The thing about airplane tools is that there are so many specialized ones—the same tool adapted in different ways to fit different situations. Rivet squeezing is a great example: you might use a hand squeezer or a pneumatic squeezer, depending on what fits the location of the rivet you’re trying to set. Ribs or spars get in the way, stringers are the bane of our existence, and don’t get us started on working through lightening or inspection holes!
The bottom line is that by the time you’ve built several airplanes, you’re likely to have several different yokes, squeezer bodies, and a bunch of modified dies. You might even have some very unique and specialized tools.
One of these special tools was just created by ExperimentalAero and can be seen at the Flyboy Accessories booth at AirVenture. It’s a squeezer body that attaches to any of your favorite yokes but uses a threaded bolt to form the factory head. You can tighten the bolt with a wrench or an impact driver, and it fits in places many pneumatic or hand squeezers won’t. We formed a couple of rivets with it—and the darn little thing works!
Price has yet to be determined. The sample is there to get reactions from builders who drop by—so give it a look, squeeze a rivet, and let them know what you think. My take? It’s possibly a neat addition to the toolbox. You might only use it once in a while, but when that time comes, it might be your only answer.
