit. There are ChinCom All In One tools that looks like it using Makita knock-off mechanics and batteries from a little over $100 to about $200 for the kit. And you can pay more - there are pro-grade tools from Metabo and Marson that will set you back five or six Franklins.

ALL these tools require maintenance. The hardened steel jaws get full of aluminum swarf. There is an insidious failure mode if the stem breaks not at the mandrel but way up on the shank - the little nub of the shank can get caught IN BETWEEN the jaws, and there is no way save pulling the whole tool apart to get the nub out. Get extra snap rings for the attachments, as these buggers like to fly away if not managed with extreme care.

I'm happy with my little attachment, driven with a mid-range (the red ones) Harbor Freight cordless driver drill. I may try and rig up a reaction fixture that fastens to the body of the drill so I can pull the rivet with one hand, using the other for holding things in place. Set your torgue to the lowest level that will snap the mandrel, lest it twist the tool out of your hands suddenly and smite you.
 
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