What are these tabs on this guard?

[frogwalking]

What are these two little protrusions on the ends of this trigger guard, and is there any reason I should not file them off?  I know what the other three   larger ones are, but have not encountered the very small ones that seem to have been placed there for a purpose.

[smallpatch]

Those are actually the tabs that were used to pin the guard to the stock. The others are the mold flashing's.

[Dennis Glazener]

Those are actually the tabs that were used to pin the guard to the stock. The others are the mold flashing's.

Smallpatch,
You might be right but I am not sure, first of all they look to be in the wrong place. The forward and the rearward casting gate seem to be more in the right position for pins. Second that is a Southern mountain style guard (NC/TN) and many (most) are held by wood screws through the extensions.

I can't help but think they are just to possibly stabilize the ends of the extensions.
Dennis

[kaintuck]

They may be for air exiting when the mold is filled.....cut em off, then file flat.
I would use the forward big spru for a pinned guard....just my personal way...but if you screw the front down, make sure you have enough 'meat' left for the screw....as that area also has the ending of your RR hole!
I like how Keith does his SMR.....double screws, nice and centered......so....either way, even if you screw the rear one down, you can still leave the rear spru and inlet....makes it super strong!
The center spru is the one I always hate.....dremel time
Then file....file.....file....file some more......and keep telling yourself, "this is my hobby, I'm having fun"
 
Marc

[Mark Elliott]

I think they are just air vents and the rest are gates.    That guard should be screwed on front and back.   Cut them all off with a hacksaw and start filing.   It doesn't look like you have too much filing and polishing to do.  It looks pretty close to finished to me, but it doesn't have the "character"    of a hand forged and welded guard that still has hammer marks and weld seams or rivets showing.    

[Mark Elliott]

By the way, that is supposed to be a three piece TN guard.   On the originals,  it is pretty obvious that it was made of three pieces,  but I still haven't figure out exactly how they welded the grip rail to the rear extension.   I am going to have to figure it out for an upcoming gun.   I hope it doesn't take more than two guards.    I expect to mess up one.   After all,  I am not making these all day like the blacksmiths that did and sold them to the gunsmiths.  

[kaintuck]

Marc, Keith still makes his, and rivets them together I believe, message him~
Marc

[JBJ]

You may find, as I did recently on a similar iron trigger guard, that the casting sprues were too hard to hacksaw off. I had to resort to using a cutoff wheel in a Dremel tool. Once off, they cleaned up OK. It seemed to be more of a surface hardness. Just glad I did not attempt to drill one of them.
J.B.

[Eric Krewson]

I found out about this "hardness" issue the hard way with two drill bits broken off deep in the stock. For future iron furniture builds I will only mark them in the gun and drill the holes through the metal on my drill press.

[smallpatch]

The only reason I said that, is that they appear to be the only ones that are shaped.

Not a southern rifle guy.

[frogwalking]

Thanks folks, especially Kaintuk.  They are off center, way too small to be for pinning the trigger guard, and in the wrong place too.  I may use two of the casting sprues to pin the guard unless I decide to screw it in place.  If I do, I will file them thinner first.  If they are too hard to file, I will use screws.  I know it does not look exactly like a hand forged guard, but I am not paying over $200 for a nice forged guard and butt plate, nor am I going to spend years learning how to make one myself.    It is not going to be that kind of rifle.

[Acer Saccharum]

It is not going to be that kind of rifle.

It's refreshing, in a way, to see you've got limits! Very smart.

Frog, it's a good reminder that one can make a really neat gun without spending a lot of money.

[PPatch]

This fellow forges SMR trigger guards and butt plates and does not charge $200 for them. I bought a couple of sets at the Norris show for around 80.

Ronnie Boydston
828-734-7732
rnboydston[AT]yahoo.COM

dp

[Mark Elliott]

I am sorry if my comments were taken as somewhat inappropriate.    I spend a lot of time trying to figure out to build southern iron mounted rifles the way they were made.    Also,  I do want to point out that I charge $249 for a hand forged set of mounts.    That is the real cost in time and materials at $18/hr.   That is a subsistence wage where I live, and I do this for a living.    I get $50 an hour for my photography work.   I choose to work for subsistence wages to do the gun work, because that is the work I love, but I do need to make something of a living doing it.    I would hope those of you that do this as a hobby would keep in mind the real cost of what you do and the effect of what you charge on others that are trying to make a living from it.       

[J. Talbert]

I just hope those black arrows will come out of that nice upholstery!