Dovetail Chisel

[Bob Rearley]

Does anyone know where I can find a dovetail chisel as described on page 40 in "recreating The American Long Rifle"?  I know I could use a cold chisel but I would like to find one of these. 

Thanks,Bob

[Jim Kibler]

Bob,

Not sure wherre you could get the chisel you are refering to.  I think you will be better off just using a small cold chisel.  I grind the bevel a little shallower than the typical factory angle.  You can really raise the metal pretty high.  Seems to work best for me to work the corners first at a bit of an angle and then raise the center section.  Just keep working like this until you have enough metal raised.  when you put your sight or underlug in peen the top down to clinch it with a flat nosed chisel or even just a piece of steel.  Oh, it also seems to work best if you start just a touch of a dovetail with a file first.  You may also have to make a few strokes with the file after raising the metal to sharpen things up as well. 

[Bob Rearley]

Thanks Jim.  I thought I would practice on a piece of scrap barrel first.
Bob

[Dphariss]

Think Track of the Wolf sells them, or at least one made for that use.

Dan

[Roger Fisher]

Thanks Jim.  I thought I would practice on a piece of scrap barrel first.
Bob

Sure you can practice; but you will be surprised how easy it is to do a neat job.  Our barrels are plenty soft, which they should be!

[northmn]

I bought the Track of the Wolf chisel.  It is designed so that you hit longitudinally along the barrel .  Don Getz warned about using some of these tools as he has seen barrel bores dimpled from hammering.  I feel the chisel I hae should not do this.  You could look at a picture of on and make it out of a cold chisel. It does have a flat and proper edge for dovetailing.  Another good tool is to buy a dovetail file which is a triangle file with one side smooth.  you can make one of these too.

DP

[Gene Carrell]

Dovetail files are available from Brownells.

[AndyThomas]

I don't like the "slide along the top of the barrel" dovetail chisel that I have. I seem to hit the barrel as often as the chisel. Of course, I'm a klutz, so......

I only chisel the rear sight dovetail, and I do it like Jim Kibler. All the other dovetails are filed with a triangular file, which has the teeth ground off one side.

Use the barrel loop dovetails, which are hidden, as practice for the sight dovetails.

Hope this helps,
Andy

[TENdriver]

I've had good luck using a cold chisel and a file with a safe edge. 

I haven't done too many but seemed to work pretty smooth and I was happy with the results.

Kevin H

[Ephraim]

I bought one from Dixie years ago never got it to work right I just use dove tail files. It lays on the top flat and you strike it with a hammer and it is to rise the sides of the dovetail it may have wrong angle or something it just never worked for me.
Ephraim

[Jim Filipski]

I don't like the "slide along the top of the barrel" dovetail chisel that I have. I seem to hit the barrel as often as the chisel. Of course, I'm a klutz, so......

I only chisel the rear sight dovetail, and I do it like Jim Kibler. All the other dovetails are filed with a triangular file, which has the teeth ground off one side.

Use the barrel loop dovetails, which are hidden, as practice for the sight dovetails.

Hope this helps,
Andy

Hi Andy,
I have made one of these "slide along the top flat" chisels out of hardened & tempered tool steel..... I don't look at myself as a "klutz" but @!*% I hit the flats every time!  I have better luck with a plain old cold chisel held at an angle! At least when I miss I just smash the fingers to pulp but at least in a few days they heal without all the  work of reshaping the barrel flats
Jim

[Bob Rearley]

Thanks guys.  I have some safe side triangular files and a cold chisel that needs to be reground.  I did not consider the odds of striking the barrel when using the other tool.  I don't think I want to take a chance at dinging my barrel any more than it already is.
Bob

[flehto]

I use the horizontal dovetail chisel that I purchased from TOW many years ago and  it works like a champ. I use it on all the dovetails except the one for the front sight.  The raised metal  on both sides of the rear sight dovetail is filed into a molding and eliminates the need for a deeper dovetail. The raised metal on the sides of the bbl lug dovetails is pounded down  to give a very tight fit w/ the lug and is then filed  smooth. I use a piece of 1/32" cardboard between the chisel and bbl and haven't hit the bbl yet.....Fred

[Tom Cooper]

I have used the specialty chisel on 2 barrels, the first one I clipped the barrel with the hammer, the second one I slowed down a bit and love the results, and didn't hit the barrel either.

[chuck c.]

If you spend a little extra money on the dovetail file from Brownell's you'll find that it's not tapered like a standard three corner file. It made the job a lot easier for me.

[Acer Saccharum]

The chisel is used to raise a 'hump' of metal on either side of the dovetail. If you don't want that raised hump, then you don't need the chisel.

I used just a plain old cold chisel, yardsale variety.  Don't try to raise the hump with just one blow. Slow steady hits work better than a few mighty blows. Make a few hits, file to make things even, a few more hits, file a little more. A little cutting oil on the chisel helps move the metal easier, too.

[Stophel]

I've only just started doing this, but I took a regular cold chisel and ground it to the right shape and it works just fine.

A word of advice when getting the dovetail file from Brownell's:  Take it and grind off the sharp corner opposite the cutting face.  That edge is SHARP, and it will slice your fingers and thumbs wide open if you don't knock off the sharp edge.

[T*O*F]

A word of advice when getting the dovetail file from Brownell's

Another tidbit of advice.  They come in a couple different cuts.  Get the coarse one, not the fine one or you'll spend half your life trying to file a dovetail.

[northmn]

A word of advice when getting the dovetail file from Brownell's

Another tidbit of advice.  They come in a couple different cuts.  Get the coarse one, not the fine one or you'll spend half your life trying to file a dovetail.

I bought a fine one and heartily agree to that.

DP