Tool hall of fame............                                                          

Of all the specialty tools I've used in this build, a few have really lived up to or exceeded their billing.  Before starting the build, I bought Isham's RV-12 tool kit (~$1600), and have been quite pleased with it.  These tools shown, with the exception of the pneumatic puller and manual puller, are ones I bought in addition to the Isham kit.

 The red and black tool at the bottom of the picture is the recently mentioned tight-fit, right-angle drill from Aircraft Spruce.  It's used in conjunction with any other drill and accepts threaded bits which, of course, can be much shorter than normal bits (a #30 bit is in it).  Without this tool to drill out rivets, I'd have been in a world of hurt after the recently documented mistake.

Proceeding left to right is the Main Squeeze from Cleveland Aircraft Tools.  This manual squeezer has a cam arrangement which drastically increases mechanical advantage as the stroke progresses, making the 1/8th-inch rivets much easier to deal with.  The down side is that each rivet-squeezing stroke requires the handle to swing through about a 90-degree arc.  I still use my old squeezer for 3/32nd-inch rivets because I can use it with one hand while holding the part with the other.  In addition to what's shown, I have the tight-fit arbor for the Main Squeeze, which I've needed on a number of occasions.

The manual rivet puller is the one which came with the Isham kit, and will fit into tighter places than any I've seen.  In fact, I've rarely used the little wedges which the plans have builders make as a first step.

Next is my home brew rivet-hole-alignment tool.  It's a 1/8th-inch drift being held in a T-handle for a tap.  I tapered the end of the drift and polished it on my ScotchBrite wheel.  There are typically two or three rivet holes which must be aligned for each rivet to be inserted.  If initial alignment is too poor for the drift to be inserted, I first use an awl for rough alignment.

When lap joints are to be made for curving skins, it is frequently required to brake (or break, in Oregonian) the edges of the top skin in order to ensure a tight joint after riveting.  The Vise Grip with little rollers welded to the jaws accomplishes this easily.  I think I got it from Avery Tools.

The tool with the blue handle is the best edge deburring tool I've found for the large sheets.  It deburrs both edges at once (although only one edge needs it, usually) and the funky curved piece keeps the cutters at the correct angle.  Can't remember where I got it.

Finally to my favorite tool, the pneumatic rivet puller.  The only branding on it was a sticker which said Isham, so I don't know the manufacturer.  Works great.