Pulled 8, Squeezed 8....                                                                      

Primed the horizontal stab rear spar and the spar caps which get riveted to it.  As an experiment, I tried the PreKote on the spar itself, scuffing with red Scotch Brite as I washed on the PreKote.  Rinsed with tap water, repeated, then did a final rinse with distilled water.

 For the spar caps, I simply washed with mild soap (again scuffing with Scotch Brite), rinsed and dried. No PreKote. According to people who should know, this should be sufficient.

After drying, I primed all parts with the self-etching primer. As the pics show, squeezing the flush rivets scraped off a fair amount of primer. The pulled rivets weren't a problem since the rivet tool doesn't touch the aluminum. I'll spray primer on the whole aft side of the spar before painting since this surface will be visible on the completed airplane.

Also, the female threaded part of the nutplates doen't seem to line up exactly with the holes in the spar web and spar cap.  If this is a problem when I install the bearings, I'll open up the holes a bit with a Dremel.  Shouldn't be an issue.
                             

(page 6-04) Gettin' a little behind....                   
..in the project.  I had planned to be much farther along at this point.  Not sure what the problem is.  In order to finish in two years (my goal), I need to put in about an hour and fifteen minutes per day, assuming 900 hours to complete the project (the high end of Van's estimate).          

At the outset of the project, I wondered why I needed an air drill. Seemed like a good battery-operated drill would be just as good. Turns out the air drill is much faster and makes a better hole, and, being a lot smaller, will get into tighter spaces. With this number of holes, it'll make a big difference. I bought Isham's tool package, which is specific to the RV-12. It was a bit cheaper than Avery's, but so far, I'm happy with it. Haven't tried the pneumatic-hydraulic rivet puller yet. Soon.

(page 6-03) Drill, Baby, drill.........                                      

Sarah Palin would be proud.  The buildup of the vertical stab appears to be mostly match drilling holes, clecoing and deburring.  The riveting will be fun by comparison.

I've spent an absurd amount of time researching, thinking about, even dreaming about the priming issue.  I ordered a gallon of PreKote, a product used to prepare aluminum for priming.  Seems like the US Air Force thinks this stuff is good, so I'll try it.  I've decided that there's probably little difference in the self-etching primer available in rattle cans.

First mistake...figured I'd get it out of the way.

One of the rudder hinge bearings was binding slightly in the bracket I fabricated yesterday, owing, I suppose, to a speck of paint in the machined recess into which the bearing race fits.  I saw this on another build blog I'm following, as well.  So....I now know how to drill out solid rivets.  I was a bit unhappy with both brackets because of a larger-than-I'd-like gap at the top.  I believe this results from squeezing the bottom-most three rivets first, so I'll squeeze the ones closest to the bearing first this go round.

(page 6-02) Rudder hinge: an actual part....               

I'm still a bit unsure about the issue of priming. Opinions seem to vary from "prime everything in sight" to "prime only the mating surfaces that aren't Alclad... and maybe not that." I suppose it boils down to whether or not I want to build an "archival" airplane guaranteed to last 60 years. Everything considered, that probably doesn't make sense.

I'm using Rustoleum self-etching primer in a rattle can.  It seems to scrape off too easily with a fingernail, probably owing to my improper preperation of the aluminum.  Cessna and Piper seem to use minimal (if any) priming on the interior surfaces, and the tail cones I've looked in seem pristine, even on 50-year-old airplanes.

I'm way behind schedule on building. The semester is essentially over, with only the grading of final exams left. The Spousal Unit (my beautiful, understanding and supportive wife, Karen) is heading up to the frozen north to visit family for a few days. I have assured her that upon her return there will be a completed part in the garage which anyone would recognize as an airplane part. She allowed as to how she'd be much rather see progress made on the deck rail. We'll see.