Wendell Folks RV-8 Project - Page 7.

November 8, 2005:  This is the first day I put Wendell to work on trimming the fiberglass tips for the horizontal stabilizer and the elevators.  I started with the basic use of the Dremel sanding drum and the hazards of the fine dust from the fiberglass and epoxy resins from trimming the parts.

Each piece gets a trial fit as the edges are trimmed to allow free movement of the elevators.

Next item to get the treatment is the fiberglass elevator tip.

After repeating the process for both sides of the elevators and horizontal stabilizer, it was time to enlarge the holes to accept the CS4-4 blind rivets that will finally secure the fiberglass parts to the stabilizer and elevators.  After the photo below was taken, each silver cleco was removed one-by-one, the hole was enlarged with a #30 drill bit, then a copper cleco was inserted.  When all the holes were enlarged at the tips of the elevators and the horizontal stabilizers, the fiberglass parts were removed.  The holes were then deburred and dimpled.

The elevator tips had recessed mounting flanges measuring only 1/2 an inch wide.  The horizontal stabilizer tips measured 5/8" wide at the flanges.   This made for excellent hole positions on the HS tips, but the elevator tips came up wanting on some of the holes.  This gives me a chance to show Wendell how to reinforce the edges from the inside with epoxy and fiberglass.  I had to do the same thing on a portion of my RV-9A wing tips.

The right elevator tip had just a bit more material to work with, meaning none of the holes broke during the countersinking of the rivet holes in the fiberglass material.