N451BX

Empennage - em·​pen·​nage | \ ˌäm-pə-ˈnäzh
From the French word empenner meaning "to feather an arrow"

In plain English - the tail section of the airplane consisting of the horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, elevator and rudder.

The Van's Aircraft RV7A is constructed from front to back in four sections, the empennage, wings, fuselage, and firewall forward (powerplant and propeller). 

So it begins......

Here are the empennage parts laid out:
 

First task - HS-609, Horizontal stabilizer rear spar stiffener.  You get two very raw pieces of aluminum, and have to shape and finish them equivalent to a "400 grit finish".  After about a useless ten minutes with a file, I got out the orbital sander and multi-tool. 
 

Next is the first rivetting job.  VA-146 Elevator support bearing.  Also the first priming job.  I've chosen to prime all the parts inside and out before final assembly.  Its optional for Alclad parts, but given this aircraft could be parked in coastal areas, I'm taking the extra steps now to avoid corrosion issues later.  I taped over the bearing pressed in the center of VA-146 and will leave that until final assembly to protect the bearing from dust and metal chips.