Zebulon
Member
Amen to that.....Zeb
The 4566TSWSSV project
- Thread starter BMCM
- Start date
Serrations greatly reduce glare and help present a nice crisp, black sight picture.
Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk
OP
Messin' around with my lathe today...
Took the compound slide off and mounted the milling fixture on the cross slide to set up for a bit of slide machining.
This is a little benchtop machine so I'm using a 3/16" four flute end mill spinning at about 500 rpm. If I had a proper milling machine, I could knock this out in one pass. As it stands however, I just chip away at it with multiple passes until I get to the needed dimensions.
Here we are taking the first cut.
A couple more passes...
And we'll check the fit.
Not quite there yet, need to move the shoulder towards the muzzle another .025" and dust another .010" off the flat part.
Let's check the fit again. Looks good from here.
Yup! Now we're talkin'. This'll go right on there now.
Here's a closeup of the finished relief cut.
And, while I was set up to mill, I went ahead and dusted a few thousandths off the flat aft of the dovetail just to true it up square.
unobstructed view from the left side.
Still have a little cleanup to do in the bottom of the dovetail cut. I'll fix that up with a dovetail file then attend to fitting the sight.
There's not a great deal left to do at this point. A few cosmetic issues that need my attention. Mainly cleaning up the tool marks from the milling. And on the frame, finish cleaning up my tool marks on the dust cover. Still need to Bead blast everything. Then I'll need to go over the slide flats on the surface plate again post blasting. Once that stuff is done we ought to be ready for some assembly.
Cheers
Bill
Took the compound slide off and mounted the milling fixture on the cross slide to set up for a bit of slide machining.
This is a little benchtop machine so I'm using a 3/16" four flute end mill spinning at about 500 rpm. If I had a proper milling machine, I could knock this out in one pass. As it stands however, I just chip away at it with multiple passes until I get to the needed dimensions.
Here we are taking the first cut.
A couple more passes...
And we'll check the fit.
Not quite there yet, need to move the shoulder towards the muzzle another .025" and dust another .010" off the flat part.
Let's check the fit again. Looks good from here.
Yup! Now we're talkin'. This'll go right on there now.
Here's a closeup of the finished relief cut.
And, while I was set up to mill, I went ahead and dusted a few thousandths off the flat aft of the dovetail just to true it up square.
unobstructed view from the left side.
Still have a little cleanup to do in the bottom of the dovetail cut. I'll fix that up with a dovetail file then attend to fitting the sight.
There's not a great deal left to do at this point. A few cosmetic issues that need my attention. Mainly cleaning up the tool marks from the milling. And on the frame, finish cleaning up my tool marks on the dust cover. Still need to Bead blast everything. Then I'll need to go over the slide flats on the surface plate again post blasting. Once that stuff is done we ought to be ready for some assembly.
Cheers
Bill
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nocents
Member
amazing work.....thanks for sharing
OP
Big Sunday update....
Took care of a bunch of stuff this weekend and the project is moving along nicely.
Broke out the files and got the rear sight seat all cleaned up. Also straightened out the dovetail cut before I set about fitting the sight proper.
Now onto the actual sight. This one had a great deal of extra meat on the bottom of the dovetail. I didn't take measurements but if I were to guess, I filed about .030" off the base.
Also had to take a little bit off the dovetail rear.
And some off the front as well.
Looks like the fit is going to be really nice and snug. I Don't like seeing daylight under or around the dovetail so I spent a lot of time checking & filing until I was satisfied with the fitment.
Elsewhere on the slide... Clamped it up in the milling fixture again for some cosmetic cleanup around the ejection port with a 5/64" end mill. This area was pretty lumpy and lacked the nice radius cut at the front left. I wanted to fix all that.
Went back to the bench for some hand filing then back to the mill to extend the cut little closer to the breechface. Here is the finished cut.
And back to the bench for some more hand filing on the exterior topside to even the beveling around the ejection port along with erasing a couple dings. Almost ready for the blast cabinet, just one more thing to do on the slide.
So while I had the machine set up for milling, the thought struck me... *loaded chamber indicator* Got the dimensions off my 4566TSW that has one from the factory. Worked out how to securely clamp & center up the barrel in my milling fixture then loaded a 1/8" end mill in the collet.
Lets make some more swarf shall we? Here we go.
Got the cut to where I wanted then did the countersink with a number 2 center drill. All done here.
So the last thing to do on the slide now is filing the angled groove in the breechface directly over the loaded chamber in the barrel hood. I'll probably take care of this tomorrow.
