DATE: 11-06-2024 TIME: 11:55 – 5:00 ~ 5:00
As mentioned previously, I was not happy with the appearance of the trim tab skins once we were ready to glue the foam ribs inside and close up the trim tabs so I had ordered replacements. Van’s was quick to ship, the quickest yet. The two skins were not that expensive but I’m not quite sure why the price would not be identical for the two skins. One would think CNC costs would be identical.
Anyway, I finished cutting out the 6 wedge blocks then started on remaking the trim tab skins starting at step 3. I should note also that this time I made metal brake with a 2 x 8 board and 4 hinges. I took my time bending the tabs to the correct shape which turned out to be a good idea as the homemade brake did not bend the tabs equally along their entire length. The centre, which was in the centre of the handmade brake, did not form as quickly as the edges, despite the fact that I had 4 hinges along the board, one at each end and 2 towards the centre. Nevertheless, the result ultimately was much improved over the hand pressed tabs with nice flat surfaces and no creases or kinks.
You want to be sure to do the scuffing and cleaning inside the tabs before you final bend them to the correct profile because otherwise it will be extremely difficult to do, and also make sure you final bend the skins before you bend the closing tabs on either end. Bending the closing tabs is no big deal but the double sided tape I used was a nightmare to remove so I switched to some double sided hang up tabs. Once you have the sides bent you need to clamp them in place so that you can match drill the rivet holes on the inner tab (lower skin bent up should be inside the upper skin bent down tab).
You also want to bend the lower skin per step 2 to a 15 degree angle. Hard to measure but can be done. I used my hand seamer and a piece of wood.
At this point the skins are finished and the next process is the trim tab horns on Page 9-17, steps 3 and 4.