Luis & Fab's RV-7A Construction Log

I figured if I’m embarking on such a ‘serious’ project, I should first screw up a few pieces of aluminum and build some self-confidence. So, I ordered Van’s training kits (yep, both of them..the ‘little wing‘ and the toolbox)

If were to do it again, I wouldn’t order both. One of them will give you enough practice to get started on the real thing.

I got through about 80% on both of them, and then put them aside to start on the real empennage kit. I actually did this for a reason. I would like to use these two kits as training for priming and painting as well, so I figured when I get to the point when I need to start priming empennage pieces, I’ll break out my training kit and prime them first. I will then hand them over to the final paint department (my wife!!!) so she can practice putting a top coat on them :-).

After I had a decent compressor, I needed to start buying tools. Initially I thought I would just buy one of the ‘builder’s kits’ offered by some of the tool companies like Avery, Cleaveland, Browntool, etc. After going to the Orndorff’s workshop, I decided I would instead make a list of the tools I thought I needed, and shop around to get the best price.

So, I started an Excel spreadsheet, like a good engineer. My starting point was the Avery Tools toolkit. I added things I thought I needed, like a pneumatic squeezer, and remove things I didn’t think I’d need, like a hand squeezer. I then had several columns with prices from different companies.

I ended up buying my tools from three places. Most of my money went to The Yard. They have rebuilt pneumatic squeezers for about $350 and all sorts of other cool things. Their prices are very reasonable too. I must admit I was just a little nervous I wouldn’t be getting quality tools’, but after getting the tools and using them on the training projects, I was pretty happy with them. The only exception was a $15 flush swivel set. The rubber guard protrudes too far beyond the flat metal piece, and when pushing against a rivet with a bucking bar on one side and the set on another, I couldn’t fully push the rivet into the hole. This resulted in the rivets being set with the head protruding from the manufactured head side. Not pretty. So, I bought Avery’s $35 set and was very pleased with it.

I also ordered a few tools from Avery Tools. There’s no question they have nothing but quality tools, some of which are their own creations. I bought things like the vise-grip dimpler, fluting pliers, etc. I also bought a 6″ scotch-brite wheel for my bench grinder and a smaller one for the hand-held pneumatic die-grinder.

Finally, the rest of my money went to Brown Tools. I bought a C-frame from them (which is actually manufactured by Avery Tools!), all of my clecos, etc. Shortly after receiving my tools from them, I got a flyer in the mail saying they had a special on Sioux Tools, so I ended up buying a Sioux drill from them as well.

I’ll be happy to share my spreadsheet with anyone interested.