Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

First time ever clinching tubular rivets this morning.

Something of a job for an octopus, there are so many things to control. I started by sliding the bottom edge of the Sender panel down between two sofa cushions to keep it vertical and stable. I then mounted the Access/Blower Door with the upper and lower hardware. This was necessary to ensure I had the proper clearance between the door hinge plate that mounts behind the Sender panel, and the left side of the TERMINALS, Aerial Mounting Plate. Next was to line up the plate itself with the panel holes and use a strip of masking tape to hold it in place. Then I had to slide the first tubular rivet in place and get the clinching tool properly lined up with it. This was where the exercise got interesting.

When the two ends of the clinching tool are in contact with the rivet and holding, the rivet is still free to slide back and forth in the pieces you are trying to fasten together. You have to ensure the truss head of the rivet is in contact with the material you are joining on that side, while at the same time ensuring the tool is square to the rivet on both the X and Y-axis. This concentration has to be maintained until the clinch you are forming with the tool rolls back far enough to engage the material being joined on its side. At that point the rivet head will pull in as you proceed and you just have to focus on keeping everything square.

The end result is in the attached photos. I do not know when the original mounting plate was broken, but it is really nice to see the first major damage on the Sender having been repaired. Two more bits to go.

The original condition of this TERMINALS, Aerial can be seen back in Posts 302 and 314. The TERMINALS, Aerial was merely test fitted now to see how it looked restored. I have removed it from its Mounting Plate once again until the Sender Panel is reinstalled.

David