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.