Tools of the trade.

[tombogan03884]

Not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper than having to buy the tools.

[Mericet]

Good point, I will try and add some explanation of how the tools will be used when I post them Solus.

It certainly helps us out if we do not have to buy all the tools as well Tom. It's expensive enough already!

The dent removers do work that way but I believe we also have to tap the outside of the barrel with a hammer as we push them. a little like auto body work.

We are taking a short midterm break (I can hardly believe that!) so there will be a short break in pictures.

Spoke with someone I know on a different forum today (he is a gunsmith) and he was generous enough to gift me a large enough piece of wood to do a stock for one of the bolt action rifles I am building!

[PegLeg45]

The dent removers do work that way but I believe we also have to tap the outside of the barrel with a hammer as we push them. a little like auto body work.

I believe that is how they work also......similar to a hammer and dolly.

Spoke with someone I know on a different forum today (he is a gunsmith) and he was generous enough to gift me a large enough piece of wood to do a stock for one of the bolt action rifles I am building!

Very cool!!


This is a great chronicle on the intricacies of gunsmithing, thanks!!!

[tombogan03884]

Reminds me of why I enjoyed Voc. school so much.
There is a satisfaction in going from a chunk of metal to a finished tool that you just can't find in a production enviroment where you repeat the same operation over and over.

[Mericet]

OK, no pictures from this week. I am busy making some barrel bushings which is in essence a round piece of steel with a big hole in the middle. Of course, some of these are easy as there is no taper on the hole. However, four of these do need a tapered hole. These are 1.3, 2.5, 2.95 and 3.1 degrees. Takes some time to setup and adjust the boring bar for these. I finished the tapered holes and am happy that I got most of them within .002" of the target. We were allowed to do these to .005".

I did purchase a set of carbide cutting tools last week. Love them so far!

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

OK, no pictures from this week. I am busy making some barrel bushings which is in essence a round piece of steel with a big hole in the middle. Of course, some of these are easy as there is no taper on the hole. However, four of these do need a tapered hole. These are 1.3, 2.5, 2.95 and 3.1 degrees. Takes some time to setup and adjust the boring bar for these. I finished the tapered holes and am happy that I got most of them within .002" of the target. We were allowed to do these to .005".

I did purchase a set of carbide cutting tools last week. Love them so far!

That's darn good.
When I was at T/C there was one hole on the Black powder barrels , and one hole on the Contender and Encore receivers that was +/- .001, everything else was +/- .005  or more.

[Mericet]

Time for some picture updates:

First some barrel spinner mandrels. I have finished two of the three parts. I hope to finish this next week:



Complete:


The part that still needs to be finished:


I started these a while ago but had to wait for the bearings. More on these and their construction when I finish them and get my grade.

Next is a burnishing reamer for .22. The main part is made out of drill rod and turned down on the tip. The tip is then heated to red hot, quenched, cleaned and then heated to a straw color. This last part is very easy to get wrong as we use oxy-acetylene to heat it. Just a little too much heat and you have to start all over again. It took me four tries to get it right. I was a little aggressive in the cleaning (using sandpaper) after each failed attempt and managed to get the tip just a little undersized. After getting the tip to a straw color, the tip was ground down on a surface grinder. The handle is cold rolled steel and is secured to the reamer with a set screw.

Still, my grade was a 97 so I am happy!




I also finished the Clymer reamer extension. Made out of cold rolled steel with the previous picture showing the detail on the tip. Not much to this one. Hole drilled in the tip for the reamer to fit in. Handle fitted and secured with a set screw.

Final grade: 96



And last but not least, a barrel vice. Made out of 2x1.5" cold rolled steel, this is a hunk of metal! Fairly simple project as it was mostly drilling holes on a mill. Of course the bolt holes had to be tapped (16x.2mm). The two parts were then assembled with a .125 shim between them. You really have to crank the bolts down for this one! After that, the front hole was step drilled on a lathe and finished by boring it out to 1.75". I changed to a carbide boring bar during the process as I was getting a lot of chatter from the HSS bar I was using. Once I removed the chatter marks, I was slightly over size but it is not critical in this project.

Final grade: 97. The instructor commented on how well I removed all the burrs and sharp edges from the pieces.

[PegLeg45]

Final grade: 97. The instructor commented on how well I removed all the burrs and sharp edges from the pieces.

Very cool.
Attention to detail is the key, and you seem to have a firm handle on that, and the instructor appears to have taken notice. I have no doubt that it will carry over to your gun-making process as well.

Great job!!!

[Mericet]

Very cool.
Attention to detail is the key, and you seem to have a firm handle on that, and the instructor appears to have taken notice. I have no doubt that it will carry over to your gun-making process as well.

Great job!!!

Thanks! I also did not want to cut myself on some of those pieces!

[tombogan03884]

Nice work, I like the looks of the actions in the other thread you started as well.