The aluminum tubes are done.
I created a full size CAD image of the tail sections and plotted it for a visual reference. I then stapled the plot to my work bench and screwed down bending blocks. I found it easy enough to bend similar parts exactly the same as long as the bending technique was the identical. I visually extended some of the lines to make sure I had the alignment straight. Then I marked the cut off point with a Sharpie. The tubes were all filled with play ground sand purchased from Home Depot. It was less than $4 but I had to buy a whole bag just for about a pint of sand. I placed a small piece of duct tape on each end to keep the sand in, seemed to work just fine. While bending the rudder tube, I had to move the bending block twice because of the spring return effect of the 3/8 tube [see the last picture]. It ended up 1.25 inches from where the tube should have been. The radius is no longer 5 inches, but at least it's clean.
Hats off to Mike for his videos on YouTube. I basically copied the techniques he discussed, right down to baking the sand in the oven to remove the water. That prevented it from clumping and let it flow easily into the tubes.
