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Post by 2 Dogs on Apr 15, 2015 7:48:55 GMT -5
Mr. Harton is rubbing off on you Fermin! To be honest, there is some serious knowledge in Harton's mind that would be a TERRIBLE waste. Not saying I could pick up the torch, but man does he know his business! |
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snappy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 421
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Post by snappy on Apr 15, 2015 12:23:41 GMT -5
If anyone has their finger on the Harton pulse it's you Sir.
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Post by 2 Dogs on Apr 15, 2015 12:32:26 GMT -5
I simply cannot wait. I cant.
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Post by foxtrapper on Apr 15, 2015 12:42:19 GMT -5
Dibs - when 2 dogs hangs his gunsmith shingle I wanna be first in line! Oh 257 jack rabbit of course!
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Post by 2 Dogs on Apr 15, 2015 12:56:49 GMT -5
Easy boys, we cant get to those dang front sights! I think I have about 30 of them ordered!!!
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 5, 2015 8:49:51 GMT -5
One of the guys posted a question and a pic of a top strap with some dings in it. Basically he wondered if the dings could be cleaned up as he was looking to build a very fine custom. In truth, the answer is yes and no. The photo collage below shows the steps I am taking to reclaim the lines on a OM topstrap. But first, lets look at lightening the Bisley gripframe. In the first 2 photos, you can see the grip frame has been decked and the first run of lightening holes have been milled and deburred. The next step would be to fit the back and front straps of the gripframe to a set of stocks. Remember, we started out with a rough cast Bisley gripframe that was oversize in all respects. The grip frame shown fits the stocks on my custom 32 nearly perfectly. So at this point we are ready to continue taking metal out of the grip frame on the mill. Note that the rib that runs on the inside of the backstrap has been cut out. This had to be done with a file. Pics 3 thru 6 show the topstrap. First, with a perfectly flat stone, a few strokes were taken to see how flat the topstrap was. As you can see from the remaining blue, The top strap on the frame was dished in the middle. I suspect most of them out there are like that, and unless one applies a flat on the surface, you wouldnt even know the dished area was there. In this case, we are looking to end up with a sixgun that has all the surfaces done as nicely as possible with flats flat and curves, well, if you are reading this you know you like curves to be just right. Where the frame shows these sort of imperfections, you can stone for days. It is time for the mill file. A mill file must be applied with great care to prevent gouging. You can see the steps as the surface is reclaimed and then from the mill file stoned to where everything that is flat is indeed flat and square. The mill file marks on the rear sight ears are stoned out for a smooth transition. This is NOT a final polish. Only a clean up to reclaim the lines, flats and curves. Next, we turn the main frame over to its left side. Here, with a few stokes of the file, you can see the deep dished area of the topstrap in pics 7-10. Here, these are cut out with a mill file. Care must be taken here NOT to invade the requisite curves that adjoin the flats. It is now ready to have the mill file marks stoned out. The remaining pics show the clean up of the right side of the topstrap. I stoned it some to clean it up a bit. Go back and look carefully at the lines on the inside of the frame window, especially on the left side. The left side edge on the inside of the frame window did NOT clean up, nor will it clean up without some remedial welding. Again, this shows that the answer to the question, will it clean up, can be yes and no. What it really comes down to is hand work, and sometimes some careful welding followed by more handwork. 619 |
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Post by singleaction on May 5, 2015 13:00:51 GMT -5
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 5, 2015 13:43:44 GMT -5
Sir, those machine marks shown could be removed without great difficulty by any good metal finish man.
Your backstrap could also be recontoured and refinished and again look quite nice.
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 5, 2015 13:50:00 GMT -5
Ok, as I am working my way around this Ruger OM mainframe, what I am trying to achieve again is flat flats and nice curves. Here, what we can see is another casting flaw in a decidedly inconvenient location. The real trick is getting it out without losing the lines and curves. Also, if you look at the inside of the cylinder window on this side, you can see where some remedial welding will be required to clean up that line. Again, we are not looking to achieve a final polish at this point. We are just establishing clean lines. |
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Post by foxtrapper on May 5, 2015 16:15:28 GMT -5
Coming along nicely!
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 5, 2015 16:20:00 GMT -5
Thank you Sir.
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paulg
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,420
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Post by paulg on May 6, 2015 21:16:37 GMT -5
Since no one else has said it I guess I will. I guess you can teach 2olddogs new tricks! Cool thread.
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Post by jayhawker on May 7, 2015 7:35:19 GMT -5
2Dogs, truly professional metalwork. I envy your skill.
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 7, 2015 8:13:29 GMT -5
I discussed the issue of the jagged line on the inside of the cylinder window on the top strap with Harton yesterday. You can see it above with the left side of the frame facing up. He feels that due to the thickness of the top strap, enough material remains to correct the issue without welding. So, we are going to tackle that next. We are also making "plugs" for the mainframe. These will be used to weld over the base pin release holes. The plan is to fit an oversize Belt Mountain Bowen style pin that will solely be kept in place with a stress free fit with a screw and barrel recess ala Freedom Arms. More to follow....
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Post by 2 Dogs on May 7, 2015 8:13:54 GMT -5
2Dogs, truly professional metalwork. I envy your skill. Thank you Sir. |
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