And lastly I finished up making the dust cover pretty.
Just might be ready to put this baby together this week, we'll see. One thing I need to do is get some better media in my blast cabinet. The stuff I have in there now has become almost like baby powder. All it really does now is make a shiny surface dull. I need something with some tooth. Perhaps 80 or 120 mesh aluminum oxide will do. Gonna have to check around town tomorrow and see what I can get.
I hope everyone had a nice Easter.
That's all for now.
Cheers
Bill
Took care of a bunch of stuff this weekend and the project is moving along nicely.
Broke out the files and got the rear sight seat all cleaned up. Also straightened out the dovetail cut before I set about fitting the sight proper.
Now onto the actual sight. This one had a great deal of extra meat on the bottom of the dovetail. I didn't take measurements but if I were to guess, I filed about .030" off the base.
Also had to take a little bit off the dovetail rear.
And some off the front as well.
Looks like the fit is going to be really nice and snug. I Don't like seeing daylight under or around the dovetail so I spent a lot of time checking & filing until I was satisfied with the fitment.
Elsewhere on the slide... Clamped it up in the milling fixture again for some cosmetic cleanup around the ejection port with a 5/64" end mill. This area was pretty lumpy and lacked the nice radius cut at the front left. I wanted to fix all that.
Went back to the bench for some hand filing then back to the mill to extend the cut little closer to the breechface. Here is the finished cut.
And back to the bench for some more hand filing on the exterior topside to even the beveling around the ejection port along with erasing a couple dings. Almost ready for the blast cabinet, just one more thing to do on the slide.
So while I had the machine set up for milling, the thought struck me... *loaded chamber indicator* Got the dimensions off my 4566TSW that has one from the factory. Worked out how to securely clamp & center up the barrel in my milling fixture then loaded a 1/8" end mill in the collet.
Lets make some more swarf shall we? Here we go.
Got the cut to where I wanted then did the countersink with a number 2 center drill. All done here.
So the last thing to do on the slide now is filing the angled groove in the breechface directly over the loaded chamber in the barrel hood. I'll probably take care of this tomorrow.
And lastly I finished up making the dust cover pretty.
Just might be ready to put this baby together this week, we'll see. One thing I need to do is get some better media in my blast cabinet. The stuff I have in there now has become almost like baby powder. All it really does now is make a shiny surface dull. I need something with some tooth. Perhaps 80 or 120 mesh aluminum oxide will do. Gonna have to check around town tomorrow and see what I can get.
I hope everyone had a nice Easter.
That's all for now.
Cheers
Bill
Swarf away!
Lookin' good!
(Don't know what "swarf" is but let's keep makin' it!)
Lookin' good!
(Don't know what "swarf" is but let's keep makin' it!
)
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Zebulon
Member
I'm as technical as a boot, but I know skill and beauty when I see it. This has been a great ride. Thank you for sharing your builds here. Very inspiring.....Zebulon
4506517
Member
I swear...........when I got to the part where you started drilling the loaded chamber indicator........
I squealed like a school girl.......
......seriously.
I squealed like a school girl.......
......seriously.
OP
4506517
Member
Sorry about that....... But I really did.
My girlfriend looked at me funny.
I said "You just wouldn't understand honey".
My girlfriend looked at me funny.
I said "You just wouldn't understand honey".
OP
Soon
Cheers
Bill
Cheers
Bill
Sir,
I am so impressed with your work. Bless you for keeping us informed. A 3/16 end mill at 500 RPM with hopes of a single pass - be serious, most folks have little idea what that means, sir. It harkens me to my days of running a Cinncinnati #4 milling machine, a Wilton vice, and the acrid smell of Cool Tool and the whistle of an air line in my right ear and chips burning on my skin. Could be why my hearing is a bit off on that side. You have done well. Go forth and be proud. Thank you.
I am so impressed with your work. Bless you for keeping us informed. A 3/16 end mill at 500 RPM with hopes of a single pass - be serious, most folks have little idea what that means, sir. It harkens me to my days of running a Cinncinnati #4 milling machine, a Wilton vice, and the acrid smell of Cool Tool and the whistle of an air line in my right ear and chips burning on my skin. Could be why my hearing is a bit off on that side. You have done well. Go forth and be proud. Thank you.
