dovetail

[freekforge]

how do you dove tail by hand, the loading lever catch on my '58 fell off a while back so i havent been able to shoot it .i talked to pietta and they said to glue or weld it so i guess ill just have to dovetail it to get it to stay.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Hand cut dovetails are done with a triangluar file. First use a hack saw blade to mark your sides ( a little narrower than desired finish size) file down the center with straight file ( most files have a cuting edge on their thin side) and then use the triangluar file to finish the sides. Or else you could do as I do. Just put a dovetail cutter in your bridge port mill and cut away. :idunno:

 

[necchi]

You start with a hacksaw as shown here; http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/257020/

Then finish to a snug fit with whats called a 3-Corner Straight file that has had the cutting surface ground off 1 side to make it "safe".

That way you can make the bottom hacksaw cuts flat/finished without cutting the sides (safe edge against the sides). Followed by flipping the file so the "safe" is on the bottom and cutting the "dove" notch;

It's best to practice the technique on something other than your barrel the first time you try it. Typical problem is going too deep,,

 

[bioprof]

I always have the opposite problem of going too shallow for fear of going too deep. :surrender:

 

[hoochiepapa]

...or getting one side deeper than the other. :idunno:

 

[necchi]

:haha:
Looks like 3 of us covered the problem areas,,
:rotf:

 

[brubincam]

I just use a triangle file :idunno:

 

[Birddog6]

If you do that, the piece may not fit the dovetail, because a regular triangular file will not cut the corners sharp enough to get the dovetailed piece in. An Extra Slim triangular file works the best, with one flat/side ground off.
This gives you a safe side & also get the edge very sharp to match the sight, underlug, or dovetail piece you are trying to install.
If you use a regular file the inside corners will be rounded & then you make it to where your piece will go in, then the dovetail is too loose.

Fastenall has the files, some NAPA's, some Lowes, some Home Depots, and some places that sell tooling.

Get the Depth correct first, scribe across & then take the width of the dovetail at the top to that depth, then cut the angle part with the safe side down, work it alternating the safe side to the angle cut & back to keep the area level.

Keith Lisle

 

[brubincam]

took my time cut slow--worked just fine

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

If you cut alot of dovetails and don't want to invest in a mill you could just get a set of 60* standard slot site base files, they are kinda spendy, but they are the most accurate files of this type out there.

 

[necchi]

Ouch! Those ARE spendy,

I got my 3 Square files from an Industrial tool supply house here in town, I think they was $12 something apiece, bought two.
Previously I had used a small common taper file like used for saw sharpening and screw-up one such dovetail.
That "Taper" part sure can mess with ya.

 

I just grind a safe on the files I use, and I also have a dovetail chisel from Brownell's. If you do Lehigh's the sight dovetails are very shallow, and need the metal raised with a chisel. I would recommend you buy some 1/2" square mild steel at ACE hardware for a couple bucks to practice with. You can use it later for other projects like sights, or double set triggers. The more you practice and know, the more you know. Most of the guy's giving advice learned it by trial and error, not the internet.

Bill

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Im a tool whore, I like job specific tools. Those files are the best I have seen for cutting dove tails, period.

I have ground files and tried files that others have ground, to tell you the truth they all seem to round out the undercut of the dove tail.

I bought those dove tail files and have not regreted it, as far as the money is concerned I gave up a name brand tobacco habit 3 1/2 years ago, pack a day. At $5 a pack I'm up $6200.

Them files is cheap :wink:

 

[MSW]

wow- that's a good chunk of change for a file, but i can see where it would keep me from doing what i did the last time i botched a dovetail, which was to make it too wide as a result of chasing the undercut trying to get them parallel.

:redface:

 

[Birddog6]

The more you practice and know, the more you know. Most of the guy's giving advice learned it by trial and error, not the internet. Bill

I practiced on a piece of 3/8" key stock til I felt comfortable doing one. Have done probably 500 of them since.... First 3 I did on a barrel it tool me an hour each, as I was so sure I was gonna screw the barrel up. Now I can cut in & install 4 underlugs in 20 minutes....

Keith Lisle

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

I practiced on a piece of 3/8" key stock til I felt comfortable doing one. Have done probably 500 of them since.... First 3 I did on a barrel it tool me an hour each, as I was so sure I was gonna screw the barrel up. Now I can cut in & install 4 underlugs in 20 minutes....

Keith Lisle

5 min. a lug :shocked2:

Spose with the 25 that I've done I'm still at about 40 min. each. It is different though, you do them on the clock and I do them in my spare time. :wink:

 

[jerrywh]

When your doing all these things that the guys have recomended, place the barrel in the vise so that it is level with the jaws and only about .030 protrudes above the jaws. The vise jaws will act as a stop and a guide to prevent the cut from being too deep on one side or the other or overall. No charge.

 

[Swede50]

You could use one of these. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/720537/wheeler-engineering-dovetail-cutting-fixture

I bought a Jet Mill Drill I plan on using.
I have seen videos on BP rifle making using a hacksaw and a file.
When I tried to cut them by hand they were not something I would show off.
I didn't go deep enough for the front sight and there was a gap under the blade.

 

[Birddog6]

Spose with the 25 that I've done I'm still at about 40 min. each. It is different though, you do them on the clock and I do them in my spare time. :wink:

Actually about a year ago someone asked me how long it took me, and I didn't really know. I just do them & go on. But for fun, I clocked it just to see how long it took me to do them, I did 4 in 20 min. Now, I had everything out & ready & set up. Had the location marked, looked at the clock & started marking, cutting & filing. One thing I do that most probably don't, I do all 4 & take a belt sander & grind the edges off flush to the barrel. If I filed them off it would take Much longer.

This with a 40 grit belt takes off the edge of that underlug FAST. Like about 5 seconds each side.

Keith Lisle

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Nice tool,

Wonder if I could sneak that past the warden and into the tool box ?
:idunno: