The picture does most of the explaining. The right wing was riveted together first. In all, it took about 2.5 hours to get all 100+ rivets set. Care is needed to avoid rivets that should hold until subassemblies are attached.

Care is also needed, to ensure rivets go in the “right” way. I did not have this care. About 90% of the way through the left wing, I realized all my shop heads were on the wrong side. I’ve read much about this before, but called Van’s anyways. They confirmed that in most cases, it’s builder’s preference on where the shop head lands. It was far easier to do it my way, but I did risk distorting the flanges of the ribs. (Though Van’s said the risk is low with the thickness of the ribs and the size of the rivets.)

Big day in the shop!