When I finished up for the evening on Wednesday I took a look through the next step (Page 8-3, step 3). This step requires you to fabricate two brackets from a piece of thick aluminum angle. These are important brackets as they secure the horizontal stabilizer front spar to the aft deck of the tailcone.
I decided that it would be quicker and more precise to 3D print a couple of jigs that I could use to mark and drill the parts. I created a quick model with the measurements from the plans and sent it to the printer before heading to bed.
The measurements all checked out with my calipers so I mirrored it and printed another.
When I went out to the garage this evening I used the jigs to mark the outlines. I then rough cut the brackets on the band saw and sanded them down to size on the belt sander.
Once the brackets were shaped and deburred, I clamped the jigs to the brackets and used them as drill guides.
This worked really well and the dimensions and hole positions checked out perfectly per my calipers. I like using a 3D printer for tasks like this as it is easier to be precise, much easier to drill with a guide in place, and just as fast as marking everything (minus the print time but I was no hurry). I used a drill press for all of the holes.
Success, time to get to work on the front spar.
