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WHat a Day!!

897 views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Doc Sharptail 
#1 ·
Decided to take a half day and install a better barrel on my 32-40 1893 Marlin, so I went down to the shop. Barrel screwed right on with no headspace issues. Thanks mm93! While I was there I bought an 03 springfield severely sperterized but a nice action itself. Got home and the 25-20 reamer had come in so I rechambered my 44 Stevens and fit the extractor. I also melted down 60 pounds of lead and run up 100 .680 ball. I could get used to getting this much done every day. Sorry to ramble, a good weekend to all, moodyholler
 
#2 ·
Interesting stuff.

I plan to try my first D&T on an old Cooey s/s bolt .22 on Sunday sometime. There's an old Beaver drill press at work that is much tighter than it's modern replacement. I cooked up a table rail for it, and repaired an old drill press vise. Squaring up the table was an excercise in extreme patience! Hopefully I'll have a positive report....

Regards,

Doc Sharptail
 
#3 ·
moodyholler, glad that barrel fit without any adjustments! That's always better! I'm going to do some casting this weekend too. I was at a friend's house after work tonight, and he gave me a couple hundred pounds of lead! It's all flat plate about 1/2" thick, used for ballast, so it's pretty pure. Should make great bullet stock.
Doc,
The real key is getting them centered on top the receiver, and in a straight line. Brownells makes a jig, but I've found I can get them done fine, with a good square, and a straight edge. A small torpedo level works great to get it vertical. I use dovetail stock in the rear sight base, and situate the level on top of the stock, to ensure it's square with the world. You can also use a good pice of square stock, and just situate it across the dovetail, with the level on top.
 
#4 ·
Brownell's jig goes for about a hundred and a quarter here. I'm seriously considering investing in it. I tried a few passes on a piece of practice pipe. Finding center is tough, and the bits bend slightly in the press- not conducive to straight holes...

I did manage to get a replacement extractor into the bolt, and I'm pleased as punch over that. In obtaining that extractor, I found out how much hardening these turn of the century guns got- the bolt got no hardening at all- none, zip, denada, and zero! Think I'll keep the ammo to the mild stuff. The receiver appears to be hardened- I'll probably have to score the surface with an oxide point before I can start D&T.

The old couple who handle the Brownell's line here will probably be at the big November city show. I'll get a line on Brownell's jig then. In the meantime, I'm still gonna try and find straight and square centers....

Regards,

Doc Sharptail
 
#5 ·
That Brownells jig really works, but I'm a tightwad, and I don't do a lot of D&T for scopes. I use my magnetic base machinist runout indicator to find top dead center. It has a pointed tip, and it will tell pretty quickly where I drop over on each edge, then I simply split the small difference on the gauge, and that's center.
I've D&T on a drill press, byut it's not as easy as using my milling machine. The mill doesn't have as much play in the head as my drill press has.
 
#6 ·
Success!

I got her done, and the holes are straight.

Something MM-93 said about using dovetails for centering clicked. I cheated a bit- it involved a long rail from another gun, and about two square inches of two-sided carpet tape.

The old Beaver drill press had very little play in the head- I could find no sign of looseness in the orientation of the holes.

While I am generally satisfied with the job, I feel I could have done better with the threads in the front receiver ring holes. I wonder if there is a special tap for short holes....

Bases and rings are tight, straight and true. I put the new to me mint shape Weaver B-4 on it, in my one and only set of standard Weaver 3/4" rings. I have to wait until friday to get her sighted in. The rig looks quite similar to what would have been offered by Eaton's dept. stores in the early 30's, even though the scope is slightly more modern than that....
Bases are Weaver #16- just about the tiniest they offer.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail
 
#7 ·
Yes! I use a standard taper tap to start, and then a bottom tap for the shallow holes. Sometimes I drill the pilot hole one size larger if I plan to use only the bottom tap. Lots of compressed air to clean the holes as I tap, so it wont bind up before I hit bottom.
 
#8 ·
I got her roughly sighted in today. I didn't have opportunity to zero from rest. It was very windy, and I sighted in from kneeling at 25 yds. I shot 2 groups of 5 on the rimfire scope sighter target from a clean bore. 2nd group went into a little under an inch- pretty good considering the wind, and my excitement.

The barrel on this beaut is 26 3/4" long, with a fairly high Stevens type german silvered bead. It shows in the scope- likely due to the low mounting. I'd like to get a hold of some steel dovetail blanks for front and rear. That silver bead sure is bright at 4X! The "new" extractor works like a charm too. So far, a very satisfying experience. Now to find some h.p. shorts for it :D

Regards,

Doc Sharptail
 
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