Author Topic: minimum thickness?  (Read 1996 times)

chuck-ia

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minimum thickness?
« on: December 16, 2012, 03:14:42 AM »
What do you guys consider the minimum thickness of metal between the sight dovetails, and barrel tennons to the bore? Got a little carried away with my front sight dovetail, near as I can tell I have 1/16" of metal from the bottom of dovetail to bore. Makes me mad when I do stupid things like this, I think I will be allright, nothing I can do about it now anyway! I think I have made a mistake on everything I have did to this gun, glad I am about done. Then I can start on another and see if I can do better. chuck

Offline JCKelly

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Re: minimum thickness?
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2012, 03:21:20 AM »
Back in the 1980's a large manufacturer of half-stock percussion rifles learned about the term "stack-up tolerances" in a difficult manner. Their barrels were usually bored from solid, of various materials, finally settling on 1137MOD. The bores were not perfectly centered, of course none are, and there was a certain tolerance covering out-of-center. They tended to cut sight and tenon dovetails rather deep in my opinion, but I don't know the dimensions. There were of course tolerances + and - how deep or shallow the dovetail cut could be. On a few bad occasions the dovetail was at the deep end of tolerance, right over where the out-of-center bore made the barrel wall the thinnest. This cost more than one skilled tradesman his left hand.

 

Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: minimum thickness?
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2012, 03:32:02 AM »
Chuck...not to worry.  1/16" of steel at the muzzle is fine.  The pressure there is very low relatively speaking, and unless you seat a ball flush on the muzzle and then fire it, you won't experience any ill effects.  Don't do it at the rear sight though!! 
D. Taylor Sapergia
www.sapergia.blogspot.com

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