Building The Steven's Favorite

[TOM REED]

Fantastic job, I hope you post the complete plans I would like to have a try at this rifle and wonder if the action would be strong enough for 22 HORNET or a 218 BEE, If I remember 218 is also a rimmed cartridge. tom

[TomG]

(06-20-2012, 08:37 PM)TOM REED Wrote: Fantastic job, I hope you post the complete plans I would like to have a try at this rifle and wonder if the action would be strong enough for 22 HORNET or a 218 BEE, If I remember 218 is also a rimmed cartridge. tom

Thanks Tom.

I have had numerous requests for the plans, but this rifle is still a prototype and there will likely be many engineering changes as it progresses. I'll also need to look into any patent, copyright or liability issues before making it available.

Adapting it for a more powerful cartridge would definitely not be advisable. The falling block design is quite weak and only adequate for the .22 rimfire cartridge. Stevens did offer a .32 rimfire version but they were shorts, and not very popular.

Tom

[TOM REED]

Although I used to do some gunsmithing (30 yrs ago) I don't really remember this model
, I just thought it should handle a HORNET, I recall working on a couple of MARTINI ROSSIE rifles that I believe were 218 BEE which is much more powerful than the Hornet and a little less than 22-250. tom

[TomG]

Tonight was breech block night. I sawed out a piece of the O1, squared it up and located the three cross holes. Two of the holes were temporarily threaded to screw the block to a sub-plate for the rotary table work. It was then set on a sine bar at 12º, the slot milled and the firing pin hole added. Next it will be mounted to an aluminum sub-plate containing locating holes for the centers of all the arcs. As with the receiver, that will make the rotary table work a lot easier and faster.



Set on 12º to mill the slot.



The survival of long, skinny end mills is always a concern. This one is 3/16" diameter by 1 1/2" long. The secret to making them long lived is to plunge cut first and side mill to finish. The slot was cut as deep as possible with a standard length end mill before resorting to the long one. This cut was over an inch deep and made in one pass using .02" steps. The same technique applies when milling tool steel like this or when milling aluminum. A lube such as WD-40 is necessary for deep slots in aluminum to keep the cutter from loading up.



Gauge pins are handy for locating features from cross drilled holes. Just place a pin in the hole and touch it off with the end mill or drill using a piece of paper between them as a witness. Here, the block is set up to drill and ream the hole for the firing pin. To set the 12º angle, I just put a pin in the chuck and held the bottom of the slot against the side of it as the vise was tightened.



This next series of photographs shows the method I use to set up and cut radii on the rotary table. The sub-plate has been made large enough to include the centers of all the radii and a hole was drilled and reamed for each one. To locate them, the rotary table is centered on the spindle, then a pin is put in the spindle and inserted into the hole at the center of the radius to be cut. The sub-plate is then clamped down, the table offset by the radius plus half the diameter of the cutter, and the radius milled.











In this case, where the radius blends with another, the part needs to be indicated at set-up and coordinated with the graduations on the rotary table. Then by watching the graduations, you can calculate where the radii end.

[Bill Gruby]

Tom your attention to detail and craftsmanship never cease to amaze me. Absolutely amazing work.

"Billy G"

[TomG]

(06-21-2012, 10:08 AM)Bill Gruby Wrote: Tom your attention to detail and craftsmanship never cease to amaze me. Absolutely amazing work.

"Billy G"

Thanks Bill.

[DaveH]

Tom,
Amazing craftsmanship - absolutely stunning


DaveH

[TomG]

It's time to move on to the lever. After squaring up the stock, I drilled the two holes, cut the internal radii with a boring bar and milled an angled surface while it was held in the vise. Next, I set up the 1 1/2º per side taper to the lever with a sine bar and milled them tangent to the two radii that I previously bored. Next, it'll be back to the rotary table for a couple of external radii and then a bunch of hand filing to get the elliptical shape of the lever. I could make another radius cutter, but for this part it would take less time just to file the shape.

Mistake #1 is under the bridge. I made a dimensioning error on the lever drawing and then like an idiot, made the lever exactly to print. But, the good thing about working with steel is that all it takes is a little weld to make it right.

To make matters worse, I had to knock off early tonight because I managed to get a chip in my eye. It landed on top of my safety glasses, fell down behind them and then flipped right in my eye. I saw it coming but not quite soon enough. Guess the reflexes aren't what they used to be. Luckily, even though it was steel, it wasn't hot enough to stick but it still irritated the heck out of my eye. Oh well, it wasn't the first time and it probably won't be the last, just one of the hazards of the trade. WEAR THOSE SAFETY GLASSES!



Just a little weld to make it right.



Here the lever is sitting on a sine bar to machine the first tapered side of the lever. I did one side first, then doubled the angle on the sine bar and did the flip side after sawing off the excess stock.







Next, the sides will be tapered on the belt sander, the end radiused and the elliptical shape filed.



The rough shaping on the lever was done with the belt sander, files and strips of emery cloth.



The rest of the radii were cut on the rotary table (getting rid of the weld evidence ). At the same time, the curved shape around the pivot point was approximated by using three different tapered end mills on the rotary table.



This is a quick and dirty fixture I made up to bend the scroll shape on the lever.



The first curve was tough. It took a lot more heat than I expected due to the thickness of the part and the tightness of the bend.



Making the bend around the second and third form rolls.



It still needs some hand finishing, but I couldn't wait to try it on the gun. The shape is pretty close, but it still needs to be tweaked a bit. Next time I'll add more form rolls to make it easier to hold the shape. Not too bad for the first try though.

[Mayhem]

Awesome work - Keep 'em coming Tom!

[DaveH]

Tom,

"not bad you say" you say. I think it is fantastic - exceptionally well made looks beautiful

DaveH