OP
Well Gents, She's all together now. Had one minor malfunction once Everything was together though. In DA the hammer dropped way too early and I mean WAY too early. So I pulled the frame back apart and re-examined everything under the loupe. Well, I found the problem was the hammer itself. Seems someone had taken a file or something and did a number on the DA hooks such that the drawbar could barely hang on. I will need to be a bit more attentive inspecting these parts when I receive them. Fortunately I had another flash-chromed forged spurless hammer handy while not quite as pretty cosmetically it's perfect mechanically so a quick swap of the stirrup and I was back in business.
Here are some shots of the assembled piece:
Right side.
And the left.
Topside perspective.
Decocker detail left.
And right.
Trigger guard de-horning.
Bobbed beavertail.
Backsight inletting detail.
Backsight a little closer from another angle.
Loaded chamber indicator & ejection port detail.
Like I said, "Don't like seein' daylight under the dovetails"
I like the sight picture.
There's still a couple things needing attention. I feel a little grittiness in the DA pull that I'll have to attend to and once I'm set up with some cutting abrasive in a cabinet I'll strip and touch up the frame again the blend the finish.
Were calling this provisionally done pending test drive this Saturday. Range report to follow this coming weekend.
Cheers
Bill
Here are some shots of the assembled piece:
Right side.
And the left.
Topside perspective.
Decocker detail left.
And right.
Trigger guard de-horning.
Bobbed beavertail.
Backsight inletting detail.
Backsight a little closer from another angle.
Loaded chamber indicator & ejection port detail.
Like I said, "Don't like seein' daylight under the dovetails"
I like the sight picture.
There's still a couple things needing attention. I feel a little grittiness in the DA pull that I'll have to attend to and once I'm set up with some cutting abrasive in a cabinet I'll strip and touch up the frame again the blend the finish.
Were calling this provisionally done pending test drive this Saturday. Range report to follow this coming weekend.
Cheers
Bill
presspics
Member
I'm surprised that you didn't polish the barrel hood. That's something I always do to my 3rd gen Smiths. The rough hood makes it look unfinished.
ilcharlieli
Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 3
Absolutely fantastic work for someone who considers this a "hobby". Agree with timn8er's comment with derailed TSWs
KOLPIN
Member
What a great work of art! You Sir, are very talented.
Regards 18DAI
nocents
Member
Fantastic result....really love the look of the final finish of the frame and rework of the beaver tail.......but the grip checkering is my favorite upgrade.......since I don't have any dustcover holes to contend with
boingboing
Member
So when can I send you mine?
OP
Thank you for all the kind words and compliments guys, I truly appreciate them.
So, I spent most of this afternoon sorting out the heavy gritty DA trigger problem and thought I'd share my finding and the results.
But, before we get to that. Remember yesterday I mentioned how that first hammer I had installed last night would drop too early in DA?
Well, here's why. have a close look at the DA hooks I have circled in the picture. Someone did some serious remodeling here with a file or stone I suspect. Note that the angles aren't even the same on both hooks. During the DA pull, the drawbar could barely hang on long enough to get the hammer out of the slide recess. Other than the hooks, this hammer is in near perfect condition, damn shame too because unfortunately it's junk. I should have noticed this before installing it. Oh well, lesson learned
Now compare those buggered up DA hooks above to these on a blued forged hammer.
And here on this used MIM hammer.
Quite the difference yes? Note the included radius and how the hooks have a much steeper angle to keep the drawbar engaged through a full stroke of the trigger. There's no reason to ever take a file or stone to this area.
Just thought to pass on what I found in case any of you find yourselves rummaging in a parts bin some day
Ok, Enough of that, on to the crunchy gritty trigger fix.
So last night I had noted the trigger was a little crunchy with the bad hammer and became somewhat worse after I swapped in another hammer.
Today, after stripping and re-assembling the frame a number of times while making adjustments and part swaps in between. I identified three problem areas that combined to make the trigger lousy.
First was the little sawtooth feature on the hammer sturrup which added some clunkyness as the mainspring rode against it.
Fixed that with a #3 cut barrette file.
Next was some roughness and casting flaws on the upper surface of the drawbar that tended to rub against the frame here.
Fixed that by gently deburring & polishing the guilty area on the drawbar using that same barrette file and an extra fine cratex point.
Lastly was the radius on the hammer where it rides against the sear during the DA pull.
That chrome/forged hammer over on the left is the one with the ruined DA hooks, pretty smooth where it rides against the sear. The one I swapped in (second from left) definitely had the spoon on a cheese grater effect
. The blued forged not much better.
In the end, the fix was to forgo trying to salvage used forged parts and make them work. I went ahead and installed a set of new MIM components, hammer, trigger & sear which had briefly been in my other 4566.
