416WSM on Siamese Mauser & 416/348Ackley Improved on Martini

[BlueFlyer]

Well this one is going in the bin, after I finish machining it to proove the concept.
When machining the profile, I did not lock the Y axis and at a point it self fed and ruined the profile.
Profile

You can see where the Y axis moved.

The dovetail slot for the front sight all went well.
But using the slitting saw for the front hood turned to crap. Due to the diameter of the saw, and how I had it set up, I needed to lift the saw to get over and machine the other side. Even though I had set the zero point when I came down on the other side, even though the readout said zero, the slots are at differnet heights. The right hand slot i had 2 cuts and it looks NQR!

I am going to finish it, to make sure I understand all the issues. The next step is to round out the barrel band. I need to make up a mandrel so I can hold it between centres with an indexing table on the mill and possibly the tool & cutter grinder.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Well this one is going in the bin, after I finish machining it to proove the concept.
When machining the profile, I did not lock the Y axis and at a point it self fed and ruined the profile.
Profile
View attachment 783360
You can see where the Y axis moved.
View attachment 783361
The dovetail slot for the front sight all went well.
But using the slitting saw for the front hood turned to crap. Due to the diameter of the saw, and how I had it set up, I needed to lift the saw to get over and machine the other side. Even though I had set the zero point when I came down on the other side, even though the readout said zero, the slots are at differnet heights. The right hand slot i had 2 cuts and it looks NQR!
View attachment 783362
I am going to finish it, to make sure I understand all the issues. The next step is to round out the barrel band. I need to make up a mandrel so I can hold it between centres with an indexing table on the mill and possibly the tool & cutter grinder.

I pressed the like button, as there isn’t one for "bugger". You can only consider it a learning exercise, or maybe make it into a slimmer fixed blade for something else
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

I am not sure I want a hood on the front sight?
What are your thoughts on a hood or no hood?

 

[Rule 303]

I am in two minds. I like the hood as on the CZ550 but they come of too easily in scrub. When they stay on they are good at protecting the front sight. More important for the flimsy glow in the dark types. If your front sight is going to be built like a tank, think SMLE type, then no hood needed.

Ascetics. The hood can look good or bad depending on the overall look of the rifle .........and the person looking at it I like those on the Win M94 and CZ550 for looks. Just need a bit of super glue to keep them there.

If possible have an opening in the hood, at the 3,9 and 12 O'clock positions to let light onto the sight.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I don’t have hoods on my hunting rifles, just something to loose
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

Overnight I thought of another way to machine the barrel band portion. I have an 8" 4Jaw chuck that I can clamp onto my rotary table for the mill. This is far more rigid than the other way I was thinking.

The setup always takes alot longer than doing the cuts.

It turned out pretty well. I am going to use this method, when I make the final version.

I then rotated the mill vice by 3 degrees to machine the ramp.

Happy with the results

I forgot to take a photo of the final setup for the last cuts. I held the sight ramp in the vice after I squared it up. Then I ran the 1/2" end mill down the sides of the ramp.

With a bit of motivation using the soft hammer it is a snug fit on the barrel.

The final version that I put on the rifle will be longer and slim down more where it meets the barrel. I am not going to bother with the grooves for a hood.

 

[Rule 303]

That will look bloody good.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Just a query, is it going to fit further back on the barrel than in the photo? The reason I ask is if the end of the barrel crown is damaged and needs to be cut back, and there isn’t enough material to remove the sight will need to be removed to fix the problem, cleaned , re-attached and blued, I’ve done this for someone and they didn’t like the bill I gave them at the end
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

Just a query, is it going to fit further back on the barrel than in the photo?

Valid point, but as I would crown it myself we could negotiate the bill!

 

[BlueFlyer]

Take 2, so far so good, no F ups. I have a better surface finish this time.

 

[10.75x68]

Looking good

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Williams front sight ramps have a small protruding tit somehow machined into the hood slots on both sides. The hood has a corresponding notch cut into both sliding edges so the hood locks into the tits when hood slides onto ramp. The hood is then really stuck on the ramp! I used a grinding wheel on Dremel tool to bevel the leading corners of Williams hood sliding edges so it slides onto the ramp easier.

 

[BlueFlyer]

Or I could do a hinged hood.

 

[BlueFlyer]

Keeping it simple and taking it slow. All good so far. Reduced the ramp angle down to 2 degrees.
Not finished, the last 2 cuts to remove the slab sides are needed to finish it.
Anyone who complains about the cost of New England Custom Gun front sight needs to try and make one!

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I can complain about the cost of a NEGG one and I have made them…. Maybe I just complain about banded front sights in general
When I made the last one I bored the hole through, reamed it to size then fitted it to a mandrel with a spot of weld at the receiver end of the tail, milled it to mostly round in multiple passes and then cut the barrel wrap part to length and milled away the majority of the excess material. Then cut the weld off and hit it with the linisher to smooth it all out till I was happy with the shape. The next two I bought….. as you can imagine why.
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

Had time to do the final cuts to finish the machining of the front sight base. The hard part now is holding it while I do the final blending and polishing. Almost there.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

That is starting to look really good.
I don’t know if you have one, but a small 12x330 mm linisher works wonders for final sanding, I use a black and decker "powafile" to do the majority of the sanding to shape and then hand sand the last bit, they also work well for stock work. Using the appropriate belts for each material
Gumpy

 

[BlueFlyer]

I don’t know if you have one, but a small 12x330 mm linisher works wonders for final sanding, I use a black and decker "powafile" to do the majority of the sanding to shape and then hand sand the last bit,

No I don't have one, I have seen them and they do look handy.
At this point it has been roughing with files and finishing with sanding strips and backing blocks.

 

[BlueFlyer]

Productive day, very happy with the final result.
Grumpy - I did use my die grinder to speed up the finishing.

I think the front sight follows the general theme of the rifle.

At the end of the day I tried to repurpose the binned first attempt front sight into the barrel band sling mount. For this rifle it needs to be a thong mount sling. The internal diameter was machined for the muzzle. As I cannot hold it now I used the jewellers trick of a tappered mandrel to stretch band. I had an old 303 barrel that I used as the mandrel.

Next step is to finish the forend stock.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

That sight looks really good, I like the point underneath
Gumpy