On Sep 5, 4:58*am, mhorowit wrote:

Because the bucking bar needs to move, does this mean it can not be
clamped in a vice? - Mike

Not in my experience, and I would dispute the assertion that the
bucking bar actually has to move. I've done plenty of rivets with a
bucking bar clamped in a vise, and have found it a perfactly
reasonable way to go. The dynamics are a bit different than with the
bucking bar held by hand, but plenty workable.

Where I found it necessary to control the dynamics of a bucking bar, I
constructed a machine that uses a Bilstein shock absorber to rebound
and reposition the bar. That was for riveting HP-18 sailplane box
spars. There's a page about it at Wayne Paul's Screder Sailplane
Designs web site:

http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Co...ting_Tool.html

Thanks, Bob K.