BIGGUNDOCTOR

I haven't done one yet, but I was thinking of using a leaf spring. A spring steel can get hard, yet have some give to it, so may not be so prone to breaking if thrown. If not being thrown it could be hardened a bit more.

Lets keep this thread civil, and don't get all pushed out of shape. Be respectful of each other , K? First off it was me who posted on Weaponeer, not Bentiron1946. I am not discouraging the build, just making sure that you get all the facts before building. On the pressures did you take into account the surface areas of each round? PSI=pounds per square inch. Two rounds rated for the same pressure, but different surface areas will have different effective pressures on a receiver. A 45/70 has a lot more surface than a .22 rimfire, and the bullet weight is 10X greater ( for every action there is an equal, and opposite reaction). Admitted when you look at a Trapdoor receiver, and the materials that were used from 1873-1890 there isn't much there, and they worked fine then, and still do. I have several Trapdoors, and they are one of my favorite rifles. The pressure curve for blackpowder is also not as steep as with smokeless powder. With that being said there are some loadings out there that would turn a Trapdoor inside out if it was fired through it. You are missing the point on using headspace gages. Without them you are guessing. Cartridge rims have a high, and a low limit for thickness. They are not all the same, and the gages allow for that tolerance. I am looking to do a 45/70 myself, but I am going to use a surplus Mauser action that I have. Personally I would make the receiver, and then send it out to be heat treated. It used to run around $50 to have one heat treated back home in CA. Material from the steel mill has internal stresses, and strains from the forming processes. After the machining is done they are still there, and I have had parts shift during machining due to them. With a proper heat treat after machining the receiver will have been normalized. 35 Rockwell is actually pretty soft for a receiver in my opinion. It may hold for awhile, but the bearing surfaces for the bolt may smash down ( psi + surface area) over some firings resulting in excessive headspace. Some actions were case hardened, hard on the outside to take wear,soft on the inside to add toughness. Do some research on receiver Rockwell hardnesses. Again, if you do this, do it right. Invest in yourself by taking a machine shop course where you can learn how to use proper machine tools. My Community College courses were dirt cheap when I went through the program. My shop class had machine tools, heat treating equipment, and the Rockwell testers to check it. Once you use proper tools, you will not look back.

I have done a bit of posting on Weaponeer.net in the past, and currently have over 200 parts kits laying around. The Trapdoor receiver is only good for low pressure loads, check some reloading manuals for the different 45/70 loads, and cautions on using in older firearms designs. Threading in the lathe is actually pretty easy, and the fit can be tailored to the barrel. At the gunsmith shop I worked at we cut all of the threads on the lathe. I am not that far ahead of you at 44. Even though it headspaces of of the rim, it has to be held close, or the cartridge can slip back when fired. That can lock up an action, or rupture the case. Gages are worth the money. I believe the M1 rifle receiver is around a 45 Rockwell C. Tough, not hard.

What type of action are you making, or is it your own design? Are you going with blackpowder 45/70 pressures, or modern day 45/70 loads? I didn't figure that you would do the heat treating, but send it out to have it done. What is the material that you are looking to use for the receiver? You do realize that headspace is figured in just a few thousands of an inch. Gages are pretty mandatory when setting. Not sure how you are going to set headspace correctly the way you are going. Do you have a gunsmith in the area that you could talk with about your build? Not to sound crass, or rude, but from your line of questions I would say that you are a little over your head with this project. Brownells has a lot of good gunsmithing information available. I would say a good plan here would be to put the build on hold, and do some major research on building a rifle. You may want to consider starting with a commercial, or surplus action for your first build, then progress to a DIY receiver. With the pressures involved, and having them inches from your face, you need to make sure that you are building a safe firearm. I have seen what can happen when things go wrong, and it isn't pretty. I am not trying to stop you from ever building a rifle, I just want you to live through the experience.

Stick the really important notes on the fridge. Wiping out hard drives, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, credit cards, pacemakers, etc... Stick the kid to the car to keep him from running around. Drag through the yard to find all of the missing tools. Keep the car from rolling out of the driveway. Tool holder. Parts holder. Defense against iron based robots. Put it in a box marked feathers and mail it. Wait for the letter from the USPS. Put it in the street, and see if you can catch a small car.

