So last weekend we started dimpling the horizontal stabilizer skins with the Whack-a-Mole dimpler (C-frame dimpler). To be honest, I wasn’t happy with the results. To use it, you place the hole in the skin atop the male dimple die, then whack on a long pin, which then drives the female part of the die against the skin to make the dimple.
I discovered 2 things right away… unless you use the exact force each time you strike the pin, your dimples aren’t consistent. I also found it hard to tell if the dimple was set correctly until lifting the skin off the tool and checking it. As it turned out, the great majority of the dimples are under-done, which means I’ll have to go back and whack on them so more. The problem with that is, the more you deform a piece of metal, the weaker it gets. I found I had to strike the pin twice for each dimple near the end. No bueno.
Back when we first started the project, and when I was considering all the tools we had to buy, I had to decide between the C-frame and the DRDT-2. At the time the price of the DRDT-2 seemed excessive for what I needed it to do..produce dimples. Now I know that I not only need a tool that accomplishes this, but I need one that does it consistently, and with the least amount of potential damage to the skin (I have already had the skin jump off the small pin once as I was striking the pin, making a divot).
Anyhow, I bit the bullet and decided to invest in the DRDT-2 anyhow. So now I have 2 deep-reach dimplers…along with 3 or 4 other dimpling devices. For now I’ll keep both, but after re-reviewing the DRDT-2 I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the go-to dimpling device.
The difference between them is that the DRDT-2 is a compression dimpler, just like our hand squeezer, except it’s a giant, honking tank of a device (weights over 30#). One thing I like about the hand squeezer is that it was very easy to produce consistent results. The downside is that it’s tiring to use, requiring both hands and a good amount of force. The DRDT-2 has just one handle, and sits on the table.
Anyhow, so it now joins the other dimplers in the tool shed. I’m excited about it, actually.
Oh, on another note… I also bought a pneumatic squeezer/riveter…so that makes 5 or 6 suqeezers!
