Brief Description: Started work on the tailcone skins
A long day starting the preparation work on the nine long fuselage skins that make up the tailcone. First job was to remove the blue plastic from the inside surfaces, and to use my solder gun to remove the blue plastic on the outside rivet lines.
There's a debate over whether the pre-punched holes need to be deburred. Vans originally said this was not necessary, but they now seem to be recommending that this is done. So I did them!
I also used a gadget from Avery Tools to "break" the required edges of the skins. The intent is to put a slight bend (just a couple of degrees or so) maybe 1/8 inch in from the edges. When two skins are overlapped, and riveted, the bend ensures that the skins do not separate slightly between rivets after they have been joined. The Avery tool seemed a bit crude to me, and I may have bent the edges through a bigger angle and more like 1/4 inch in from the edge. We'll need to see how this works out.
The internet chat suggested that the Cleaveland Tools gadget is much more precise. I ordered one, but I won't get the chance to use it until I do the wings.
3rd July - Initial indications suggest that the bottom skins, at least, look OK when riveted.