A couple of suggestions to keep it running. Make a steel liner to cover the holes. All cracks should be stop drilled to keep them from spreading. If you have the pieces they can be reattached. If it welds easy enough (some cast isn't readily welded) I would do that , otherwise brazing will do it. When I weld cast iron I grind weld preps, preheat the part around too hot to touch , then start welding. Short 1"-2" stringer beads are used with a heavy application of a needle scaler as they cool. Stagger the beads to help control warping. The needle scaler spreads the weld as it cools which keeps it from pulling away from the cast iron. After the welding is done a post heating is done to bring the area up to a uniform temp then it is put into an insulating media. I use the gray ashes out of a wood stove. I have mine in a cut down 55 gal drum. This allows the part to cool down very slowly which reduces the chances of cracking. I have had poor luck using the E99 electrodes, and now use higher grade rods for my repairs. More expensive @ $50+ a pound, but they lay down soooo much nicer. You can also line the forge with a refractory cement / clay. May even be able to use a woodfire clay from a pottery supply house. I have some woodfire clay that is good to cone 14 2525 F / 1390 C. It all depends on your intentions. You can save the forge , or let it become a planter---Gee honey, I guess I will have to get a new forge now. Or, you can take it on as a challenge to see if you can keep it running for the next 100 years. Whatever you decide to do you will have people that agree with you.

We used graphite for continuous casting dies, as well as crucibles. Graphite starts to oxidize above 800 degrees so the crucibles were used with an inert atmosphere. Graphite is very abrasive on tools, Carbide works best, as HSS is eaten very quickly when milling. If you can find out what grade of graphite, or possibly manufacturer you might be able to sell it. We used a lot of Toyo Tanso made graphite. Google graphite uses.

My first question now is, is the receiver that you made heat treated? How are you going to set the headspace? Do you have the go / no-go headspace gages? Do you have a chambering reamer? A lot of replacement barrels are short chambered in order to set the headspace correctly with a reamer. If the headspace is off (loose) you can cause a lot of damage to yourself , or kill yourself, due to a ruptured casing. Yes, there are a lot of rifles that used square form threads, they are not uncommon at all. Taps for them on the other hand are, and if you do find a set they will be very expensive. Even though it may be a "new" barrel the threads may still be of the 1895 form, so that a new barrel can be put onto an original gun. Square threads are usually done with two taps; one roughing, and one finishing. The receiver can be threaded on a lathe to match the barrel. It can also be done at a shop that can do thread milling. As for the tool bit on the lathe, you grind your own to size, easy to do. If you are not prepared to do the job correctly, do not do it at all.

Get samples of what you have available, and try heat treating them. If they get hard enough then look into making a blade, otherwise they may be good for something else, like tooling.

A lot of those threads were done before SAE was around. They were just what the original designer felt would work. There are a lot of odd non-standardized threads on guns. What kind of receiver are you using? What caliber barrel? What we did was match the barrel to the receiver threads. Turned them on the lathe to fit, then ran a chamber reamer into it to set headspace. Barrels with sights on them have to be registered to the receiver so they line up properly. This rarely happens where the headspace is correct, and it has to be adjusted. Too tight is better than too loose. Too loose, and you have to trim the barrel one thread rotation to set it back enough so the reamer can recut the chamber. I would recut the barrel threads long before I cut the receiver threads. A lot easier to do, and you don't take a chance of destroying, or damaging the receiver. Get the receiver too thin, and that will also lead to an unsafe condition.

Bought them, as they were only $3-$5 each at the automotive swap meets, and flea markets. Just recently bought a big bucket full along with some other BS stuff from an estate for $5 ea.

The P1800's were one Volvo I wouldn't mind driving, especially a wagon. Clean shape. For me it is a 2001 Dodge 3500, 4x4,6 spd, CTD for hauling, and a 98 Saturn SW2 for commuting. Both have over 200,000 miles now. The toys are a 74 Gold Duster, 72 F250 4x4, 72 Olds 98 Ambulance, 67 M715, and a 60 Chrysler Windsor 2dr hdt. I still have to pick up the M53 that I bought. Been thinking recently about selling all of the toys off to get the one car that I have always wanted, a 1941 Willys coupe. I found a guy who makes a very affordable body, and it is hand laid mat-no chopper gun. As for shooting, I hear machine guns on some weekends where I live, and have friends with class 3 items; machine guns, SBR's, canons, mortars, flame throwers, and suppressors. Most class 3 stuff is a bit out of my price range, but a suppressor may be in the future. Funny how they are regulated here, but encouraged in Europe as a safety device (hearing protection). The foothills are a nice area, and can understand why you stopped there. Unfortunately the big metro areas Bay Area, LA, etc. get more votes in than the rural areas. The attitudes in the outlying areas is vastly different from the urban centers. CA would be a far different state if the rurals made more of the decisions.

depending on what size belt you are running, an idler / tensioner off of a car's serpentine belt should work. You can also cut a radius crown with the lathe's compound. Offset your tool behind the compounds pivot for the radius needed, and loosen the compound's clamping bolts, so that it swivels. Come up to the part, and swing the tool around the part to cut the radius.Move the cross slide in until you get a full cut all across the face.

