Have some magnesium bronze scrap bars for the castings. Thinking of having one of the art casting places in the area so the actual casting with my raw materials and patterns.
Probably easier than making a casting setup (and cheaper).
Progress has been a bit slow so far. Have the lock plate fabricated and the lockworks functioning. Need to contour the plate now to at least resemble the lines of the original from the recess on the receiver. that will entail a bit of file work