Brief Description: Countersink the Trailing Edge Wedge
Given the problems I had countersinking the vertical stabilizer doubler I girded myself for more of the same. I wasn't disappointed.
I set the countersink on a scrap sheet as outlined in section 5. Mindful of the issues I had countersinking the vertical stabilizer doubler, I practiced on the excess TE wedge left over from trimming it to length.
I also have the special drilling jig made by Cleaveland Tools that is supposed to help you both drill the holes and countersink. It's supposed to align the wedge so you can drill the holes perpendicular to the chord of the wedge. When you flip it over it does the same for countersinking. Frankly, this tool wasn't much help. The holes are already pre-drilled so you really don't need a guide to opening them up to full size. As for the countersinking, I have a C/S cage that does the job. I ended up just holding the wedge in my hand and doing the countersinking and drilling.
The plans are a bit confusing here. Section 5 shows a cross section of the wedge with a defined hole and C/S. The reality is you can't C/S to the standard depth and avoid a knife edge condition with a slightly enlarged hole. The consensus on the Vans air force website is this is normal and unavoidable to get a good fit.
I had bad problems with chatter again on one side but not the other. It took me about 45 minutes just do C/S on the chattering side because I went very slowly. The final result wasn't pretty but it was acceptable.
Cleaveland tools T.E. wedge drilling and countersink tool.
