Brief Description: Started riveting horizontal stabilizer
I layed out the rear spar pieces HS-609PP bars and HS-603PP spar channels. I taped over the holes that would not be riveted and then clecoed the assembly together.The rivets called out are AN470AD4-6. I found some scrapes that were about the right thickness and shimmed my pneumatic squeezer to give me the right shop head on the rivet. I started riveting and found the best results were attained if I held the squeezer perfectly square and centered on the die. Next were the elevator hinge brackets. The outer brackets called for AN470AD4-5 and the inner brackets called for AN470AD4-7 rivets. Once again I used scrape material to shim the squeezer. Trial and error. I guess once I have some experience with the squeezer, I will develop a log with the different dies and shims required. The hinges went in smoothly and the last thing to do on the spar was bolt in the center hinge with the bearing HS-411PP. Next, I layed out the front spar channels HS-702 and the reinforcement bars HS-710 and HS-714. I clecoed the reinforcement bars to the spar channels. AN470AD4-6 rivets were called for so I could use the same shims as I used on the rear spar. The for center rivets are flush rivets which required reshimming. Now I had to rivet HS-405 and HS-404 to the front spar HS-702. This was going to require my rivet gun and my tungsten bucking bar. I used some scrapes to experiment with the gun until I had the right pressure setup for the 4-5 and 4-6 rivets. I taped up the ribs to prevent damage from the gun and bucking bar. Access was tight, so I decided to try my double offset rivet cup set. THe first two rivets I had to drill out because the set bounced off the rivet head and damaged it. I decided to move the assembly so that it provided me the most control. This helped and the remaining rivets went in with no problems. I found masking tape helps in the set cup. This coming weekend I will dimple the HS skins and prime where the skin contacts the spars and ribs.
