My latest order from Avery Tools came today, including the thin-nose no-hole 4" gap die (pictured on the hand squeezer) as well as two more quick-release pins. As you can see, I no longer need to use the bolts...just pull the pins and you can swap yokes in just a few seconds. Also pictured here is the longeron yoke (on the left), which is good for getting around flanges, and the pneumatic squeezer (lower right).
Here's the rudder in the V-groove jig getting drilled.
Here it is out of the jig to finish drilling. The jig is totally overkill. Helpful when making initial setup adjustments, but after that it just gets in the way.
Here you can see the control horn brace clecoed into place. The rivets holding it in are designed to be pop-riveted instead of bucked or squeezed, since you have no access to the rivets' shop heads. I intend, however, on squeezing the rivets holding the brace to the rib...of course before I rivet the skin on.
Here you can see what I described above...the top three rivets were squeezed, and the bottom three rivets were blind. The four rivets on each side will be blind rivets as well, popped in when the skin goes on.
Long story short, I riveted the skin on. Enough said. Some blind rivets were used, but most were squeezed. Here's the process of shaping the leading edge. You duct tape a broom handle to one side at a time and use Vise Grips to rotate and encourage the skin into a nice round shape. Way tougher than it sounds, but not rocket science...just need to be persistent.
Here's the leading edge, formed and clecoed into place for final drilling. After drilling these holes, you stick pop rivets in there (since you can't squeeze or buck) to hold the leading edge shut. This is all hidden in the hinge area anyway.
Woohoo! Here's the rudder temporarily hinged to the vertical stab. It swings so smoothly it's ridiculous. The bearings in the eye bolts are really sweet. Everything lines up perfectly, including the counterweight "overhang" on top. The gap is consistent and sufficient, but not too excessive. This looks so cool!
Next stop...elevators...