Tonight I counter-sunk the rudder trailing edge wedge. I used the Cleveland tool jig and counter sink, and was happy with the results.
Because of the shape of the wedge, and the fact that the hole is perpendicular to the wedge chord line while the counter sink is perpendicular to the face of the wedge, the holes ended up slightly oval looking, with a knife edge on the trailing edge side. From researching ahead of time, I think this is normal and not an issue. The wedge’s job is to hold the skins at the correct angle, while the rivets pass straight through with the heads gripping the skins, not the wedge.
Here are the completed rudder parts, ready for final assembly:
Over the last few days I did a couple of odd jobs, including dialing in the counter sink and practicing with wedge scrap.
I bought some side cutters and ground the face flat, then fixed the pop rivets with the broken mandrel.
I also made a start on the Horizontal Stabilizer by straightening out a couple of the doublers that were bent from the press.
