After a little deliberation I decided that to fit the carriage, I would use the column lower blanking plate as a retainer for the ‘scraper & spring’. This is the thin plate in the centre of the photo below. I then left the nut loose on the top of the main vertical screw and fitted the carriage with the jib loose.

It was then posssible to lift the carriage without worrying about the scraper falling out whilst I positioned the nut in line with the cap head retaining screw. It was a relatively straighforward proceedure. All that was then required was to engage the screw with the nut and then do some initial adjustments. Below is the point where, with decent light, yu can align the saddle with the nut. Once in view it is easily aligned to fit the socket head bolt.

Below is the assembled carriage.

I then put the vertical head on the machine – mainly to get it out of the way!!

When I was masking up I wan’t sure if the edge of the vertical head was painted. I can now see it was but I shall leave it as is.

The next stage will be to clean up the slide apron and then refit.

After fitting the horizontal head, I decided the main carriage should be fitted. What I did was to lift the carriage onto the column and steady with piece of wood as shown below. The jib adjuster was then fitted and adjusted to take up most play but still allow me to easily slide the carriage up and down.

The wood was just long enough to allow fitting of the piece shown by the serial number as below. It was then possible to lower the carriage 10mm to retain this strip and its corresponding spring. (I have no idea what this strip does. Is it a sort of wiper?

The problem that then occurs is that you cant fit the carriage over the z screw nut! Removing the jib then allows you to fit the carriage over the nut BUT you then lose the strip and spring. So – a little deliberation is called for and I will return with the answer!

With things starting to come together, it is time to put the main horizontal drive onto the top casting. Of course, having heaved the this drive unit onto the casting I then realised it needed the drive fitting. Fortunately the casting slides far enough forward to allow this. Once this was fitted into place, then the side spindle could be fitted. You will spot from the photo below that I got a bearing shim in the wrong place and this stopped the bevel gear going back far enough to the rear of the machine. The result – the  side spindle would not go in far enough!

Fitting the side spindle was straightforward once the spindle above was correctly installed,  although most burrs had to be cleaned up a little to allow easy installation into the casting.

The jib piece was fitted and adjusted to take up most play. Once the machine is fully built I will oil and make all the necessary adjustments.

As you will see, my machine has dual dials – Metric and Imperial – which is a useful addition and one I have not seen before. The dials are mounted on an extension arbor to the main shaft.

Below is a photograph of the head slid back. The covers will be re-painted black in due course!!

The head was slid back and the bracket that holds the screw fitted.

This item (apart form the main casting) seems to be the only part that actually has Aciera stamped in it! It is the sliding shaft from the gearbox speed selector.

The other side has a oiling hole in it. I did not even see this before it was cleaned!