June 23, 2007 ...  I didn't want to buy a C-frame to rivet my spars and I didn't know anyone who had one to loan. While riveting my practice piece, I achieved good results holding the bolt, but it was painfully slow holding it perfectly straight. So I came up with my own design of a simple riveting frame. It is made with the same material as my work table top, assembled with 2 inch deck screws.

Using my drill press, I bore two holes in the top plank. In one hole I inserted a nylon bushing with a 3/8" inside diameter. I bore the other hole    (1 inch diameter), to accept 2 nylon bushings (3/8 inch thick) with a 1/2" inside diameter hole. The nylon bushings fill the entire thickness of the wood.

 

I fabricated two retainer plates from some scrap aluminum, and bored one with a 1/2" hole, and the other with a 3/8" hole. I drilled a countersink on each plate corner and fastened each retainer plate with four small wood screws to the bottom of the top plank. These plates keep the bushings securely in place. I installed two (8 inch) bolts; one 1/2" diameter, and the other 3/8" diameter after grinding the bolt head round and flat.

 

The square cutouts in the bottom plank slide smoothly over the bucking bar, and hold it securely under the bolt. I made the rectangle holes a little longer than the depth of the bucking bar so I can move/adjust the bucking bar if needed. The bolts work very smoothly and the nylon bushings keep the bolts perfectly straight. Total cost for this handy little gadget ... about $8.00.  I will include more photos when I get to the actual process of bucking rivets.