Next step was to debur and dimple the rudder skin. This took forever. Most of the holes could be dimpled with the C-frame dimpler, but the holes at the trailing edge couldn't quite be reached straight. So, I used this special tool from Avery, which consists of a normal nail and some dimple dies with holes through them. You put one die on one side of the skin, feed the nail through, put the other die on the outside, and then use a rivet puller to apply compression. It dimples the hole just like any other method. But it takes a while since you have to relocate this whole contraption over and over.
The next step was to back rivet the flush rivets holding the stiffeners to the skin. Jen helped with the rivet tape (Scotch magic tape) process. You use tape to hold the rivets in place when you flip the skin down onto the steel back riveting plate. When you're done, you peel the tape off. The rivets come out great when back riveted.
Here's one row of stiffeners, almost done.
On to the rudder skeleton. This was a pain in the ass since the instructions were really vague and almost impossible to follow in a couple spots. But I was able to figure it out and get through it. Here's the rudder control horn, nut plate for the eye bolt, rib, .032" spacer, spar, and reinforcement plate assembly. This took me over an hour to get set up.
This view shows the holes in the control horn where the control wires and tailwheel springs attach.
Here's a view of the entire rudder skeleton, coming together.
This is the reinforced skin on the top rib that holds the counterweight.
