Bushcaddy Tool List. 

Building an airplane requires special tools, most of which you probably don't have.  The tools detailed below are specifically for building an all metal airplane.  Most of these are required, while others are a luxury and just make the job easier.

I bought most of my tools at Aircraft Tool & Supply .   Another good source for new and high quality used aviation tools is The Yard Store.  Other tool companies have some very good products and individually may have better pricing.  Overall ATS had the best prices but other companies have some unique tools that you will find very handy.  Check out Cleaveland Tool, Brown Tool Company &

Avery Tool and check out their miscellaneous sections.  Where possible I have listed a part # so you have something to refer to and look at and then shop around.   Ebay is a great source for good used tools and can save you a lot of money.  McMaster Carr is a good source for just about anything, as is Grizzly.  Harbor Freight has very cheap tools but a lot of them are junk so be careful. 

Some of these tools aren't required, they just make the job easier.  It really comes down to how much cash you have to spend.  Good tools and the proper tools make a big difference.

Clecos – I got all mine on Ebay.  1/8 – 250 minimum (350 wouldn’t be a bad idea); 3/16 – 25; 5/32 – 40; 3/32-15.  Also a good idea to have at least two of each (1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and ¼) of the long type that can grip at least 1” and have the tightening bolt or wing nut on top such as those from Brown Tool Company listed as item # KHN.

Cleco pliers, ATS # 131

Fluting pliers, ATS # 7070

Hand seamer, ATS # S7

Rivet cutter, ATS # 130HD

Spring Loaded Punch, you will use this all the time for marking your drill holes, I got mine at Harbor Freight, Item # 621-5VGA.

Metric measuring tape - better get used to Millimeters.

Chip Chaser, ATS # SP2005

Rivet spacing tool, ATS # FS01 get the long one, you will use this all the time.  Check Brown Tool for this as well, could be cheaper.

Bucking Bar – you can get sets, I’m not done yet but to date I have used only ATS # 142,  I know other builders have used many different varieties.

Hack Saw 

Strap Duplicator (Hole Finder), invaluable tool for locating holes from one skin to another, get two- ATS #’s 52-12 and 62-12, one has the punch, the other you drill right through.  These are for #30 drill holes, you can also get others for different size drill holes later if you need them.

6” flexible metal ruler, metric – you will use this all the time.

Sharpie’s – black ultra fine, start with 6 and get “ultra fine”, these will make a line approx 1 mm thick anything else is too thick.

Plumb Bob

Levels – various sizes, I got a Smart Tool digital level and they are invaluable and can do degrees as well, so they will help you in many areas, in my opinion it’s worth the money.  I got mine at Amazon.

Carpenter Squares and T’s – get a variety of sizes

Edge Forming Tool – I got mine at Cleaveland Tool,  Item # EF60, other tool companies have less expensive varieties, and as others have done you can make your own, but I have found this one to be very useful.  Brown and Avery have less expensive versions than this one.

Files – Mill file, viper or bastard with a flat side and a curved side and get a high quality set of small files of all shapes like item # AE12800 from Brown Tool.  These are round, thin, flat and curved, you will use these all the time, the small round in particular on rivet and drill holes and the small flat for those rectangular holes where you are fitting one piece through another.

Deburring tools – many to choose from.  Get ATS # SP275.  One you can make yourself is to glue a #14 dremel bit into a bic pen, these are very handy for doing the inside of things like stringers where you can’t reach with the others, use large drill bits for large drill holes, use various grades of Roloc 2” wheels for the side of skins that you won’t see, that saves a lot of time.  It's also a good idea to get the tip of one those SP275's and put it in an electric screw driver or drill.  When you're doing the large skins, especially the wings having it set up that way will save a lot of time.

Hand shears – don’t scrimp here, get a high quality cutter that makes a straight non serrated cut.  Ok to use the green, red, yellow handle set for areas that won’t be seen but these have serrated edges which will cause you to have to file everything in areas where you see the component.  You will use shears every day so spend the money on a very good set like Item # 52302 from Avery Tools.  Also get an offset hand shear for those long straight cuts.  Other builders have reported they really like Robin Snips as well.

Hand Nibbler - Very nifty tool for making very precise rectangular or other type holes in the aluminum skin.  For the price you can't beat it.  I got mine at Aircraft Spruce, Item # 12-10400.

Hand riveter - get one with short handles and a swiveling head, these are for areas you can’t get to with the pneumatic puller.

Pneumatic Rivet Puller – I got my first one at Harbor Freight , item # 93458-2VGA for $39.  It lasted until after I finished the right wing.  While using a friend's, which was a much better quality, I realized there was a big difference in the way the heads of the rivets looked, so I ordered an ATS Riveter from Aircraft Spruce for $84.  You get what you pay for. They look the same on the outside but they're very different on the inside.

Rivet Measuring Gauges- you need two, get the kit from ATS # RG031-Kit .

