A big day for working on the elevators. With the help of a
friend we built a small bender. Using the 1/8" dia dowel I proceeded to
bend the trim. I repeated the same process as the elevator skins...taping a
dowel inside and placing the skin up against the hinges and then very slowly
bent the skin. It turned out perfect. Since I ordered a second trim a while ago...I
did the second. Just in case.
I then bent the tabs. I cut a wood block (~10 deg) to fit
exactly in the profile I wanted. I then rounded the edges of the block with the
belt sander to ensure that the folded aluminum had about the 1/8" dia
corner. (The aluminum could crack if the bend is too sharp).
I followed the
exact method described in the instructions and the result was good. I did the
second trim tab and this time it was near perfection. Be careful with the wood
block as it can put a slight crease where the edge hits the aluminum. By the
way...the rivet gun with the flush set works perfect. A low, low setting is
good. I should point out that it is very important that the block on top is not located over the trailing edge....the result is that it can put a small dimple into your trailing edge if you do.
I then started to bend the tabs on the elevator but stopped
when I noticed that I needed to trim a very small amount off the tab so it
won't dig into the skin when bent.
