Heating and bending a wax cast trigger

[Terry Reynolds]

Trigger is to long for the bow on the trigger guard I’m using for my youth .40 caliber rifle. Didn’t want to cut the curl off to get it to fit and was thinking about heating it and try to curl it on around more. Can a wax casting be done that why?

Thanks

Tried to load a pic of trigger but keep getting a error. It’s a Lancaster style trigger.

[Stophel]

Sure.  Put it in the vise. heat the curl til it glows, and tap it with a hammer and it'll roll right up, assuming you tap it in the right direction.

[flehto]

I've never had to bend a wax cast trigger that's part of a parts set. For the Bucks County LRs, I make the curled triggers and the one shown would  shorten up a trigger a lot.

Clamp the trigger plate in a vise and heat the trigger until red and then wrap the trigger around a rod and it's mostly formed. The curl was then finished up by bending cold.......Fred

[Hungry Horse]

This is a simple trigger, not a set trigger, I assume. If it is not a set trigger what has been recommended will work nicely.

  Hungry Horse

[jerrywh]

 If it is brass don't try and bend it when hot. Anneal it and bend it cold. If it is steel bend it hot. If it is bronze it will probably break no matter what.

[JCKelly]

Many foundries at a percent or two of lead to their brass or bronze castings to make them sound.

California, where for some reason they don't like to drink lead, prohibits this for plumbing fixtures.

Ho hum.

Except if you heat such brass nice & hot to bend it that lead, which exists as small particles, melts. The molten lead runs between the crystal boundaries & your brass guard behaves like lead.

It likely cracks or crumbles.

Best to bend cold, or anneal, cool then bend.

Your P.I.T.A. Metallurgist

[Chowmi]

Pretty sure he is talking about a steel trigger, not a brass trigger guard.

Yes, you can bend steel when red hot.

No, you don’t bend brass hot. Bend it cold after annealing.

Norm.