Returning to the 8F after fitting Digital readouts to my Lathe I decided to do more work on the loco body before completing the detailing of the frames. One of the next steps is to drill or mill out the hole in the bottom of the steam pipes adjacent to the smokebox which were apparent on some locos but not all. Mine is to be one of those with the holes.

The next question was how on earth would I hold them to mill/drill them as they are quite an irregular shape.

After a bit of deliberation and trying out of angle blocks I remembered that the year before last my son had bought me a couple of Hemingway Toolro0m kits and one of the is a Finger Plate. For those wishing to see it in detail follow this link – https://www.hemingwaykits.com/HK1390

I dug it out and made a start on machining it yesterday afternoon. – Below is where I got to on preparing the base plate when I packed in for the day.

This morning I did more and this is where I got to by just after lunch. There is a still another groove to go into the base plate but I need to make another part (drill guide post) which will allow me to tie the position of the drill guide post to the V groove which is designed for drilling through the centre on the side of round stock.

Next up is the drill guide post but that will have to wait until I have had a coffee.