I decided tonight was the night to try putting it all together, so a made the form blocks for 6T1-1, the very first part in the plans. It is the end rib for the stabilizer and it is made of 0.025 6061-T6 sheet aluminum.
The part I fabricated is better than I expected for my first attempt, and it provided some excellent learning opportunities. Among them are these: (1) remember to clamp the ends of long pieces because even pressure keeps the metal from working its way back under the edge of the wood, (2) get all the suggested tools (in tonight's case, a hardwood mallet for moving metal, a wooden handle for pushing metal into the reliefs, and a Scotchbrite wheel for deburring, (3) don't try to go into full-scale production until you have your work table and equipment all in place and powered.
All in all I would call this evenings session a great success. At last I have something that looks like part of a plane.