Rivet Squeezer – Many ways to go here, I got a pneumatic rivet squeezer on ebay for $275 (CP 214) and I can’t even begin to tell you how handy it is and the speed with which you can dimple holes or squeeze rivets.  After using one I would never go to the hand squeezer and you can resell it on ebay after you are done.  If you go for the hand variety I have heard that the ones with swiveling heads are good, such as ATS # 5022-3A.  I got the following accessories for my pneumatic squeezer at Cleaveland Tool , Squeezer yokes SNY40, SNYF251 and the adjustable set SNSHA45.  Also check out Brown Tool for these as they may be less expensive there at this time.  Brown also has the best price I have seen for a new CP 214 squeezer, which you may want to consider, as you're never really sure how much life the used ones have left.

Rivet Gun – the generic ATS # 2602A will give you everything you need.

Rivet Flush Set – ATS # 12C

Rivet Sets – ATS # 120, you also need two 1/8 offset sets, one 3” and one 6”.

Squeezer Dimple Die Set – ATS # SKT17

Pop Dimple Die – ATS # 5102D, you need this for dimpling stringers etc, where you can’t fit the squeezer into the opening, a very handle tool, you use this with the hand riveter.

Caliper, dial or digital that can do both MM or inches, I got mine at Harbor Freight, Item # 47257-5VGA.  You will use this all the time.

Drill press

Drills – Good quality battery operated drill.  Decent electric drill.  90 degree angle drill, pneumatic or electric, I got a pneumatic at Harbor Freight for $25.  A regular pneumatic drill is also handy, they hey have very high RPM, also available cheap at Harbor Freight.

Drill bits – All bits should be 135 degree split point.  Spend the money for decent bits, it pays off in the end. #30 – 20 bits; 3/32, 3/16, 5/32 , ¼ - 5 bits each.  Get some 6” bits in every size except 5/32 and 3/32.  Get a couple of Kobalt in 3/16 and ¼ for drilling through steel like the landing gear mounts .  You will go through a lot of drill bits.

Unibit – Good for larger holes, get a good quality, get one that allows you to do the deepest steps possible like Brown Tool, Unibit UN-2.

Microstop Countersink – ATS # 133KIT

Bench Grinder with grinding wheel and scotchbrite wheel, expensive but necessary.

Rivet Removal Tool- not totally necessary, you can drill them out, but this tool is accurate and might save you from enlarging the hole.  ATS # 1341A

Clamps, every type you can imagine.  Get at least 4 of the large Irwin type hand clamps, Item # 59400CD, these get “inside”.  At least six, 3” or 4” hand spring clamps, at least four, 6” heavy duty hand spring clamps, at least four of the 1” cleco type spring clamps from Brown Tool, Item # KSG3/4X.  Another clamp that is very handy because you can get “inside” things and is smaller than the Irwin type is a Carr Lane CL 50 PL, get at least 4 of these, they are frequently on ebay, I don’t know where else to get them. Perhaps a smaller version of the Irwin 59400CD would work as well but the Carr Lane’s are very nice because they are adjustable and hold extremely tight.

Swaging Tool

Riv Nut Installer – not necessary but very handy for installing blind screws, these can be very expensive but I got a cheap new Chinese one on ebay for $17 and then you can get the Rivnuts from Aircraft Spruce.  Do some research on these, they are very handy to have.

Rotozip Cutter – not necessary but great to have.  I use it to cut all my metal instead of a hack saw, it is very fast and gives very clean cuts.

Hole Aligning Tool, this is a very handy device for making sure your drill holes are lined up and for correcting holes that may be misaligned especially when the pilot hole is slightly off from where you want it, this saved me on the landing gear mounts. I got mine at Brown Tool, item # BAT 54SBK.  Get 5/16, ¼ and 3/16 bushings for it.

Nut Plate Jigs – Not necessary but these are very handy for drilling the holes for nutplates or captive nuts, which can be very time consuming to install, I got a set on ebay, cheap.  They look like Brown Tool # BAT 3518

Torque Wrench, you need a torque wrench that measures in “inch pounds” and not “foot pounds”.  I went cheap and ended up wishing I hadn’t because the tool wasn’t accurate.  After wasting my money I got a good wrench through McMaster Carr, Item # 5718A31.  I strongly advise you to spend the money for a good one (approx $140) and get one with a dial where you can read the pressure.  In my opinion the wrenches that click, especially on the low end just aren't accurate.  You have a lot of bolts to torque and it is important to get them right.

Tape- I use that blue removable painters edge tape over all the solid rivets, it holds them in place and protects the skin from the rivet set.

Die Grinder – You won’t use it a lot and can convert a drill but these come in handy.  I got a cheap pneumatic at Harbor Freight for $18, Item # 44716-1VGA. 

Compressor, very important.  You want a compressor that can deliver the most CFM at 90 psi.  Horsepower is not always the most important thing.  A good one is a Makita Mac 2400, 2.5 HP.  It has a SCFM rating @ 90 psig of 4.2, which is pretty good.  It is also probably the quietest compressor you can get that will deliver a decent volume of air.  You can get one through Amazon.com for $269 delivered.  Also not a bad idea to get one of those 7 or 10 gallon storage tanks to go along with the compressor, they’re cheap and it’s nice to have the extra air.

Anti Fatigue Mats - Worth their weight in gold.  I have two that I got on ebay, cheap.  They are rubber of some sort, approximately 1" thick with holes in them.  Each mat is 2' x 3'.  You are going to spend hundreds of hours on your feet, these really do make a difference.