Well, I finished the practice kit tonight! It turned out OK... actually I'm not too terribly happy with it. But it's the practice kit for a reason, and I didn't expect it to come out perfectly. To finish it tonight, I had to roll the leading edges. It turned out to be a relatively frustrating task, but I got it done. However, they're not that great. It's not really an even, consistent curve on each side. So, I'm glad I learned how difficult it is on this practice kit and I plan to get some help from experienced builders when I get to that point on the actual kit.
 |
| The finished product |
 |
| A side view |
 |
| One more with the vinyl removed |
This was a great opportunity to get some practice. After I finished the leading edges tonight, I used some scrap aluminum to get some more practice flush riveting. It was at this point that I realized a big mistake that I have been making this whole time (good timing right?)... I have been pressing really hard on the metal with the rivet gun and bucking bar. This has made the rivet gun slip around and bang the metal, denting and scratching it up. When I practiced on the scrap, I held the gun and bucking bar with much lighter pressure and let the hammering action of the gun and the weight of the bucking bar form the rivet. It's amazing what the tools themselves will do. The rivets set much easier and the gun doesn't move around nearly as much. This was a big, big realization and I'm looking forward to experimenting some more. I am going to get more practice in before starting the kit, and I think I'll see a huge improvement in my riveting.
I hope to get some more practice in over the next couple days and then get started on the actual project this weekend, which will be a four-day weekend for me. Getting close!
