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Plate nut jig—just get one

nohoflyer

Well Known Member
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Plate nut jig (aircraft spruce). Saved me sooo much time.

Initially I did what the plans called for and made my own with a plate nut and a shortened AN4-3A bolt. Biggest issue was the poor fit and my drill would eventually oblong the holes on the home made plate nut jig.

This was for a number 8 screw and worked perfectly.
 
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Plate nut jig (aircraft spruce). Saved me sooo much time.

Initially I did what the plans called for and made my own with a nut plate and a shortened AN4-3A bolt. Biggest issue was the poor fit and my drill would eventually oblong the holes on the home made plate nut jig.

This was for a number 8 screw and worked perfectly.

Get a #6 and #10 as well... :)
 
Don’t stop there.

6 thru 1/4
One and two lug styles

Trying to save a few dollars on tools most always comes back to bite me. Yard store is a great place to do business with.
 

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I've had reasonable success using a nut plate, but only for 2 or 3 times. Yes the holes in the nut plate start to wander, so I toss it in the garbage and grab another one. I can toss about 75 nut plates for the price of the jig. That's 200 nut plates if each one gets used 2-3 times, probably not worth it for a pre-punched kit.
 
No desire to start a debate with DavidZ. Everyone gets to build they way they choose; however:

There’s a lot of slop (tolerance) in a screw/bolt hole. More if you don’t engage all the way to the fastener shank when using such for a guide. I’ve done the nut plate method for templating a NP hole. Do-able but too time consuming for me. Also the extra care required for the aforementioned. The pilots/stud on the NP jigs are very close tolerance. That alone can save some anguish and possible rework.

Build the way one wants. It’s all good. For me, the NP kit paid for itself doing the floor panels alone. Jigs with “flexible” handles are more forgiving.

Cheers Boys.
 
I agree with getting all of em: #6, #8, #10, and 1/4”. One of the most underrated tools for RV building. I used mine for every nutplate.
 
Nut plate jig

Intalled a lot of nut plates in the past without the jig. Finally got one and realize I should have got on board in the beginning. Recover some of the cost by selling when your build is done.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer
 
Thanks! That's good to know the rivet spacing is the same.

I just ordered the #6 and #8. The plastic handle variants were $16 and $10. I'll see if I regret cheapening out of $34 by not buying the standard handle.
 
I believe the rivet spacing is the same, so one could get by with a #8 and then just enlarge the center hole for #10 or 1/4" applications

By that technique, all sizes can be done with a #40 nut plate jig. I have probably a dozen jigs but the 40 was the one of choice.
 
All of the “workarounds” are probably great for new PP constructions. There will be times when that’s not practical for reworks, mods, earlier kit construction, etc. Of course, it’s personal; your time and your money. I state the NP kit option for people with my past experiences; paying more for piecemealing tool assortments together later versus paying less for a kitted assortment up front. I’ll state again, man if coils have the money back for each time I tried to save a few bucks on tools only to have it bite me later in time wasted due to inefficiency, parts requiring rework, additional shipping costs, etc.

Along the same lines = if you’re going to buy a strap duplicator (another great error reducing, great time saving tool), get the nice set with #40 thru 1/4 and pilots in both directions. You can live without them at some additional risk. Worth their weight in gold when needed.

Just sayin’ but to each his own. Build safe.
 
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