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Dumb Newbie Question

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This is probably going to sound pretty dumb, but have any of you who used a hand squeezer found that you had a harder time using the squeezer than the rivet gun solo? It seems counterintuitive, but I've found that I seem to have an easier time using the gun. Getting the squeezer properly positioned and holding it steady while squeezing, especially on -4 rivets feels daunting, even with the Main Squeeze. Maybe it's because the practice projects focused so much on use of the gun. Any tips that you found helped with squeezer techniques?
 
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Not all that surprising. I had very good results with the rivet gun and pneumatic squeezer, not so much with the hand (lever) squeezer.
 
Here's my squeezer technique: Use a pneumatic squeezer. If you don't have one, it's WAY worth the nominal investment. Easier to use, with much more consistent and proper rivets. When able, I locked the squeezer's arm into my bench vice, giving me two hands to position the part before smashing the trigger with one hand.

I never used my hand lever squeezer again after the first week (after I used the pneumatic one for the first time).

I used the rivet gun for any applications where the squeezer won't work (skins, etc).
 
Me Too

I found the gun/bar easier and faster than using the Main Squeeze in most places.
 
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I have a plain 'ol ATS squeezer that was $89 when I bought it all those years ago. I'll default to it in a heartbeat any time it is appropriate. I get repeatably good rivets from it.

On the other hand, I have a large yoke squeezer from Spruce that would be a better boat anchor than rivet squeezer. It has way too much flex.

The point is, it may depend on the squeezer and I'm sure it depends on technique.
 
Gun & tungsten

I prefer gun and tungsten for most work. I do like the pneumatic squeezer if it's a string of identical #3 rivets.
 
It’s definitely not strange what you are experiencing, especially with -4 rivets. One thing you may want to try, which was mentioned above, is to clamp the hand squeezer yoke with the opening pointing up in your vise and then you can hold the work piece with one hand and pull the lever with the other. You can rivet quickly this way without having to worry about twisting the workpiece when clamped down. Though -4 rivets are always going to be much harder to squeeze with a hand squeezer.

What works for me is to use the hand squeezer for -3 rivets, in the vise if the work piece can be moved to the vise without much trouble.

For -4 rivets I use the Numatx squeezer, which I like a lot better than the typical pneumatic squeezer, because it’s very easy to control and once you have it dialed in for a given rivet diameter you don’t have to adjust it for the thickness of the material/height of the rivet like you do with other squeezers.

I use a squeezer when able because it all but guarantees a perfect rivet. I use a 3x rivet gun for everything else.

It’s all about finding what works best for you.
 
Riveting and using -4 size rivets for the hidden hinge, hidden release hinge, etc on the Panther LSA last week, I rediscovered the joys of my hand squeezer. Unfortunately my muscle mass has over years somehow slipped from biceps/triceps combination to what I’d now call a belly, and some of the good leverage has been lost.
Still, a satisfying feeling once done, and less time spent in the gym are the rewards :D
 
Relatively new builder here. About 2/3rd of the way through my empennage kit.

I bought both the Main Squeeze and a Numatx squeezer. I only use the Main Squeeze in very limited situations. The Numatix on the other hand? Really slick, the hand piece is a fraction of the size of a typical pneumatic squeezer. Beauty is that I set it to 42 pounds of pressure and EVERY #3 rivet is perfect regardless of length. 82 pounds for a #4. Easily worth the money.
 
I could swear there is a "sweet spot" depending how you adjust the plunger especially noticeable on number 4 rivets. So adjusting the plunger so you only get an initial set with full squeeze, then readjust the plunger to complete.
 
When I attended an RV build school, we used hand squeezers the entire weekend in the class. They told us to not even try to use their pneumatic squeezer unless we were prepared to buy one. They were right. After using theirs, I bought a pneumatic one as soon as I got home. Never regretted it. Well, except for that one time when I pinched the snot out of my fingertip with it.:rolleyes:
 
I didn't ever buy a manual squeezer so can't comment on their use. Bought/used a pneumatic squeezer prior to buying the empennage kit, one of my most favorite tools. Tungsten bucking bar and good 3x gun right up there.

Tip: When using a squeezer (manual or pneumatic) in small assemblies, either clamp the squeezer in your bench vice, OR clamp the small assembly on your bench. Otherwise, you run out of hands to operate the squeezer and hold the small assembly in alignment.

Large assemblies are those that do not move when you rivet them. Wings in the assembly fixture for example.
 
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