Spent a couple of hours working on the z-brackets. Had to order four replacements to make up for my careless mistakes. This plane might be a lot cheaper if I just slowed down and put some light on the subject. My close-up vision is making precise measurements difficult so I just need to be careful.
I started to drill and countersink the plate nuts. In lieu of ordering a plate nut template, I fashioned a bolt/platenut combo in Pic #2 below that worked just as well. I just reverse threaded an AN3-4 bolt into the back side of the platenut and would place that in each guide hole. This allowed me to drill the two rivet holes precisely. Worked quite well.
Everything is now counter-sunk, so it's time to start squeezing some rivets. Brining everything down to Virginia with me tonight and will work on down there.
