Tools for building Cobra

[Makgecko2017]

Oh Yesss....can't forget that!

[initiator]

I didn't buy the HF pneumatic riveter until the 3rd or 4th time I tried to pull a 3/16" rivet. The 1/8" rivets are okay with the hand-puller, but I was having to be super careful not to have the riveter bounce and hit my carefully-applied panel paint when the rivet pin snapped off. The 3/16" rivets were impossible with my hand riveter. I have average strength, but couldn't finish the job.

I pulled half a dozen 3/16" rivets with the HF pneumatic last week - no trauma, no wrist ache. Well worth the money. Just hold a rag over the front vent or it will spew oil mist when you pull the trigger.

- Invested in a Milwaukee M18 cordless with Lithium batteries because the constant drilling finally killed my old DeWalt 12V batteries.
- Angle grinder and/or Harbor Freight bench sander (wheel plus strip) are on my wish list.
- Bought a pack of short double-ended #30 bits that last quite a while drilling Aluminum, not quite as long in steel. Also bought three 6" and one 12" #30 bits for those hard-to reach holes. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Borrowed a portable band-saw from our company lab to cut steel for brackets and engine lift points. 1/4" steel - no problem.
- Dremel with a good variety of grinding, sanding, and cut-off attachments is almost a requirement
- Solid bench vise
- Borrowed our company engine hoist and bought the HF engine leveler. Looks like the HF 2-ton folding hoist is popular with others.
- Unibits. These things are great for nice, round holes in sheet metal. I got a three-pack of different sizes on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Cleco fasteners and a Cleco pliers. I got 50 in 1/8" and 25 in 3/16". Boulderfly on Amazon is reasonably priced.
- Spray handle for rattle cans. This transformed my spray technique and eliminated finger pain. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- White paint marker, for marking on the black powdercoated chassis. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Metal shears for cutting Aluminum panels. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Deburring tool. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Center punch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's it so far.

Joe

[jwsnake56]

Ditto on Joe's suggestions. A good 18V cordless is handy but if you are like me and prep a large amount of sheet metal at one time (like the whole trunk area, or both floor panels) the cordless battery life is an issue. If you have a good air compressor a pneumatic drill motor works very well for drilling all those holes at once. The other issue I have with a cordless is the keyless chucks don't hold #30 jobber bits (plain old round ones) well enough that when you are just about through steel tube or channel they grab and spin on the bit. A pain. I can get the keyed chucks tight enough that this doesn't happen.
You can't have too many cleckos !!!
John S.