Air drill RPM for aircraft work?

[pugglewuggle]

What's the best RPM for aircraft sheet metal and structural work, and why? The usual options I see are 2600 RPM, 3600 RPM, 4300 RPM, and 6000 RPM.

Is it at all necessary to have a reversible drill or are non-reversible perfectly acceptable?

 

[American Locomotive]

It depends on the size of the drill bit you will be using using, and the material you are drilling through.

For example, aluminum typically will demand 200-300 SFM (surface feet per minute) speed of the drill cutting edge for optimal performance. So if you assume 200 SFM and a 1/8" drill, you'll need ~6000 RPM to achieve that. A 1/4" drill will only need 3000 RPM, and a 1/2" drill will demand 1500 RPM.

 

[pugglewuggle]

In aviation common rivets start at 3/32 and go up to 1/4 for the most part.

 

[cvairwerks]

In aviation common rivets start at 3/32 and go up to 1/4 for the most part.

Depends on what rivets you are using... hole diameters from .098 to .250" cover most applications. I have shot them as big as AD12's though.

 

[pugglewuggle]

Depends on what rivets you are using... hole diameters from .098 to .250" cover most applications. I have shot them as big as AD12's though.

That's a big rivet! Any thoughts about drill RPM for a 1/4 chuck air drill?

 

[cvairwerks]

A drill motor that will run 3600 rpm and is variable speed, is a good all around drill, unless you are going to be doing composite work mostly. Only had need for a reversible drill when we were doing really big holes with a hand held motor.....875" or so. Used an ancient Thor that was about 400 rpm.

For general use, Dotco, Souix, Cleco and Nova are all good. PanAm is supposed to be good too, but haven't ever had one to try.

What'cha going to build?

 

[pugglewuggle]

A drill motor that will run 3600 rpm and is variable speed, is a good all around drill, unless you are going to be doing composite work mostly. Only had need for a reversible drill when we were doing really big holes with a hand held motor.....875" or so. Used an ancient Thor that was about 400 rpm.

For general use, Dotco, Souix, Cleco and Nova are all good. PanAm is supposed to be good too, but haven't ever had one to try.

What'cha going to build?

In A&P school now. Have used a good bit of the tools and have a good idea of what I need to be able to do and the tools and methods for doing it, so I'm looking for a good general purpose air drill for aircraft work that I can use for the next 20+ years and not regret buying it. The school mostly has cheaper Chicago Pneumatic stuff which works pretty well, but I want to get something a little nicer for my own use.

I'm looking at either a Sioux 1412 or 1414, I think. I don't think I want a keyless chuck. Any thoughts on that or other general advice? Looking at some air hammers for riveting as well.

 

[Kenskip1]

http://www.astrotools.com/air-tools/drills-screwdriviers/3-8-reversible-air-drill-1-800rpm.html


This should keep you out of trouble https://www.cp.com/en-us/tools/products/drills

 

[cvairwerks]

You want rivet guns and NOT air hammers....An air hammer is either on or off....a rivet gun has a teaseable trigger that will allow you to go from as little as a single hit, to continuous blows. Older CP, Sioux, Dotco, and Thor air tools are all good. Probably need a decent 3x and 4x rivet gun to start, and if you have the extra cash, a 2x BuckRogers comes in hand at times. No need when starting out to drop the big bucks on new air tools. Hit The Yard Store for used stuff. Your needs will change as you progress thru your career.

Keyless chucks **** in the real world, so pass on a drill motor with them. We have a few at work, but they are pretty much regulated to the bottom of the tool boxes and rarely used. You will need a good right angle drill at some point. Only ones I've ever used were Dotco's, and a couple of big honkin Souix's. Again, spend the money on quality here.

Unless you know that you are going to be doing structures work all the time, you need to build a good general assortment of tools. Don't get suckered into dropping the big bucks on a tool box at first. Depending on where you land, they may have limitations. Buy quality tools for the most used ones and don't be afraid to buy used either, when they are Snap On, Proto, Mac and other known to be good brands. As you go along, you will find that there are better specific tools for some things, and if you have to borrow a tool more than once, you need to buy one for your box.

BTW...Master safety wiring with a pair of dikes and a set of duckbills, and then get a set of Milbar's, with the urethane insert in the jaws.

 

[cvairwerks]

Ken: I'd buy a 3/8's motor as a secondary one, with a 1/4 as the primary, Hundreds of holes a day and the extra weight of the 3/8's will give you lots of unnecessary muscle stress.

 

[RV8guy]

I have an old variable speed Cleco air drill goes down to 150 rpm.

 

[Wamsutta]

High rpm is for drilling thin sheet metal so that the drill bit doesn't get caught on the edge of the hole. The higher rpm also leaves a rounder hole on sheet metal with less burrs.

Having said that, I tend to prefer going with the lowest rpm I can get away with in order to save the drill bits from burning up.

Going keyless or not depends on the chuck key. I don't like those ittybitty chuck keys that come with the 1/4 inch drills; they can be painful and aggravating to work with. I'd rather have keyless than deal with those.

Sioux is the way to go; either that or Dotco.

 

[Air21]

Sioux 1412 is going to probably be the lightest one out there and probably the PanAmerican (NOVA is their air tool brand).

