We took advantage of some good weather to do some finish work on the horizontal stabilizer.
After deciding to prime the interior of all parts, I'm much less concerned about scratching pieces like spars, etc. Obviously I still want to prevent deep scratches that may affect the structure, but the cosmetic stuff will be buffed in anyhow in prep for primer.
I decided, however, to keep as much of the blue nylon on the outsides of the skins as possible...being a rookie, I figured I'm liable to make a real mess that will only make my life harder when it comes time to paint.
My lovely assistant came out to help; she's decided the Avery speed deburr/c'sink tool is her favorite - and more effective than the 12V drill operated deburr tool we bought from Cleaveland for rib hole deburring. The Cleaveland tool still wins for skins by virtue of speed.
After deburring, we each took a turn at dimpling the understructure & skins.
And then I found my first mistake. Somehow I elongated a hole between the right HS skin and the forward spar.
I attempted to drill it out to 1/8" to salvage the part with a larger rivet, but there was still too much space around the rivet when I test-fit it.
I chalked it up to education, and ordered the replacement spar from Van's ($19.50). Now my concern is being able to match-drill the spar without elongating any holes in the skin or other ribs, compounding the problem. One thing at a time, I suppose.
I also set up the drill press for my first countersinking, which went well. I went deeper than I otherwise might have after learning at the EAA workshop that shallow sinks lead to bubbled joints. Sure, we'll call that a technical term.
2 dimpled skins! See below for muppet construction.
Empennage: 3 hrs
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