If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have popped 1-2 hundred dollars for an industrial strength rivet pulling toll. But no... I broke or bent 4 rivet tools before I found a combination that worked.
In the end I bought a Stanley tool, stripped off the plastic grips, and used hose clamps to attach a couple of 2X2's.
Not a pretty soultion. But it works.
For those like myself, who lead a mostly sedentary life, I'd suggest buying a hand-operated hydraulic rivet tool. Or, perhaps, a pneumatic gizmo.
If you haven't been "pumpin' iron," you're gonna find "pullin' 3/16 stainless" a bit much.
The Wings of Freedom factory Flitplane had poorly braced root ribs. When the fabric was tautened, the root ribs bowed. That left room for the fuel tank, but left the fabric wrinkled. Not good.
Ed Fisher's original design called for a fuel tank that was made of welded aluminum. I tried to make a tank based on Ed's notions. Wrong! I hit the "working aluminum" ignorance wall.
The carnival barker who sold me "Magic Welding Sticks" at OSH didn't tell me the whole story. After much effort, I found that heating sheet aluminum enough to melt the magic sticks blew the temper of the aluminum.
It's not the first time I've been stupid.
Linda, my beloved wife, caught me wearing the results of my fuel tank experiment. I'd said no. And was working on lyrics for "The Fuel Tank Blues..." as sung by Darth Vader, in a dunce cap...
BTW... A gallon is 231 cubic inches.
The volume of a cylinder is pi*r-squared*h.
The volume of a cone is 1/3 pi*r-squared*h.
Since I'm missing the bottom cone, I'm wearing less than a 5 gallon hat.
FAR 103 legal!
All fuel tank design/location ideas are welcome.
Next, I think I'll work on covering the tail feathers...