Now the trigger feel is just perfect. Second only to my other 4566TSW which coincidentally doesn't have a single molecule of MIM on it. Go figure
Silky smooth throughout the DA pull and a nice crisp SA release close to the back wall.
So here she is all back together with some new bits.
And I'll just sit here dry-snapping at bugs on the windows attracted by the porch lights and look forward to Saturday when We'll go for a serious test drive.
Hey, anyone in my neck of the woods? Meet me at the Concordia Parish SO range about 10am, I'll let ya take her for a spin
Cheers
Bill
So, I spent most of this afternoon sorting out the heavy gritty DA trigger problem and thought I'd share my finding and the results.
But, before we get to that. Remember yesterday I mentioned how that first hammer I had installed last night would drop too early in DA?
Well, here's why. have a close look at the DA hooks I have circled in the picture. Someone did some serious remodeling here with a file or stone I suspect. Note that the angles aren't even the same on both hooks. During the DA pull, the drawbar could barely hang on long enough to get the hammer out of the slide recess. Other than the hooks, this hammer is in near perfect condition, damn shame too because unfortunately it's junk. I should have noticed this before installing it. Oh well, lesson learned
Now compare those buggered up DA hooks above to these on a blued forged hammer.
And here on this used MIM hammer.
Quite the difference yes? Note the included radius and how the hooks have a much steeper angle to keep the drawbar engaged through a full stroke of the trigger. There's no reason to ever take a file or stone to this area.
Just thought to pass on what I found in case any of you find yourselves rummaging in a parts bin some day
Ok, Enough of that, on to the crunchy gritty trigger fix.
So last night I had noted the trigger was a little crunchy with the bad hammer and became somewhat worse after I swapped in another hammer.
Today, after stripping and re-assembling the frame a number of times while making adjustments and part swaps in between. I identified three problem areas that combined to make the trigger lousy.
First was the little sawtooth feature on the hammer sturrup which added some clunkyness as the mainspring rode against it.
Fixed that with a #3 cut barrette file.
Next was some roughness and casting flaws on the upper surface of the drawbar that tended to rub against the frame here.
Fixed that by gently deburring & polishing the guilty area on the drawbar using that same barrette file and an extra fine cratex point.
Lastly was the radius on the hammer where it rides against the sear during the DA pull.
That chrome/forged hammer over on the left is the one with the ruined DA hooks, pretty smooth where it rides against the sear. The one I swapped in (second from left) definitely had the spoon on a cheese grater effect
. The blued forged not much better.In the end, the fix was to forgo trying to salvage used forged parts and make them work. I went ahead and installed a set of new MIM components, hammer, trigger & sear which had briefly been in my other 4566.
Now the trigger feel is just perfect. Second only to my other 4566TSW which coincidentally doesn't have a single molecule of MIM on it. Go figure
Silky smooth throughout the DA pull and a nice crisp SA release close to the back wall.So here she is all back together with some new bits.
And I'll just sit here dry-snapping at bugs on the windows attracted by the porch lights and look forward to Saturday when We'll go for a serious test drive.
Hey, anyone in my neck of the woods? Meet me at the Concordia Parish SO range about 10am, I'll let ya take her for a spin
Cheers
Bill
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nocents
Member
Hey, anyone in my neck of the woods? Meet me at the Concordia Parish SO range about 10am, I'll let ya take her for a spin
Cheers
Bill
WOW......only thing that comes to mind is..... ROAD TRIP!!!!!...
.....and......if at some point in the future that you list it in the "guns for sale" section..... I want to be first in line with the "I'll take it"
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4506517
Member
Sweeeeeeeeet!
Once again your skill and style amaze me.
Outstanding work.
You are the most gifted 3rd gen smith I've ever seen.
Once again your skill and style amaze me.
Outstanding work.
You are the most gifted 3rd gen smith I've ever seen.
ShelbyV8
Member
I have also found a little grittiness between the internal decocking lever and the drawbar at times. A quick pass with a fine stone on both surfaces takes this out. Beautiful Work.
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Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
OP
Looks excellent Bill. So...now that you've about wrapped that one up, you're ready for me to ship you my 4566TSW, right?
Not just yet Fellas... I'm working on it.
Cheers
Bill
Dang it.. wish I lived closer. Would love to see that in person.
Thank you Bill for this wonderful thread. I've learned a lot about the 3rd gen Smith's.
You've done an awesome job.
OP
(Don't know what "swarf" is but let's keep makin' it!
It's this stuff, I made some more today
Cheers
Bill
