Brief Description: Left Elevator Assembly pt. 2 - Damage
I had clamped the left elevator root rib to the C-frame table to set the last forward rivet in the tip rib and skin using the offset bucking bar and rivet gun. I did not make note that the counterbalance was hanging off the edge of the table, unsupported. When I released the clamp, the weight of the counterbalance immediately pulled the part off of the table and it fell to the floor, landing mainly on the counterweight and banging against the fan unit on its wall perch. There was damage; the counterweight was displaced slightly aft, pulling the counerbalance skin flat on the outer end and flexing the mounting tab on the tip rib. There were also two small dents in the skin by the root rib and spar where the part hit the fan handles. I was able to tap the counterweight back into position with a mallet, but a small crack appeared in one of the flange webs of the tip rib. I made a wooden buck to push the dents back out slightly.
