The M5906 Project

[BMCM]

Evening Gents,

Getting sort of caught up on some other work so I was able to squeeze in a bit of work on this project today.

Finished up the 'jackhammering' and adjusted the contour on trigger guard front...

Adjusted the contour a bit here at the trigger guard root, I may modify this some more, we'll see...

Between a mounted stone and a 2cut pillar file, fixed this area where the steel was proud of the wood...

Then smoothed out the lumps in the contour with a 2cut crossing needle file...

And, identified another issue that will need fixing.

Here with the left grip panel in place you can see it fits nice and flush to the side of the frame...

Likewise if when the right panel is held in position it's perfectly flush against the steel...

However, when both panels are in place there is a gap than can be shifted side to side as the grips are moved left 'n' right side to side. The gap shown here at the top of the right panel measures about twenty thousandths...

So, what I'll need to do is carefully shave about ten thousandths off of each panel along the meeting surface at the backstrap indicated here...

I'll set up a small surface plate with, I think some 400 grit abrasive paper and thin each panel a little bit at a time while test fitting on the frame frequently. Gotta go slow and check often since any wood I take off cannot be put back. I certainly don't want to wind up with an open gap down the back

And after all the tinkering, ran the frame through the blast cabinet again...

And the other side...

Seems to be shaping up more 'r less ok so far.

That's all for now. Next up we get the grip panels correctly fitted. Then using the panels and a transfer punch, mark the frame for a drill & tap session on the milling machine.

Cheers
Bill

 

[Ruger Nut]

Bill, you're a 3rd Gen God! Man, you do some of the finest armorer work that I have ever seen. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[Craig19]

That looks great. I can't wait to see it finished.

 

[toddstang]

I think I have been looking forward to updates on this thread more than I have Christmas or my birthday!

 

[Hersh328]

I really wasn't on board with the jackhammering, but seeing it all done it looks really nice!

 

[veeklog1]

Bill, Any new updates on this fine looking 5906

 

[BMCM]

Working on getting the fixturing setup to hold the wood panels in various positions for some machining operations. I've ordered some MIC6 precision cast tooling plate along with some other stuff to tackle the mods on the grip panels. Update will follow soon as my supplies/materials are delivered.

It's just a fact that my personal fun projects take a back seat when I have other folks guns here for work so progress updates can sometimes be delayed a bit

Cheers
Bill

 

[Ruger Nut]

Bill, as soon as I get another 3rd Gen gun I will be making the 2 hour ride to your home to have it "BMCM" approved.

 

[vigil617]

Bill, when you get a chance, I'd love to hear more about the molten salt bath that's ahead. Is this something you've invested in at your shop, or will you be sending this out to a vendor? Seeing your note that the process is what produces the Melonite (trade name) finish, I'm intrigued that this is something that could be done "at home" with the right setup. Not that I plan to try it myself, of course!

Just thought it might be good for a post or two while we await with you the arrival of your tooling for the grips project. By the way, I've never heard of the individual pieces referred to as "scales." Is this "inside baseball" among you gunsmiths, or is there a nautical heritage to that term?

 

[prochi2k]

Thanks... And the dunk yields a extraordinarily tough satin black case hardened finish. Ferritic nitrocarburizing aka, Nitron, Isonite, Tenifer, Melonite and several other trade names I don't recall at the moment.

Cheers
Bill

Cost wise, how much do they usually run? I'm leaning toward going this way with my project. I'm also wondering if the barrel bushing can be removed before the said dunk.
Thanks,
Les

 

[JohnHL]

Bill, when you get a chance, I'd love to hear more about the molten salt bath that's ahead. Is this something you've invested in at your shop, or will you be sending this out to a vendor? Seeing your note that the process is what produces the Melonite (trade name) finish, I'm intrigued that this is something that could be done "at home" with the right setup. Not that I plan to try it myself, of course!

Just thought it might be good for a post or two while we await with you the arrival of your tooling for the grips project. By the way, I've never heard of the individual pieces referred to as "scales." Is this "inside baseball" among you gunsmiths, or is there a nautical heritage to that term?

The only place where I have heard the term "scales" used as a reference to grips is the two-piece, removable handles on folding knives.

The only "nautical heritage" to which I am aware (and I am a "land lubber") are those things that are scraped off before frying the fish!

John

 

[BMCM]

Bill, when you get a chance, I'd love to hear more about the molten salt bath that's ahead. Is this something you've invested in at your shop, or will you be sending this out to a vendor? Seeing your note that the process is what produces the Melonite (trade name) finish, I'm intrigued that this is something that could be done "at home" with the right setup. Not that I plan to try it myself, of course!

