RV-9A: Tailcone - 8/17/2008
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 Started work on the F-779 tail bottom skin
I deburred the holes and sanded the edges of the F-779. Now it's time for the old C-Frame whackarama. I have plenty of these chunks of 4 inch foam laying around. They're perfect for holding whatever you're dimpling up to the right height for dimpling.
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 Choosing the right dimple dies
I'm glad I ordered these small diameter female dimple dies for dimpling both the 3/32" and 1/8" holes. If I used the regular female dimple die, it would may a dent ring around the dimple on the curved parts of the F-779. The regular dimple die is fine if you have perfectly flat surfaces.
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 The final results
Not bad. I have found that I have to make a really solid and hard single "Whack!" when doing these dimples in any thick skin material. I you give it a "wuss" whack on the first hit, it will make a dip in the skin around the hole, that is really hard to get out. When I do make a "wuss" dip, I get my pop-rivet dimplers out and try to redo the dimple. This usually helps remove the dip in the skin. Notice the red marks. No dimples here.
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 Started working on the F-773-L side skin
I got out the old soldering iron and uncovered the rivet holes. I know that doing this is totally unnecessary, but it does offer some protection against deep scratches that might show up during the painting process. I has become a right of passage for me, and just looks damn cool.
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 Reading the fine print...
As I was working on the side skin, I glanced at the drawings and saw a notation about a #8 screw that will go into the skin later that holds a rudder cable clamp. This hole will also need a special #8 dimple in it. It also said that this hole has to be prepared before the skin is riveted on.
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 It's time for a shower and Gourmet Shampoo!
My wife likes to use those little plastic bottles to put shampoo in for the shower, but when I squeezed the old bottle a little too vigorously, it exploded... shampoo everywhere. I used my newly acquired skills as an intuitive homebuilt aircraft builder to find a simple solution to the problem, and here it is. Gourmet ShamPoupon!
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