[Paul B]

After several days of trying to make an acceptable leading edge, I believe I have mangled the skins so badly that I must build a new rudder. I have been attempting to do this as the last rudder task (not counting fiberglass) with the rod end bearings in place as per the instructions. Has anyone tried to roll the edges before the skins are riveted to the rudder skeleton? I know thousands of builders have successfully completed their leading edges. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Mel]

First, if you rolled the leading edge skin first, it would be very difficult to rivet to the spar.
Second and most important, once the rudder is installed onto the vertical stabilizer, you can no longer see most of the leading edge.

 

[[email protected]]

the rod end bearings should not be installed to roll the edge

the rod end bearings should not be installed until after the edge is rolled and riveted... getting a piece of round bar stock of some kind, conduit or dowel, taped to the section of the leading edge that you are working on helps significantly to get a nice smooth roll going by grabbing the free end with vice grips to help give a uniform load as you work the bend with your free hand. work it in three sections from the top down.

i don't have a shot of the rolling in action but it is a standard technique that you can see more of with a bit of searching.

 

[Pirkka]

IMHO the rudder was even easier to do than the HSs as the material is thinner. Have a friend or something to help you as then you can easier to roll it.

 

[SmittysRV]

I totally agree with everything Stephen said. Roll in 3 separate sessions without the rod end bearings in place yet. I rolled my in one session, which made the largest end really hard to pull together for riveting.

http://www.smittysrv.com/more_stuff.asp?ID=254

Also, I found out how to make a neat little tool for putting in the rod end bearings here:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~sbuc/journal/odd-ends.html#bearing%20tool

 

[llavalle]

I used a broom stick, a vise-grip and another pair of hands.

It was harder than anticipated. The trick to a nice cuve is to push down when you roll up (push outside when you roll inside). This prevents having a sharp bend at the beginning.

The rod end bearings were not in place when I did it.

Don't forget to bend the outside skin inward using an edge rolling tool. That way, it will fit better. I don't know if it's required but it does look a lot better that way.

 

[tc1234c]

Paul,

I don't know how much you have "mangled the skins". As Mel said that after you installing the rudder on the VS you can not see most of the leading edge. It is not a structure part of the rudder.

I agree with all others have said about not installing rod end bearings and how to roll it. I don't believe the instruction says installing rod end bearings first. I used a broom stick and duct tape and rolled separately each segments of the leading edge. It is quite easy to do. Good luck.

 

[Allan Stern]

Rolling the edge

I like most of the builders agree that it is very difficult to get a really nice smooth rolled edge on your rudder and other parts using the methods described by Van's. My rudder on the 8A I am building is not that great, and I had to use a few more pop rivets than shown in the plans to make everything lie flat. Enough said.

What I had thought of using if I ever build again or have to redo a rudder is this. Using a broom handle, or a round dowel or even a pipe and then duct taping it to the leading edge and then try rolling it up may work. But I was wondering why no one has taken a piece of pipe and have a machine shop cut a very thin slot down the length of that pipe so you could slip it over the edge of the aluminum and then tape it and roll the leading edge? It would hold the aluminum much better and should give you a smoother roll.

Allan Stern, RV 6A 90 hours
RV 8A finishing

 

[Paul B]

Thanks for responding!

Mel, thanks for pointing out the difficulty of riveting the skins to the spar if the edges were already rolled. I didn't think that all the way through.

Stephen and Phillippe, maybe on my second attempt I can get my leading edges to look like yours. Nice job!

Ted, the step by step instructions in section 6 don't say when to install the rod-end bearings, but the drawing on page 5-11 shows Van's technique being used on a rudder with the rod-end bearings installed. Most of my "mangling" is no doubt only cosmetic, numerous dents and bends that I won't be able to completely remove. I have also wallowed out some of the holes by forcing clecoes into them when they were not quite lined up. Can I just drill bigger holes and put bigger rivets in these? The part that does make me really want to start over is it looks like my skins are starting to tear in a couple of the corners where the cut-outs are that allow access to the rod-end bearings, right next to the spar.

My plan is to go ahead and finish this rudder and move on. When it comes time to put all of the pieces together to make an airplane, I will decide then if I should build a new rudder. Thanks again and if anyone else has some tips on this topic, I will gladly accept them.