Molten salt bath... Not table salt by any stretch. Cyanide salts and some other elements. This is not something I'd be messing with unless my intent was to turn my homestead into a Superfund site. I'll do all the metal work and preparation then ship the parts off to H&M for dunking. That's as far into the process as I get. The chemicals involved as well as the process are quite hazardous. I imagine that's why you don't see a lot of providers. Ferritic nitrocarburizing - Wikipedia

Just thought it might be good for a post or two while we await with you the arrival of your tooling for the grips project. By the way, I've never heard of the individual pieces referred to as "scales." Is this "inside baseball" among you gunsmiths, or is there a nautical heritage to that term?

Scales... I've heard and used that term for years referring to slim flat grip panels on knives tools and firearms. Typical usage refers to pieces of raw material before fashioning into usable parts. such as seen here...
Knife Scales | Rockler Woodworking & Hardware

But in many cases used in referring to grip panels that are slim & flat such as those found guns like a Baby Browning, 1911, or 645 like this here...
Ascend™ 1911 Grips - G10 Machined Pistol Grips | Rail Scales

Cheers
Bill

 

[BMCM]

Cost wise, how much do they usually run? I'm leaning toward going this way with my project. I'm also wondering if the barrel bushing can be removed before the said dunk.
Thanks,
Les

It's been a few years since I had some parts processed. Back then it was $100 for a slide that was already prepped. I left the bushing in place so that got nitrided as well. You really cannot remove that pressed in barrel bushing without destroying it. These folks did the work... H&M Blacknitride+™ | The New Standard in Steel Hardening

Slides prepped prior to shipping looked like this...

And upon return like this...

Cheers
Bill

 

[Browncoat]

Great work

 

[hemiram]

I really wish I had the talent to do stuff like BMCM does.

I have to say, I have some guns that came in nasty, but nothing as bad as this gun was to start with. Wow. I would have been pretty upset if I got a gun that bad. Worst I have ever received was a Dan Wesson 15-2 that had an amazing load of unburned powder in it, to the point it was difficult to cock it. Looks pretty good these days..but it took a lot of work, just to get the blue shined up again.

The other gun was an Israeli surplus Tanfoglio CZ clone that had some sort of sticky goo all through the insides of it and a mag full of dead baby spiders. It looked great outside, and once cleaned up, it's my favorite of all the guns I own:

 

[prochi2k]

It's been a few years since I had some parts processed. Back then it was $100 for a slide that was already prepped. I left the bushing in place so that got nitrided as well. You really cannot remove that pressed in barrel bushing without destroying it. These folks did the work... H&M Blacknitride+™ | The New Standard in Steel Hardening


Cheers
Bill

Thanks for the info Bill!
I've decided instead of having the slide Melonite processed to just purchase a M6904 slide and go from there.

 

[BMCM]

Evening Gents,

All my supplies were delivered so it's about time to get a bit of woodworking sorted out.

This here is the area that requires a clearance cut for the right side decocker body lever...

In order to make that clearance cut we need some means to hold the scale securely. Can't just clamp it in a vise without breaking or crushing it and that raised boss on the inner surface is in the way if we want to bolt it down to something...

So, what we're going to do is machine a simple fixture to fasten the grip to which will enable holding the part in the mill vise. What we have here is a 6" piece of 1/2" x 1" precision cast tooling plate I cut from stock. This will become our fixture...

First we need to break out my trusty vernier protractor...

And use that to capture the angle of that boss on the inside surface of the grip...

Ok 74° then...

Splash some layout dye on out fixture and transfer the angle with a scribe...

In order to mark the other end we need to measure the length of that boss first...

There's the area the needs to be milled out so the grip will fit flat & snug to the fixture...

Over on the mill, swing the vise over to 74° and make some chips...

Now we need to set up for drilling & tapping. First scribe a line down the middle of the fixture where we're going to drill...

Then align by eye, both holes centered over the scribed line...

Then mark our spots with a 4mm transfer punch...

And there we go, drilled & tapped for M4 .7pitch ...

Perfect fit and holding securely...

Now to determine what milling cutter to use I need to take the left panel and measure the existing cut with a radius gauge. 3/8" radius means I need to use a 3/4" cutter...

Over on the mill, so far so good but I was lucky. I neglected to lock down the vise after adjusting the angle and it turned a bit. That could have been disastrous if the vise spun into the cutter but fortunately it only turned about 1 degree...

Adjusted the vise angle and locked it down this time
Finished the cut to depth...

Perfect mirror image...

Mocked up on the gun and it's perfect...

That's all for now...

More woodworking coming soon. Still have quite a bit more work to do fitting the wood.

Stay well & stay safe out there.

Cheers
Bill

 

[guzzitaco]

AMAZING !!!

 

[Erocksmash]

Absolutely fantastic, I may need to look for a set of those woods for the DPA...

 

[Shooter Mike]

This has to be the best post that I have ever read on any gun forum, ever.

The pictures, the procedure , and the information.

Great post.