Savage 99 restification project
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
I couldn't seem to get a good shot of the insides tonight, holding a spot lamp with one hand and the camera with the other, but here's what I got. I used kerosene soot to find the high spots instead of inletting black, so there's a lot less mess everywhere.
If you've never worked with cherry wood, all I can tell you is it ain't walnut. It's very fine-grained, chippy, and HARD, very much like solid fiberglass/resin material. You can shave it with razor-sharp tools, but you better be careful going at it with a gouge and mallet because the grain will fool you and changes directions every few fractions of an inch. The best way I've found to do detail work with cherry is fine metal files (safe-edge files are invaluable for final fitting) and sandpaper. And lots and lots and lots of patience and skill using just the right amount of "English" on the files, because they will flex and ruin straight lines under pressure, just like they will with steel. I'll do most of the outside profiling with a hand-held belt sander, pneumatic angle grinder with 2" Roloc sanding discs, and then hand-block it to final shape.
If you've never worked with cherry wood, all I can tell you is it ain't walnut. It's very fine-grained, chippy, and HARD, very much like solid fiberglass/resin material. You can shave it with razor-sharp tools, but you better be careful going at it with a gouge and mallet because the grain will fool you and changes directions every few fractions of an inch. The best way I've found to do detail work with cherry is fine metal files (safe-edge files are invaluable for final fitting) and sandpaper. And lots and lots and lots of patience and skill using just the right amount of "English" on the files, because they will flex and ruin straight lines under pressure, just like they will with steel. I'll do most of the outside profiling with a hand-held belt sander, pneumatic angle grinder with 2" Roloc sanding discs, and then hand-block it to final shape.
F
freebullet
Guest
That's very nice. Some serious time your investing. I have faith in you.
Ian
Notorious member
I haven't kept real close track, but from cutting the tree down (not counting the other four blanks that failed final inspection) to this point is somewhere around 18-20 hours. There will probably be 15-20 more getting it ready to finish (that's the easy/fun part!), and another 40 if I decide to checker it, which I likely will. After I get the barrel profiled, stud installed, and finished I'll start on the forearm. I still have a minor adjustment to do to the bolt alignment slot in the barrel, remove the extractor, dress the breech face, and finish reaming out the last couple thousandths of the chamber before I cut, thread the muzzle, make a thread protector, and profile the barrel.
Brownells got their reproduction, black-plastic Savage 99 butt plates back in stock, and since they're identical to what this rifle originally had on it, I may opt for one of those rather than a crescent steel butt plate. The plastic one would save me a lot of time, money, and weight.
https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...ates/savage-arms-99-butt-plate-prod72256.aspx
Brownells got their reproduction, black-plastic Savage 99 butt plates back in stock, and since they're identical to what this rifle originally had on it, I may opt for one of those rather than a crescent steel butt plate. The plastic one would save me a lot of time, money, and weight.
https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...ates/savage-arms-99-butt-plate-prod72256.aspx
Ian
Notorious member
Don't tempt me. Cherry and brass is purty. I've already contemplated a brass barrel band, brass muzzle thread protector, and brass crescent butt plate at various times. The lever will be case-colored, pretty sure I'm going to blue the receiver, but have considered case-coloring it too. The only for-certain is the barrel will be rust blued.
Here's the look of cherry and rust blue, looks sharp with a jeweled bolt:
https://picturearchive.gunauction.com/504669/10088860/acfa107.jpg
Jeweled bolts look out of place to me on rifles with case colored receivers, so if I color it the bolt will be left in the white. Sometimes I'm worse at this than a Hausfrau picking kitchen cabinet finish, paint, appliances, and counter tops for her dream kitchen.
Here's the look of cherry and rust blue, looks sharp with a jeweled bolt:
https://picturearchive.gunauction.com/504669/10088860/acfa107.jpg
Jeweled bolts look out of place to me on rifles with case colored receivers, so if I color it the bolt will be left in the white. Sometimes I'm worse at this than a Hausfrau picking kitchen cabinet finish, paint, appliances, and counter tops for her dream kitchen.
Ian
Notorious member
Little update.
Brass, crescent butt plates for leverguns are quite scarce as it turns out. After a lengthy search I finally found a used TC Hawken butt plate on fleabay that looks like it will work.
This weekend I drilled the stock for the tang bolt and got that installed, did a little more rough sanding on the outside to true-up the sides of the stock to the center-line of the barreled action, then pulled the barrel off again so I could turn off the extended, fat parallel portion of the chamber and blend it with the existing contour. I also shortened the barrel to 20", but didn't have time to set it up through the headstock and thread/crown the muzzle.
The barrel profile is a little fat, but it will have to do. Originally I had planned to thin it a lot more toward the muzzle and leave a neat little flared shoulder behind the brake threads, but I've since decided that would look dumb in front of a long front sight ramp, so I'm leaving it fat. It's about .685" at the muzzle now, so we'll call it a "heavy sporter" profile.
Brass, crescent butt plates for leverguns are quite scarce as it turns out. After a lengthy search I finally found a used TC Hawken butt plate on fleabay that looks like it will work.
