Fitting Bearings in Rudder Hinge Assemblies

[Burtonport]

On page 6-02 of the vertical stabilizer plans there are 2 bearings, com-3-5, that are supposed to insert in the hinge spacers VS-1211A and B. In the HomebuiltHELP video they pop right in. My arthritic old fingers are not able to make them fit. Am I supposed to scrape out some material in the spacers to help them fit?
I was going to ask Van's this question tomorrow morning but I would like to find out today, and besides, you guys need to get used to my stupid questions.😃

[Mich48041]

Make sure that the parts are machined deep enough so that the bearing is not squashed after riveting.
I would not scrape, but lightly sanding the spacers with fine paper should be OK.

[Burtonport]

Thanks. I will give that a try. I will also try not to clog up this forum with too many questions.
Regards,
Damien

[Jetguy]

Originally Posted by Burtonport

Thanks. I will give that a try. I will also try not to clog up this forum with too many questions.
Regards,
Damien

I wouldn't worry about asking to many questions. There is no such thing as a bad question. Most likely someone else is having the exact same problem. Welcome to the forum and good luck.

[DonFromTX]

To make life easy, you might try heating the aluminum part a bit, and putting the bearing in the freezer. Probably just fall in the hole then.

[mike newall]

Also depends on what day the holes were made...;-)

Generally during our build there are some parts that just drift in, some rivets fit perfectly, but some are a bit snug.

The bearing fit can be helped by lightly running a de burrer around the edge of the receiving hole to ensure there isn't a punch lip or machine lip which prevents the bearing to engage.