Installing the wood dowels

The plans call for a "wood dowel" to be inserted in the rudder frame at the bottom joint with the spar, and the middle support tube.  The kit did not include dowels or screws, so I went to the local Lowes and bought a pack of #6 x 1" stainless steel countersunk screws and a 7/16 wood dowel.

I should have done this step before riveting the frame to the top of the spar, because a good deal of bending was required to re-fit the dowels in the joints.

First, I shaved a little off the diameter of the dowel so it would fit snugly into the tube.  Then, I cut two 1 and 3/4" lengths of the shaved-down 7/16 dowel.  I used a #45 drill bit to drill a 1 inch guide hole for the screws in the top of both dowels.

 

I then countersunk the 1/8"hole on the front of the spar so the screw would sit relatively flush.

 



Next, I screwed the dowel in tight and fit the frame tube over the dowel.

 

The tube fit around the dowel snuggly and is quite firm in its place.  It is not riveted or screwed directly into the spar and, right now, is held in by the surface tension of the dowel, but I assume the final covering will hold it tight in its slot.

Repeated the same step on the middle support and am done for the night.  Again, I should have done this step before riveting the tube frame into the top of the spar.  I'll do the real rudder in that order.

Planning time = .5 Hours