This weekend I drilled the stock for the tang bolt and got that installed, did a little more rough sanding on the outside to true-up the sides of the stock to the center-line of the barreled action, then pulled the barrel off again so I could turn off the extended, fat parallel portion of the chamber and blend it with the existing contour. I also shortened the barrel to 20", but didn't have time to set it up through the headstock and thread/crown the muzzle.
The barrel profile is a little fat, but it will have to do. Originally I had planned to thin it a lot more toward the muzzle and leave a neat little flared shoulder behind the brake threads, but I've since decided that would look dumb in front of a long front sight ramp, so I'm leaving it fat. It's about .685" at the muzzle now, so we'll call it a "heavy sporter" profile.
Pistolero
Well-Known Member
You should and you will do what you want, but those crescent buttplates can sure
be unpleasant in recoil sometimes. OTOH, I have a TC Hawken 50 cal, and the brass
parts are nicely made.
The brass buttplate will help balance the heavy barrel contour, too, get a good CG for carrying.
Bill
be unpleasant in recoil sometimes. OTOH, I have a TC Hawken 50 cal, and the brass
parts are nicely made.
The brass buttplate will help balance the heavy barrel contour, too, get a good CG for carrying.
Bill
fiver
Well-Known Member
the stock shape will help mitigate recoil too.
I set up little girls shotgun so she could shoot the bottom barrel and it happens to line up the top barrel for me.
the gun weighs about 5.5 lbs and has nothing more than a rubber plate for a recoil pad but is one of the lightest kicking guns I have ever shot.
I set up little girls shotgun so she could shoot the bottom barrel and it happens to line up the top barrel for me.
the gun weighs about 5.5 lbs and has nothing more than a rubber plate for a recoil pad but is one of the lightest kicking guns I have ever shot.
Pistolero
Well-Known Member
Too bad beryllium is so toxic. Amazingly light metal, would be a perfect suppressor tube.
For comparison, a steel tube, 1.75" OD, .030 wall and a foot long will weigh 9.09 ounces. The
same tube in titanium will weight 5.07 ounces. A beryllium tube the same size would weigh 2.07 ounces.
Similar strength in pure metal form to mild steel, about 50% stiffer than steel.
But, machining beryllium is extremely hazardous, the fine dust particles can lodge in the lungs causing
a severe allergic reaction. We had machined some beryllium parts in the 80s before this hazard was known, at
the place I worked. A number of workers, mostly cleanup crews, got disability retirement, special health
care for life, and some of our big machine tools got quadruple bagged and shipped to a toxic waste dump
on the chance that dust particles still remained and that any attempts to clean up would risk more particle
dispersion and more injuries.
Neat metal, but not to machine.
Bill
For comparison, a steel tube, 1.75" OD, .030 wall and a foot long will weigh 9.09 ounces. The
same tube in titanium will weight 5.07 ounces. A beryllium tube the same size would weigh 2.07 ounces.
Similar strength in pure metal form to mild steel, about 50% stiffer than steel.
But, machining beryllium is extremely hazardous, the fine dust particles can lodge in the lungs causing
a severe allergic reaction. We had machined some beryllium parts in the 80s before this hazard was known, at
the place I worked. A number of workers, mostly cleanup crews, got disability retirement, special health
care for life, and some of our big machine tools got quadruple bagged and shipped to a toxic waste dump
on the chance that dust particles still remained and that any attempts to clean up would risk more particle
dispersion and more injuries.
Neat metal, but not to machine.
Bill
Ian
Notorious member
I used a 5/16"x12" aircraft drill in a cordless drill to peck out a 7"-deep hole from the tang end, making sure it stayed straight by using a little side force as necessary. After the flutes submerge, as you know you're pretty much at the mercy of chance, but a super-sharp, symmetrical grind helped. Eyeballing the bottom of the hole with a pen light frequently helped me see which way the drills were wandering and helped me make course corrections. I figured if the 5/16" hole started walking too far, I would switch to a 3/16" bit and go at the edge of the hole to help draw it back on course.
The hole from the butt end I started with a sharpened. 3/4" paddle bit. It worked great for about 4" and then started going off toward Jones' as they are wont to do. I sharpened the sides of the bit and used some sideways force to mill one side and get the point back on center, then switched to a brace and bored it the rest of the way by hand with an electrician's bit. The two holes met within 1/8" of each other and the sides of the big hole cleaned up pretty well once I chased back down the 5/16" hole a couple of inches to fit the 5" tang bolt.
Bill, .030 titanium doesn't have enough hoop strength for a rifle suppressor. .070" is what I use, and even my lightest one weighs a pound completed.
The hole from the butt end I started with a sharpened. 3/4" paddle bit. It worked great for about 4" and then started going off toward Jones' as they are wont to do. I sharpened the sides of the bit and used some sideways force to mill one side and get the point back on center, then switched to a brace and bored it the rest of the way by hand with an electrician's bit. The two holes met within 1/8" of each other and the sides of the big hole cleaned up pretty well once I chased back down the 5/16" hole a couple of inches to fit the 5" tang bolt.
Bill, .030 titanium doesn't have enough hoop strength for a rifle suppressor. .070" is what I use, and even my lightest one weighs a pound completed.
F
freebullet
Guest
Lookin great!
After the custom your already doing, surprised your not using old cartridge brass to cast the rough brass pieces ya want.
After the custom your already doing, surprised your not using old cartridge brass to cast the rough brass pieces ya want.