Onto the tricky bit then, repositioning the threaded hole for the big button head screw that holds the end cap in place.
When I say tricky, I mean from the view of my experience and available tools. I'd be really interested to hear about alternative ways to tackle this.
Here you can see the problem awaiting a solution.
Now I've moved the cap forward I've got to move the hole back, but not to a totally fresh spot - which would have been way easier - it overlaps the existing hole. It was clear I'd need to fill the hole, then re-drill and tap.
I ended up using Milliput to fill as I know you can drill and tap it. BUT.... spoilers, it didn't really work out quite as smoothly as it did in my head.
So here is the easy bit, filling the hole with Milliput and leaving it a few days to go ROCK hard - It's millitary grade right, so LITERALLY bullet proof... right...
I knew it was imperative that the hole was drilled in precisely the right spot and perfectly vertical. So ideally I'd use a pillar drill, but I don't have one of those. What I do have is a drill stand for my rotary tool, so good enough for accuracy. Problem is the rotary tool can only take a max dia shank of 3mm, and I need to drill a 3.5mm hole for the 8/32 tap.
I ended up using a milling bit to get the hole to 3mm and then using the 3.5mm drill bit chucked into a combi drill to take the hole to final diameter.
I did get to imagine I was a 'proper' machinist there for a moment. I channeled This Old Tony as best as I could.
The tapping didn't work out too great though, I was expecting a little too much of that tiny crescent of Milliput to be fair.
As you can probably imagine the new hole wasn't able to support the tap and it just angled towards the path of least resistance, that being the putty which was promptly shredded.
Things went a little hazy after that, a few choice words were uttered and unfortunately I didn't take any more WIP pics.
I did manage to get some threads into the hole and then had a go at installing the cap, and you know what, somehow it still worked out. I ended up just leaving it at that but may have another go at doing it properly. If anyone can help with any tips on how to do this sort of repositioning job more successfully it would be much appreciated.
Here's a shot of the new position for the end cap.
Feels totally right to me now!