Cleaveland Tool shipment arrives; DRDT-2 shelf constructed

Oh happy day - on July 5th, a large shipment of aircraft tools arrived from Cleaveland Tool (thanks for the excellent packing job, Annette!) and a couple days later, the DRDT-2 arrived. I started with the base RV-14 toolkit, and then substituted (e.g. DRDT-2 for the c-frame tool) and added from there.  The quality of all the tools appears excellent. I decided to go with both  2X (Sioux brand) and 3X (Cleaveland brand) rivet guns, since I like the lighter touch of the Sioux 2X for most -3 and -4 rivets, but need the 3X gun for the bigger boys. The Sioux air drill is a lightweight dream. I also decided to get a pneumatic pop rivet puller and a pneumatic squeezer, both of which should save my hands a bit.  I like manually placing my own clecos - for now - so a pneumatic cleco gun is not (yet) on my radar. The tungsten bucking bar is really quite amazing to hold.  The density of tungsten is about 2.5x that of steel, so this 1.7lb little guy should be able to fit into places that the larger, steel, footed bucking bar (2.2lb) can't reach. I'm looking forward to using it.

As many of you know, the DRDT-2 seems to be the premium dimpling c-frame, and many builders have designed separate workbenches for their use.  I went the route of designing a small shelf that fits nicely between the two workbenches, to which I bolted the DRDT-2.  The height of the shelf is such that the lower dimple die will be at the same level as the two workbenches, and the shelf can slide back about 40% to accommodate different aluminum sheet widths.  Removable clamps secure the two tables together, and the shelf to the tables.  Here is the final product, sans dimple dies:

Back side of DRDT-2, along with view of the band saw, grinder with ScotchBrite wheel, drill press, and belt/disk sander:

I installed six 4' LED shop light fixtures, each of which can be turned on separately depending on lighting needs in the workshop.  These puppies are bright - far brighter and more energy efficient than the existing fluorescent tubes (center of pic).

I also received SEM 39682 grey self-etching primer (Amazon), Kleanstrip Prep-all (Amazon; for cleaning non-alclad surfaces just prior to priming), a 3M respirator, two pairs of 3M ear muffs (one for helpers), a few air compressor fittings to convert the standard hose fittings to the lightweight Cleaveland Tool air hose fittings, washer shims for the pneumatic riveter,  and a number of other knick-knacks that I'll mention in future posts when the tools are needed.

Now, I am waiting (rather impatiently, which is my nature) for the RV-14A empennage kit to arrive ... it just left Atlanta, so should be here within the next couple of days.  In the meantime, I placed an order with Vans for the toolbox practice kit, and a couple 6' lengths of 1" and 3/4" aluminum angle ... the toolbox will help de-rust my riveting "skills" that learned at the EAA sheetmetal workshop, and the aluminum angle is in preparation for constructing the trailing edges. I read and watched other builders drill and cleco aluminum angle to trailing edges during construction, to better ensure their straightness.