RivetBangers.com

...for the record, these parts are pretty much done. Wing pics will follow in the next few weeks.



...and the VS:




CJ

Hey, check you out!

Congrats. It must be nice. Im beginning to think Im a slow builder ... not that I care that much, Im having too much fun.

Hey, nice lookin' work CJ!

I've said it once and I'll say it again. I can't wait til you paint these to see how nice your rivets fill in. Man, thay are going to be sweet! Drag! what Drag? That engine is to slow it down. Not speed it up.

Captain!

Congratulations! Very nice work. I've got my stab and vertical done, and now alodining rudder parts before priming tomorrow morning.

I made one of those female ddimple ddies for getting into the ttight rribs and trailing edge of the rudder. Works pretty well. I'm gonna try back riveting with he 4 inch bar tomorrow as per the Sport Aviation article.

Up here in Canada, I have to wait before buttoning up all the skins so that the inspector can peak inside the guts of the beast. Howsabout you guys in the States??? It looks like yours are all finished off.

Cheers,Pete

Thanks All,

Mustang, it is optional for us to have the interiors inspected. Mine had been looked at by several people. The rudder was inspected by Ken Balch (Star Spangled RV-8 ) and the others by fellow builders. Most importantly, myself. After all, I am the one betting his bacon this thing will work!

...and WHAT a COWINKIE DINK! I made a tight spot dimpler last night too!

I will post pics later. It came out pretty good, I think!

CJ

Priming ? This time of year? In BC? Sheesh, how do you do it? Ive got my HS sitting in pieces on a shelf waiting for March/April so I can prime it before assembly. Ill look impressive though when I assemble the whole tail kit in two weeks

John,
I've got all the rudder parts ready to go. I've riveted the stiffeners onto the skins. Now I'm ready to bend the crease into the trailing edge. Are there any tricks to building the 2 X 8 bending brake? Anything I should know about the actual bending process??

Please let me know ASAP because I'm gonna build and bend tomorrow.
Thanks, Pete

If anyone wants to chip in here with advice, fire away.

Thanks, Pete

Yes, throw away the "pipe as a handle" idea.

Drill the center for a 1/4" threaded rod to clear in 3 equidistant places, dress them with large fender washers and nuts. These 3 "pressure points" will be your means of compression. It is far more accurate and easier to control.

CJ

John,
I think we are talking about different processes. The 2, two by eight bending brake is the piece I am talking about. I think your advice was for the roll bender for the L.E. of the surfaces. The bending of the trailing edge is the process we are about to tackle. we have just purchased the straight lumber and door hinges and we are about to go and install the hinges to manufacture the bending brake.

So my question was about the actual aluminum bending process and how you went about it.

My experienced builder friend who is away right now uses very small dowelling inside the trailing edge while folding the crease. I do not see any reference to that in Van's instructions?

Cheers, pete

John,
Upon re-reading your post, I think I understand it now. You are saying to drill into the 2 X 8 edgewise with the treaded rod to use for compression handles, correct?
Cheers, pete

Sorry it took me so long to answer back. I had to take a nap with all this snow fighting that is going on. Anyhowwww....

I am talking about the TRAILING edge. Lemme take it from the top and be a bit clearer.

Build the brake from the 2 by's, actually SIXES is what my buddy has that I used. Plane them smooth and straight. The straighter they are, the straighter and crisper the product (your control surface) will be.

Clamp them together making them essentially a "four by" and install the three hinges on one side.

Halfway across the width of the board (3 1/2" in if it is a 2x8) drill holes across from the hinges for threaded rods pass through both boards. This effectively bolts the both of them together preventing the hinges from operating, if you know what I mean.

The cross bolts are loosened to the point of allowing the control surface which is required to be folded, into the mouth of the brake to the point the aluminum CS almost touches the cross bolts. Placing some tape in the center of the cross bolts so your rudder doesn't contact the threads and become scratched.

Install the 1/8" dowel which prevents creasing the part beyond a nice 3/16" raduis.

Compress the brake (using the threaded rods) and subsequently the control surface.

Repositioning the part in the brake several times and checking down the edge for trueness from time to time will ensure a quality job.

This is WAAAAAAY better than just honking down on the brake with pipe handles like the Orndorff videos state.

Lemme know if you have any more questions.

CJ

Oh, and incedentally...

The leading edges I got creative with as well.

I got some 1/2" PVC electrical pipe. Cut a short piece for the outside (top) bend and a longer one for the remaining bends. I performed the bends one at a time, in other words three pairs of bends were done.

This is due to the fact that it IS a wrestling match and your hand muscles really get a work out. The shorter the pieces, the easier it is to bend.

First, the top. A short hunk of PVC with a 10" handle made of more threaded rod. I cross drilled another clearance hole in the PVC and placed a nut on both sides of the pipe. This is the "handle".

TIP: Bend the top overlapping side FIRST! This way when you bend the UNDERLAP second, it will naturally fold itself under the overlap which is already bent.

This is done by duct taping the pipe/rod combination to the edges being folded, one at a time.

Then, move onto the next four bends.

This is very difficult to explain without pictures. Let me know if you need more info. I am glad to help.

CJ

John,
Well, we got the trailing edge bent, and it came out pretty well. I forgot about the 1/6th dowel but I found some teflon tubing to suffice. The only wrinkle (ouch! I hate that word!) was that there was a slight bulge where the skin transitioned to the top rib. The rest of the surface was very flat. We bent the flanges of the tip rib a bit flatter but there was still a slight bulge. Oh well. We test fitted the fiberglass tip cap into the cavity and it will take some grinding to make that fit already.

We already had our brake constructed when I got your post so we carried on the standard way. One trip to the lumber yard was enough.

We took your advice bending the leading edges, doing it by sections and found it quite difficult, even doing it that way. I think using a narrower diameter tube would make it easier than with the one inch that we bought earlier. We are making progress on this and will finish it tomorrow. This does not seem like an easy task getting the bends even on both sides and making ends meet, as it were. My hands are raw from pushing down on the pipe. Not for the faint of heart!

Thanks for all the help John, most appreciated.
Cheers, Pete

Cool!

Yes, the leading edge IS quite a wrestling match.

Do not underestimate the 1/4" threaded rod as a compression tool. On your next job, drill the 3 holes in the 2x8's and use the rod to compress the brake. It is far more precise and controllable.

Glad it worked out for you!

CJ

CJ -

That is about the smoothest HS & VS I've ever seen!!! NICE WORK!!!

Did you make out of your front dor yet?!? I saw the picture with 5 feet of snow!

- Peter

when we bent our trailing edges, we did it on the floor and just knelt on the 2x6 till the bend was good. Work's great and will also save time. As far as the leading edge's, the bigger dowel is good with a vise grip's clamped on both end's of the dowel, quick and easy! Good Luck

Thanks!

I got out today and took more pix!

Roads are still hard to travel on. We are mostly down to one lane. Oncoming traffic is a nuisance because people with 2WD's are out carousing and they can't pull over and let you pass.

Look in the Snow!! thread for new pix.

CJ

Nice looking work. Congratulations.