Tonight I started dimpling parts. I made it through the counterweight skins and the four elevator skins. It’s a satisfying job, and so easy with the DRDT-2, I don’t know how others manage with a c-frame and mallet.
I started by breaking the trailing edges of the skins, so they will lay flat when riveted in the final step. I used my hand roller tool, which was way better than fiddling around with the hand seamers. The tool has two small wheels, and is clamped to the edge, one on each side. One is set to a slight angle. You clamp it to the edge, then draw it along, and the edge bends slightly. I wish I had used this on the rudder, it would have saved me some time.
Dimpling the skins is pretty standard stuff. However, the trailing edges require a narrow die, which I had purchased some time ago. The training edge is bent to fit flush with the trailing edge wedge, and the regular dimple die would interfere with the bend. The narrow die is ground down towards the tip, so it can dimple in some tighter places.
