Just finishing up some odds and ends with the interior pieces of the R elevator. Most of the parts needed a quick second coat of paint. With that done, I concentrated on getting the counterweight completed. This involved trimming it to match the plans detail and then countersinking the holes with the new countersink bit. I was able to trim it on the band saw although it didn't seem to like cutting through lead even with enough lubricant. So not pretty but good enough and I finished the cuts with a file including radius'ing the interior edges. The right elevator needs less counterweight since it lacks the trim components of the other side. Fortunately I have several 'spare' counterweights to use as test parts to get the countersink depth correct. So that helped and was easily completed.

With the counterweight finally finished, it was time to start looking at the last few instructions. I realized I had gotten ahead of myself a bit with painting all the parts by this point. The rear edge E-713 which rests on top of the elevator spar and under the elevator skin, needed to be beveled. This is to prevent it from having that sharp 90 degree edge to it sitting underneath the elevator skin which Vans says could cause a stress crack in the underside of the elevator skin due to it vibrating over time. Just used the scotchbrite wheel to bevel the rear and inboard rear edges then a quick shot of primer to clean it up.

So that's it for the prep. Next session the final assembly begins.

Pictures are not uploading right now apparently even though it says they are.