Hi, Nicholas:

I think the only help you need, at this point, is to SLOW DOWN ... "haste makes waste".

I just reviewed that section in the manual, and there really is nothing about the swashplate assembly that is articularly "tricky" or poorly exlplained.

The only thing I did differently from the manual is to put the grease in the inner race ring BEFORE inserting the bearing balls, which prevented them from falling out inadvertently. I then added more grease to fill the spaces between the balls before screwing the outer(upper) race on.

I'm quite sure you didn't have the inner & outer race holes lined up as the manual warns you about. Use another allen wrench or a piece of wire that fits into the holes to be sure they are lined up before screwing the ball screws in.

Above all, TAKE YOUR TIME, read the instructions in the manual more than once, and completely, at every step of the project. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Happy Building,

Russ