Trailing edge has me on the edge

Good evening all,

I pro seal'd my rudder trailing edge last weekend. I made into the garage this evening to start riveting the trailing edge. To be honest I've been dreading it all week. Well it did not turn out the way I wanted. I'm going to drill them out and start over.

Are there any videos online of anyone riveting their trailing edge? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Pat Reynolds

Can you elaborate on how you did it, and what you didn't like about the results? Some pictures may help even more. I have done all my trailing edges per the instructions and have been pretty happy with results. I back-riveted every rivet about half way, skipping around so as not to set many rivets in one area at a time, and then finished them off with the mushroom set against the back rivet plate.

Chris

Chris,

I thought I had did it per the instructions but maybe I misread. I put 3.5 rivets in from one side and taped them in place. Flipped the rudder over, put a piece of wood under the main spar to ensure the trailing edge was level with the back plate. Started in the middle with a back rivet set and skipped up and down the trailing edge as you noted. Some of the rivets did not set well, mfr head was pushed proud, etc. I set the rivet gun pressure at about 40 psi.

When you roll to the mushroom set, do you flip it over or continue to rivet from the shop head side?

Pat

I riveted mine from alternating sides - shop head on the left, then on the right, then on the left, etc. Not sure if it was needed or not, but I was worried about it warping from constantly driving the rivet from the same side. It came out just about perfect, can't really say whether that helped or not.

One thing I remember doing was starting out with the backrivet set aligned vertically to the rivet, and then while riveting, rolling it slightly to be perpendicular to the upper skin surface. I think this helps start the rivet properly, and then sets it more into the hole, if that makes sense.

The manufactured head sitting proud suggest that the piece underneath either wasn't quite level or not pushed down firmly on the plate. Maybe some added weight to help hold things down?

Also check the pressure, I don't remember but 40 psi might be a bit high, which could cause problems. I used very little pressure, especially at first when only setting the rivets partially. When finishing them off with the mushrooms set I used more pressure and alternated both sides.

Walked away for a bit, drill some rivets out and I think I have it finished.

Trailing edge - seems straight


MFR Head


Shop Head

Looks good Patrick!

I backriveted with a 3lb bucking bar, starting with the set perpendicular to the face of the bucking bar as in the photo below, then rotating perpendicular to the top skin as the rivet set. Very happy with the results.