Tonight I riveted ribs to the rear spars, along with shear clips and a gusset.
Given my experience riveting thin aluminum, and it’s tendency to bend easily, I used some tape to hold down the edges of the ribs to keep them in position. I also shimmed up the spars to get the spar web square to the bench top. Then I used some more shims to support the squeezer so I could keep everything very steady. The results were great, and all but one rivet set perfectly. On one rivet squeeze I slipped and somehow the rib pulled away from the spar slightly, and the rivet head backed off from the spar web. The result was a gap between the manufactured rivet head and the spar web, and another gap between the spar and rib. I carefully drilled out the rivet head, popped out the rivet shank, and replaced it with a new one.
The end result was perfect, and I went to bed happy.
