Van's Air Force
Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.
Clecos and Dimples
- Thread starter SteveO
- Start date
Desert Rat
Well Known Member
It depends on the cleco. I forget which brand it is, but one of them will hold in a dimpled hole and the other one not so much. You can also try flipping it around and see if it will hold from the other side.
A copper cleco (#30) will be too big to fit in the hole.
A copper cleco (#30) will be too big to fit in the hole.
wirejock
Well Known Member
Wedgelock
Wish Clecolock would modify their tooling. Tons of them sitting in buckets.
Buy Wedgelock. They have a slightly thicker center pin (.005"). Doesn't seem like much but enough to make the differece.
You can buy a box of 4-40 nuts and drill them #40. They work great for extra tension.
Wish Clecolock would modify their tooling. Tons of them sitting in buckets.
Buy Wedgelock. They have a slightly thicker center pin (.005"). Doesn't seem like much but enough to make the differece.
You can buy a box of 4-40 nuts and drill them #40. They work great for extra tension.
Wedgelok
Definitely Wedgelok over clecolock cleco's after dimpling, but the other way around beforehand. I've found the Wedgelok's are a real pain to put in & remove in the prepunched factory holes.
It gets tough holding things like tanks together where there's a relatively thick skin trying to pull things apart, unless you use the Wedgeloks.
Definitely Wedgelok over clecolock cleco's after dimpling, but the other way around beforehand. I've found the Wedgelok's are a real pain to put in & remove in the prepunched factory holes.
It gets tough holding things like tanks together where there's a relatively thick skin trying to pull things apart, unless you use the Wedgeloks.
N804RV
Well Known Member
I had this problem when I used those "sub-structure" dimple dies. I stopped using them.
With the regular #40 dimple dies from Cleveland and the 3/32 clecos from Brown Tools, I haven't had any problems.
To rivet the stuff you've already dimpled, make up some small backers out of a piece of scrap from the trim bundle. You just cut some small squares and drill #40 holes, no need to dimple these temporary cleco backers. But, they'll hold everything together well enough for you to rivet.
Since the holes are now just the tiniest bit bigger, I'd recommend using a cleco in every hole, or at least every other hole to limit the amount of slop between pieces. And, make sure that every dimpled/countersunk hole is properly nested with no gaps. If you have to, get some hex-nut style clecos to draw stuff together tight, and also use cleco edge-clamps where needed.
With the regular #40 dimple dies from Cleveland and the 3/32 clecos from Brown Tools, I haven't had any problems.
To rivet the stuff you've already dimpled, make up some small backers out of a piece of scrap from the trim bundle. You just cut some small squares and drill #40 holes, no need to dimple these temporary cleco backers. But, they'll hold everything together well enough for you to rivet.
Since the holes are now just the tiniest bit bigger, I'd recommend using a cleco in every hole, or at least every other hole to limit the amount of slop between pieces. And, make sure that every dimpled/countersunk hole is properly nested with no gaps. If you have to, get some hex-nut style clecos to draw stuff together tight, and also use cleco edge-clamps where needed.