I wasn't much into the ocean, other than fishing in it, or looking at it. It was my shooting hobby that helped me make my decision after my folks passed away. If I stayed there CA would have considered me a felon for owning rifles with "evil" features that I had purchased in CA years earlier. They kept changing the laws on two of my hobbies (cars, and guns) to the point where it was difficult to pursue them. Got tired of it, and started over in Southern Nevada. Huge difference just a state away. Vegas was too big for me, so I moved out to a rural area where I can pursue my hobbies, and have space around me. The only rush hour traffic I have here is when the Quail are coming through my property in the morning, and the evening :D

I won't tell Arnie on ya. I lived in Fairfield for almost 40 years. CA is a great state that the politicians have ruined. The only two things I miss are the trees, and the fresh produce.

I found an older inline model ( USA made ) at the flea market. The problem I have found with cheap air tools is that they use a ton of air due to the loose tolerances. You get what you pay for. I used it for chipping paint off machines we were rebuilding, but mainly use it for peening welds on cast iron now. Works like a dream for that application.

Tight budget ,head on over to your local library. They have books, VHS,and DVD's that you can check out for FREE. They also have the inter library system where you can request a book to be delivered from another branch. Forge, no money? Dig a hole in the ground, get some charcoal/wood, and a hair dryer, or some other air moving device. Look for pictures of primitive forges in Africa. Metal can be found in wrecking yards, scrap yards, friends, Freecycle, Craigslist postings for free items, wander the neighborhood the night before trash pickup (exercise machines for one), garage sales, talk to local repair shops, local businesses-I have found angle iron/pipe/bars/flats/tubing,etc that were used for pallets/skids, remodels,and other items that just get tossed. If a business helps you out, make something for them as a thank you. A simple gesture like that can go a long way. If they let you scrounge, leave the area/dumpster better than you started-DO NOT LEAVE A MESS. Good luck!

Underground piping will work like a huge heatsink. I did a repair job on a 4 post lift at a Sears Auto Center that had underground piping. The first time I ran my impact gun it looked like I had hooked it up to a garden hose Water everywhere. Water traps on the compressor are not that effective, as the air is still too warm. Put traps downstream where the air is cooler, and easier to remove moisture from. Drain often in humid areas.

I say that it all depends on how much you are talking about. Can you buy it from her, and store it at your place? Will it all fit onto a trailer? You do not want to have to pay for storage. If it will fit onto a trailer you could park it at your place, and even take it to gatherings that way.

Look into Copper Phos rod to attach copper pieces, they are about the same color. It is generally used for refrigeration lines, and easy to use. Google enameling, lots of info online. Don't forget that there are still these things called libraries, and they have information stored in objects called books. The internet hasn't killed them off yet Brazing is like soldering, but at higher temperatures with a torch, or oven. Solder is basically a low melting temp lead/tin alloy. Brazing uses more copper based alloys; brass, phosphorous copper, and there is also silver based alloys - silver solder/sil braze. To drill copper, make sure that you use some oil to lube the bit to prevent galling. It cuts easily, and is annealed (softened) by heating red, and quenching in water. Just the opposite of steel. Copper work hardens, and will crack if overworked. Hence knowing how to anneal copper can come in handy. It doesn't sound like you will have this happen with your projects, but if you get into deeper dishing, etc it may. Libraries, don't forget the libraries. Your tax dollars at work, make use of them.

Call him up, and get your butt over there before someone else gets the stuff. Everything looks in good shape, and good size. You can make some money back selling the partial forge, and the wood spoke wheels (look to be Model T). I am going to guess 125#-150# on the anvil compared to the bicycle rim size. It is a Champion 400 blower. Looks like you can get one complete forge out of the two of them. I would be all over that if it was me.

By using the on end method you will get a lot more useful mass under the hammer. With the tine section on the round I think that you will lose a lot. Of course this all depends on what you want to make. Knives do not need a heavy anvil whereas someone making plowshares might. Small hammer small anvil, big hammers/sledges big anvil. The only part that needs to be hard/tough is the face where you hit. Everything below that can just be plain steel to add mass. Get the forklift tine, and use the section that you want. Cut the rest up and trade/sell it to further your endeavors.

I can see the images fine. Have you been able to find a name on it? I noticed that it has the same chisel marks that a few of mine have. It must have been a common practice to test chisels that way :confused: Now all you have to do is get it onto a stand and start using it. Just don't get a hernia lifting it :p

Done on end it would need some sort of a base attached to keep it upright. An old truck rim would work. You only need enough tine to cover the I beam, since that would be bigger than your hammer face. You could overhang some of it, and put a hardy hole into it. Overhang is also nice if you are scrolling some pieces to be able to wrap it under the heel. A stable base would make that possible. Remember that the anvil's top will only be about as tall as your fist when held at your side. If you get to choose the part of the tine you get, I would go for the upright section that attaches to the forklift. It is thicker, and not tapered. The college should help you out. When I was attending my local JC I had stuff welded, then when I was taking the welding/blacksmithing courses I welded stuff for other folks. If they have a machine shop class you may be able to get a horn turned for the anvil. `

I can see now what you were talking about. I thought that you were wanting to work with thicker material.