9/13/2003
5 hours: After rough-cutting those angles, I couldn't figure out a good way to get them to the finished dimensions...if it were wood I would sand it, and I know a 1" bench sander is recommended equipment...but nobody sells 1" bench sanders any more. There are huge 4" monsters with a rotating sander disc on the side. After a lot of deliberation I sprung for *another* $100 tool...it worked well though. Now all that's left to do with these is drill them in the drill press when it arrives.
First blood: The sander disc is placed precariously close to the power switch if you are using the belt in the veritcal position...I sanded off the knuckle of my thumb. It wasn't that bad, but I thought it was funny to be bleeding so early in this project.
I also started deburring (aka "smoothing the cut edges") on the horizontal stabilizer ribs. This is quite a chore. Shown are tools of the trade: scotchbrite pad, edge burnishing tool, and deburring blades. (There are about a dozen of these ribs and then another 6 smaller nose ribs to do.)
