Rufe Tail Feathers, Part Two: ( All photos should be chronologically viewed from # 5046 thru 59 if they're not viewed by up-down arrows on right side of text area.)
With the stab cemented in place, the fin base gets cemented in. Patterns of the stab fillets are made and transferred
to 1/16th balsa sheet and cut out. Each piece gets inked with Magic Marker and glued into place one at a time. The
"nose" pieces get the same treatment and application. When the glue dries, the shaping begins with an X-Acto half-
round gouge blade and then sanded to final shape using 3 different sized dowels. ( On the Rufe, these fillets ended abruptly, slightly ahead of the stab trailing edge.
I didn't think the fin getting cemented directly to the fin base would have been strong enough so I notched the L.E.
of the fin base and did the same for the fin and glued in a plywood tongue for a little more peace of mind. I ended up doing the same for the trailing edge where everything gets locked together well but not permanently joined as of yet.
The fin was dry assembled and then the final finish sanding of the base was done at this point with the side & front
angles of the fin carried down to the rounded lower edges of the fin base where it touches the stab. Lots of controled
sanding here, stopping every half minute or so and checking everything under a high intensity lamp and using finger-
tips in a braile fashion to make sure the transition was even all around.
Side pieces of 1/64th ply were added to the fin trailing edge. Since this photo was shot, triangular stock was added
along the inside edges and dowel sanded to a quarter round, much the same as the stab. At this point, the fin will be getting glassed and resined before being permanently cemented in place.