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Nut plate installation
- Thread starter warmi
- Start date
Mike S
Senior Curmudgeon
I have done it both ways, I find using a bolt/screw makes it a bit more easy.
You can insert a screw into a nut plate, cut the head off, and they use as a tool to locate rivet holes. Just put the screw stub into the part from the outside, drill one rivet hole, cleco, then drill the second rivet hole. Remove the tool and deburr dimple etc as needed.
You can insert a screw into a nut plate, cut the head off, and they use as a tool to locate rivet holes. Just put the screw stub into the part from the outside, drill one rivet hole, cleco, then drill the second rivet hole. Remove the tool and deburr dimple etc as needed.
Norman CYYJ
Well Known Member
And sometimes to over flowingI always use something. All it takes is one misaligned nutplate to fill that cuss jar!
So say you cant use a squeezer and you need to use a rivet gun, do you use some kind of special screw without a head to give you enough room to rivet ( it is only 3/32 but still, the flush rivet set is about 1 inch wide ) ?I always use something. All it takes is one misaligned nutplate to fill that cuss jar!
Maybe. I've used a gun/bar, squeezer, or whatever to set one rivet. Once one is set, the nutplate shouldn't move.
Norman CYYJ
Well Known Member
Use pop rivets, they take very little to counter sink and you can easily mount them anywhere. The rivets need not be structural their only job it to hold the nut plates in postion and not allow it to rotate.
Fenderbean
Well Known Member
nutplate jigs your friend and I did my first few on this kit using the OOPs Rivets which requires no dimple for the attachment, just the center hole!
FWIW - I use an NAS #3 Oops rivet for nearly all the nut plates. I also use a cut short SHCS (socket head) to mimic the installed bolt. I don't dimple for the nut plate attachment rivets - instead I just lightly countersink with the CS tool and install the Oops rivet, set with a squeezer if possible. The SHCS makes it easy to get the squeezer in place. I don't mind using Oops (NAS) rivets here because once the connection is made up - the rivets have little consequence.
Try it on some scrap and see if this method works for you. I didn't invent it but learnt it from another expert builder.
A slight slip-up while setting the rivet ( usually with a squeezer) that results in the rivet tipping slightly, often displaces the nut plate slightly. Having a fastener threaded into the nutplate will keep it aligned in those cases.
A secondary benefit is that it prevents someone from accidentally installing the wrong sized nutplate.
I made this process a must follow rule during the Airventure 2018 One Week Wonder build.
With 120+ volunteers building an RV-12iS in only 6 1/2 days, it was absolutely essential to keep those errors to a minimum.
Do I always follow it myself? No. A lot of the time I don’t even use clecos, but occasionally I have to make a deposit in the cuss jar
I also use NAS1097AD3 rivets exclusively for any nutplate mounted to thin material. Dimple countersinking nutplates and the nutplate attach holes greatly increases the probability of the nutplate tilting or displacing while setting the rivets, because the dimples do not nest together 100%. If the shop head of the rivets doesn’t form perfectly symmetrical, it tends to roll the nut plate slightly on the dimple it is nested against.
This method is fully approved by Vans and is detailed in section 5 of the construction manual.
Check The Yard Store for a used nutplate jig. You really only need one (#6). You’ll thank yourself later.
Norman CYYJ
Well Known Member
Yes
and a small assortment of washers available. No need to thread the fastener all the way thru or even into the NP locking feature. As for the fastener, a cap screw is kinda optimal many times. Small(er) head, no cam-out, etc.
I use NP jigs as well. A lot depends on the substrate thickness, accessibility, etc.
Everyone finds their own preference but one method won't do everything you need.
When installing new nutplates, I used the floating type so even when the bolt hole was misaligned, the floating action allowed the bolt to center find the nut.
