283 hours on the hobbs - Rudder almost completely riveted

I'll get more pics of this weekend's progress posted tomorrow. For now I will continue the previous post and show pics of the tip rib installation. Below is the setup that I used for just two rivets to attach the tip rib assembly to the top of the main rudder spar. I used the R717 straps that I fabricated for the bottom rudder as supports, and used my cleco clamps to hold it all in place.

I had originally set this up vertically in much the same way that I did to rivet most of the bottom rib assembly to the spar (see my previous post). Then I realized that this would NOT allow me to run the rivet gun and bucking bar the way that I wanted, so I switched gears, disassembled everything from the vertical support, and clamped everything to the smaller work table. This worked out MUCH better. The problem doing it the other way is that the rivets were not in a good position for me to access them properly with the rivet gun and the bucking bar. I need to have the rivet gun in my right hand and the bar in my left to rivet correctly. The manufactured rivet head in this case needs to be against the small flange of the spar in order to allow the gun and rivet set to apply pressure to the manufactured head of the rivet, which in turn pushes the parts closer together. I have had way too many other past experiences where I have NOT done this correctly, and I wanted to try very hard this time NOT to make the same mistakes.

I used my offset rivet set and the thin man tungsten bucking par to set these two rivets. Worked out beautifully. The spar flange is flush to the rib web, and there is no buckling or curling of the spar flange after driving the rivet.

A shot that shows the reason you need to use the offset rivet set. Shown is the main rudder spar on the bottom, and the rivet gun in position with the rivet head firmly seated in the rivet set(just out of frame on the left side), Notice how close the gun and set retaining spring are to the spar web. The offset, or slight bend and rebend of the shaft of the rivet set, allows for just enough clearance for the entire rivet gun to clear the parts.

And a shot of the other end that hows the rivet set firmly against the rivet head. You can just make out the separation line where the small spar flange butts up against the tip rib web. This is the correct process to set these rivets because it forces the two parts together when you apply pressure to the rivet set as I stated earlier.

With the frame all riveted together, it was time to cleco the skin to the frame and get this baby riveted. After a lot of squeezing, I only have about 8 rivets left to go, which include the 6 rivets on the sides of the R 710 support bracket on the bottom of the rudder, and the 2 bottom, most rearward rivets attaching the bottom rib to the skin. I intend to use standard flush rivets on these holes if I can work out my back rivet process correctly with a small enough custom bucking bar. If not, I will use the pop rivet alternative that is listed in the plans, as many other people do. More pics tomorrow! ALMOST THERE!