Brief Description: Final prep and riveting of rudder leading edge
Removed clecos to do some final edge finishing and then reclecoed and riveted leading edge of the rudder (top half). I am not entirely satisfied with the results (not bad but not perfect). The rivets in the rolled leading edge are spaced some distance apart which allows very slight gaps between the rivets where the skins come together. Slightly bending the edges of the overlapping skin using an Avery or Cleaveland lapping tool certainly helps eliminate the gaps but unless the bending on the edge and the rolling of the two skins is almost perfect, you can get a little gap. I was doing this step on rather cold metal (40 degrees) as well and I think a warmer workshop would have made the operation easier and results cleaner. I am considering adding some additional rivets spaced equally along the rolled leading edge to close any gaps.