Rpm's over 3500 aren't necessary unless you're doing composites, and you'll appreciate the ability to run slower when you're trying to drill the heads off rivets. It's not just about making pretty holes, it's also about keeping the holes you messed up useable.

 

[22george]

I never liked keyless chucks because they are harder on your wrists, especially as you get older. 1/4 in drills like said before fore most work especially overhead. Older 1/4 Rockwell drills are good as are APT 3/8 drills. I liked how the APT drills fit my hands. They have a teasing trigger. The Rockwells are 2 speed. There are bigger 1/4 chucks (7B) that work well. At times the Little chucks will get into tighter areas. Also as said before Souix and Dotco are top of the line but expensive when buying new. You will also need a 890 degree and 45 degree drill. Uses threaded drill bits. Again APT and Rockwell are good brands. The yardstore . com is a good place to get used aircraft sheetmetal tools. APT is a good brand for rivet guns - good teasing triggers. Jiffy, APT, and Deutsch are all the same company

 

[ttpete]

You want rivet guns and NOT air hammers....An air hammer is either on or off....a rivet gun has a teaseable trigger that will allow you to go from as little as a single hit, to continuous blows. Older CP, Sioux, Dotco, and Thor air tools are all good. Probably need a decent 3x and 4x rivet gun to start, and if you have the extra cash, a 2x BuckRogers comes in hand at times. No need when starting out to drop the big bucks on new air tools. Hit The Yard Store for used stuff. Your needs will change as you progress thru your career.

Keyless chucks **** in the real world, so pass on a drill motor with them. We have a few at work, but they are pretty much regulated to the bottom of the tool boxes and rarely used. You will need a good right angle drill at some point. Only ones I've ever used were Dotco's, and a couple of big honkin Souix's. Again, spend the money on quality here.

Unless you know that you are going to be doing structures work all the time, you need to build a good general assortment of tools. Don't get suckered into dropping the big bucks on a tool box at first. Depending on where you land, they may have limitations. Buy quality tools for the most used ones and don't be afraid to buy used either, when they are Snap On, Proto, Mac and other known to be good brands. As you go along, you will find that there are better specific tools for some things, and if you have to borrow a tool more than once, you need to buy one for your box.

BTW...Master safety wiring with a pair of dikes and a set of duckbills, and then get a set of Milbar's, with the urethane insert in the jaws.

I have a nice 1/4" CP air drill that runs at 3000. It's aircraft-related in that it has a shield around the chuck to prevent work damage. It was like new when I found it at a flea market. Probably originally came home in someone's lunch bucket.

 

[Gonzo3333]

I have the Soux 1410 and I modded it with a Rohm keyless chuck. The keyless chuck is great, especially when you are drilling out different size rivets. Over the course of a day, switching from a 30, 21 and 10 drill bits with a keyless chuck will save you quite a bit if time. You can always mod your drill to take the Boeing quick change system but you will need to get threaded drill bits.

RPM isn’t really a factor when you are drilling out aluminum rivets.

As far as rivet guns go, check out Brown Tool or Yard Store, they have a pretty good selection of starter sheet metal sets that include a drill, rivet gun and some clecos and cleco pliers.

Hope this helps. Remember, always use a drill stop if you don’t know what’s behind what you are drilling.

 

[pugglewuggle]

I have the Soux 1410 and I modded it with a Rohan keyless chuck. The keyless chuck is great, especially when you are drilling out different size rivets. Over the course of a day, switching from a 30, 21 and 10 drill bits with a keyless chuck will save you quite a bit if time. You can always mod your drill to take the Boeing quick change system but you will need to get threaded drill bits.

RPM isn’t really a factor when you are drilling out aluminum rivets.

As far as rivet guns go, check out Brown Tool or Yard Store, they have a pretty good selection of starter sheet metal sets that include a drill, rivet gun and some clecos and cleco pliers.

Hope this helps. Remember, always use a drill stop if you don’t know what’s behind what you are drilling.

Yeah, the biggest thing I was considering was if it would be a pain to switch between the various numbers and fractions when drilling stuff out and making new holes. That Rohn chuck works good? I’ve been skeptical of keyless because I’ve had older ones on cheap drills and they always slip. I’ve never used an industrial grade one in a production of shop environment so I have no baseline for reference on that. All the (very knowledgeable) oldtimers use keyed chucks so I was wondering if it’s because keyless really is that bad or just because it’s what they’ve always used and modern keyless have actually caught up. Thoughts?


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[cvairwerks]

When I was on the production side doing structures work, I had a half dozen drill motors in my box. As an example, doing a major mate drill up, I'd have the following chucked in motors:
#30 jobber length
#20 jobber length
.189" jobber length
.201" reamer
C'sink for MS21140 style rivets, low hand pressure
C'sink for same, heavy hand pressure

Dotco right angle with #40 short
Dotco right angle with #40 long

I could drill the entire mate with that setup and never have to change a tool.

Obviously, starting our, you can't drop the cash to do something like that, and forus, all air tools were company supplied.

As aside: when you get some Microstops for your c'sinks, set them up and label them and don't fiddle with them until you change a cutter out. Set them up for a typical hand pressure for you and the structure you are working on most of the time. In my case, I had them set up with one group for light hand pressure and the other for heavy pressure on major structure. My lights were set for working .040" and lighter, with the heavies for anything thicker.