Slant Head Wedge Key Head Angle Adjustment?

[Dakota Dick]

How do I go about changing the angle of the Wedge Key head on the slanted wedge key to have it match my full stock Hawken contour???

I am installing new all brass wedge keys I acquired from TOTW and not sure how to approach changing the head angle to match the stock contour. I need to reduce the angle as the wedges as they come have a much steeper angle than necessary

Thought I would ask the folks who have been there and done that before I beat my head against the wall for very long trying to figure it out...

Thanks

Dakota Dick

 

[Dane]

A hammer and a vise. Tap lightly till you get the angle you want. Clean up with a file. Easy peasy.
By the way... What part of Dakota?
I was raised in Brookings, Arlington area.

 

[Dakota Dick]

Half way between Keystone and Hermosa on Hwy 40.

OK, not to be dense, I need a little more detail.
I had figured to put the wedge into a vise from the top with the slanted head resting on the top of the jaws, between the two jaws and the jaws closed just enough to allow the leg of the wedge to move down into the jaw as I lightly tapped down on the head with a small leather faced mallet, thereby, in theory, causing the head angle to slowly bend toward perpendicular as the head angle decreased...I was afraid I would end of deforming the back of the inward angled head as it came in contact with the top of the vise.
What I think you are saying is to put the leg of the wedge in the vise held tightly and then tap the back of the wedge with a narrow flat edge (hard maple perhaps or another piece of brass) to accomplish the same thing?

 

[inlikeflint]

Would probably be good to anneal the brass before pounding on it and might be good to harden it after fitting it the way you want. john

 

[Vaino]

My first 4 LRs had "homade" steel keys and I made a steel fixture w/ an angled top to hold the key for bending the head. The fixture was composed of 2 pieces...one piece had a slot and the other piece had a raised rib that fitted the slot. The rib/slot had "room for the key thickness. The key was inserted in the slot, the other piece w/ the rib was inserted and the fixture was then clamped in a vise and the key "head" was then pounded down to the angle of the fixture. Just clamping the key in the vise tended to bend the body of the key. The upper forend keys were the only ones that were bent due to the greater angle...didn't bend the heads of the lower forestock keys.....Fred

 

[Yellowhouse]

Curious to know if you found a soltion as im faced with the same challenge.