Finished Trim Tab

Yea! I finished the trim tab version II. This one turned out much better. I hadn't planned on this being a "how to" blog but I learned so much and the trim tab turned out so good, I thought I'd share some of what I learned. This post may be a little jumbled as it will take me more than one sitting to put everything together.

You can stop reading now if you don't want the technical stuff. Here's what I learned to make a great trim tab:

1. Use hard wood. I used oak. I first tried pine and it wouldn't make a crisp bend.
2. Use a strong clamp. I used a Bessey parallel jaw woodworking clamp.
3. Make your jig from 1 inch nominal (3/4) stock. I first tried 1 1/2 in. stock and the extra width put a crease in the skin when clamping.
4. Use a back brace. You can see it in one of the pictures below. Basically, it kept the jig from sliding when using the rivet gun on the fold.
5. Use a protective strip when softly riveting the folds. I used a very thin strip of oak but something like formica would work well, too. You can see me using the strip in the last video below.