Brief Description: Bending the elevators' skin trailing edges
With all stiffeners and trim panel attached, it's time to bend the elevator skins' trailing edges. Unlike the rudder which had two seperate skins joining at the trailing edge, the elevator's skins are single-piece bent at the trailing edge. The trick: Fold it precisely and consistantly, with a defined bend point and no bulges for the entire length of each trailing edge.
To achieve this I constructed a bending brake from two halves of a 2"x8"x8' piece of lumber. I stacked the two pieces flush, then mounted heavy-duty hinges on one side. This allows the piece to open/close like a book. Houston held the skin in place with the trailing edge up against the hinges, and I (being heavier) 'closed the book' on the skins.
