On the ashpan there are hinges with circular plates and six equispaced rivets. To simulate the rivets, I cut a template with six small holes in the correct pattern using the mill with a drilling attachment and rotary table. In my rivet punching tool I have a punch with a reduced diameter tip that is a nice sliding fit in the holes. By clamping the template to a piece of thin material, I was able to make the six indentions.
Using the same technique, it is possible to make just about any pattern of rivets with a simple rivetting tool.
This pyramidal shaped piece (photographed here upside down) goes under the smokebox. I guess it is an ash collector, but I'm not sure. It was milled from a round bar held in the rotary table, then parted off leaving enough base for attaching to a frame spacer.
Firebox and ashpan
I found it is possible to cut and file the circular shape by eye, using the circle of rivets as a guide. The hinge itself was represented with thin wire soldered across the middle. The finished hinges are in the photo below, along with other parts of the lower firebox and ashpan.
Nick Baines • Model Engineering