After machining around the ER lug area, I got the barrel torqued on. I had also removed some material from the barrel bottom to ensure proper clearance for the ejector rod, but, surprisingly, it still wasn't quite enough. It was close enough, however, that some judicious stoning provided that last bit of clearance. The cylinder/barrel gap is right at .003":


I really wanted to dovetail a block onto the lug, since there was just not sufficient material on the barrel for a completely integral lug, but none of my dovetail cutters, and none I could locate, were small enough. Also, kind of getting into the weeds a bit, but I looked at dovetailing laterally and linearly, and neither option was going to work. So, I made a block from some 416 material I had lying around that will fit snugly over the lug, like a dental crown, and I will just silver solder it on and then machine to shape. A lower temp solder is also a possibility. It would not be as strong, but there will also be a cross pin in there for the detent, serving to also secure the block to the lug:





After the block is secured, I will machine it to final contour and then look at making a front sight insert that will dovetail into the integral front sight base using the same 416 material. I'm thinking of carrying the octagon barrel shape through to the ER block by milling two flats on the corners, then, cutting a radius on the front of the block and probably along the sides, trimming it down and giving it a pleasant contour. It will be just a bit bulkier than the original, but I think it will look right.

I'll also need to drill the holes for the ER detent, spring, and the cross pin and polish the whole shebang. Are spare detents and detent springs for older J-Frames readily available? If so, I'll just leave the originals in the original barrel.

Getting very close to being done on this one.

TBR