Custom Solar Explorer Build Part 5 5055 Centering Rings

The instructions direct you to glue the 5055 rings onto the body tube then glue the BT-55 tube over the top.
I'd recommend gluing the rings inside the BT-55 and sanding the rings flush and even with the BT-55 first. Then - glue to this assembly to the BT-50 tube.

If you glued the 5055 rings to the BT-50 tube first, you aren't guaranteed the BT-55 tube will be even with the 5055 rings when it is slid on afterward.

So, glue the rings into the ends of the short BT-55 tube, sand smooth then glue the assembly on the main BT-50 tube.

The BT-55 tube is short enough you can smooth your fillets on the inside using a Q-tip.

This makes for a smaller fillet and less chance for the glue shrinking up and puckering the tube.

You still need to fill the joint seam around the inside of the BT-55 joint.

Brush on some thinned FNF. Let dry and sand with 400 grit on a block.

I had to sand the inside edge a bit to allow a good slide over the BT-50 body tube.

Here's the BT-55 and centering ring assembly slid onto the BT-50 main body.

The exposed ring sides are smooth as glass and the seam is filled and gone.

This shows why you might want to go to the extra effort to fill the rings before gluing them on. It would be impossible to get everything smooth if you glued on the parts as they came right out of the bag.