curls end on triggers

[yip]

  been working on a cold forged trigger and trying like the devil to get the curl on the end. what the secret?

[Daniel Coats]

Make it thinner where you want it to bend?

[Tim Crosby]

 This may help:

   https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=24661.msg236018#msg236018


   Tim

[Pukka Bundook]

Tip tapered to nothing, and if stubborn heat with propane torch and roll it over on the top of the vise with a light hammer.

[Eric Krewson]

I just heat the tip to red and roll it with a small pair of needle nose pliers, this is my first attempt, I don't claim to be an expert at this kind of thing.

[rich pierce]

Tip tapered to nothing, and if stubborn heat with propane torch and roll it over on the top of the vise with a light hammer.

+1. Hammering curls is easy with a little practice. Pliers cool the thin metal immediately and can scar it. Just my preference.

[Frozen Run]

Eric did a great tutorial, thank you Tim for posting it. How do you harden the trigger bar, heat and quench or case harden?

       

[JTR]

Round nose pliers work like a champ!
https://www.riogrande.com/product/RoundNosePliers/111913?gclid=CjwKCAjw682TBhATEiwA9crl38RoWcA1_4m8yt0hrySXE21AtVBVkLMCwxwyhb8iIPx6XhIdq2RWwBoCiZgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Eric Krewson]

I should add; my old set of Craftsman needle nose pliers is close to 50 years old and so worn they won't be scaring anything in the near future.

[flehto]

Depending on the steel used, some require red heat and some don't. The first  shown was formed cold around a pin and the 2nd was formed w/ rounded needle nosed pliers when red hot.  Tapering the thickness and width  helps. The steel I use .100" thick steel  for stampings....very low carbon content. The trigger "shoe" is peened out to 7/32"....Fred








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[Dphariss]

  been working on a cold forged trigger and trying like the devil to get the curl on the end. what the secret?

Sometimes cold forming the trigger shoe will workharden the material. Heat it to red and let it air cool or put it in a container of ash or something to insulate and slow cool it. Then try forming the curl

[Tim Crosby]

Dennis did a great tutorial, thank you Tim for posting it!

 The tutorial was done by Eric VonAschwege, Dennis copied it over from the old board for us.

   Tim

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is an old topic.  This is what I do almost always.

Jim

    https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=26419.0

[yip]

  my first attempt

[flehto]

Hi Terry.....your first  attempt is excellent.....use it on the present build. The next thing to consider is the position....I always liked an angle that slightly  slanted the trigger  backwards ..forward leaning triggers always seemed awkward to me....Fred.

[kutter]

I heat the end of the trigger red hot with propane torch then hammer it out, so it tapers down thinner.
elongate the piece somewhat so you have some matrl to work with. The forging/hammering out thinner will elongate it anyway.

File the forged out piece to a width you want for the finished trigger or neary so. At least trim it up to get rid of the raggety and uneven edges from the hammering process.
Clean up the front and back face of the tapered piece.

Now take the tip of the forged out piece and clamp it to a piece of round steel stock. The piece should be as small in dia as you want the curl in the end of your trigger to be.

Clamp the end to the piece of steel stock so it is at an angle to the steel stock. I use a small vise grip to clamp it together. Makes it easy to hold onto for the next step as well.

The trigger is clamped at an angle to the steel stock as you are going to wrap it around that piece of round stock in candy cane fashion.
You can go around more than one complete wrap and that will give you more than enough of a circle+ in the end of the trigger tip that you need for the curl.

To make the wrap around easy,,again heat the trigger section that you hammered out back to red heat with the propane. Then holding the vise grip with the trigger clamped to the steel rod in one hand,,take a suitible pliers and pull the trigger around the rod with your other hand.
It will spiril around that small dia rod very easily when red hot and form a twist curl the size of the rod.

Unclamp it from the rod and let it cool.
Clip the excess from the clamped end off and trim it carefully into what will become the end and inside of the curl of the trigger.

Now you have to push the twist/loop configuration back into line with the trigger itself.
Back to the propane and red heat once again. It's thin and heats up quick. Then simply push the curl back into place and straight with the trigger proper.
You can also do any small adj to the shape of the curl you want to like pulling the tip in closer to the inside or sweeping the start of the arc back a bit for looks.

Let it cool again.
Dump it in some very dilute muriadic acid soln to remove heat scale and you are done.

Takes longer to type than do.

[Tim Crosby]

Guys,

Here is an old topic.  This is what I do almost always.

Jim

 Jim, that is a good one and belongs in the "Tutorial" section where it will be easier to find. So I moved it:

   https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=26419.0

   Tim C.

[Dphariss]

  my first attempt

That is good to go.  Looks like you know how.

[flehto]

I don't use a hammer alone  to widen the  "shoe".....A hardened length of 5/16 dia steel  is struck sideways  w/ the hammer and is moved around as needed but most of the time the steel above the vertical .100 thickness is hit. A little filing rids the shoe  of uneveness, When installing the trigger, the portion of the trigger bar that contacts the lock sear bar   has a slot for a small , soft soldered in piece of HSS which is ground and polished for nearly zero gap between it and the lock sear bar. Hard on hard makes for a very smooth trigger pull......Fred