Aperture for my project Marlin .22

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I turned out an aperture for the peep sight on my project .22 rifle. I got this Marlin 80G rifle, a magazine fed bolt
action on GB for $50. It had a missing rear sight, broken firing pin and missing butt plate, and no magazine. Once it
got here, the cartridge guide at the top of the chamber, a piece of flat spring steel was also broken off. This model
will feed shorts, longs and long rifles from the magazine, and needs this guide above the chamber to keep the shorter
rounds from going up too steeply during feeding.

I made a new firing pin on the lathe, a bit of a challenge because the fat part is maybe 3/16" and the long nose is about
0.090 or so, about 1 1/2 inch long, IIRC. I turned down the first 1/2 to diameter, then the next 1/2 inch and then the final bit,
so that I was never cutting on an overhang of over about 1/2 inch, and even then I had to take several 'spring cuts' at the
end to let it finally cut to true diameter, or pretty darned close. So, got it shooting.
Now, Numrich had the cartridge guide, but it is trapped between the barrel and the action.....got to pull the barrel. A big
pin is driven across to locate it, got it out, but then the barrel was still very tight. Heat and a special aluminum driving
bar let me tap it out of the action - not threaded. Replaced the cartridge guide and put the bbl back on and repinned it.

I started looking on eBay for a rear sight, but ran across a factory optional peep, and my action was drilled for it. The only
problem is that they are apparently fairly rare and prices were in the $100 to 200 range for complete units in top shape. I
finally found one missing the aperture and turning a bit brownish, but still not bad for $50.....doubling the price of the rifle
right there! I also found a proper Marlin new butt plate for the Model 80, and it fit well, just a hair oversized, so could grind
to a perfect fit.

I shot it for a bit with the aperture mounting hole like a ghost ring, but the front sight was way too low. I ordered a Williams
fire sight fiber optic replacement the correct calculated height and installed it in place of the original brass bead. Now it was
hitting where the sights were (adjustable) looking. I got a filler for the original back sight dovetail, and the final piece was
the screw in aperture.

I started with a piece of 1/2 OD 4140, turned to .490 as a knurling diameter and put a light knurl on the first 1/2 inch of the
bar. Then I cut it down to diameter to thread it. The thread is a non-standard size, a #10-40. Standard threads are 10-24 and
10-32, but with a lathe, it wasn't too hard....except that the snout is VERY short. My threading cutter wouldn't really work, just
too big and fat to cut threads close to the disk like I needed. So, I got a piece of 3/16 tool steel stock, ground it a bit narrower
and then ground a 60 degree thread cutting tip on it. I set it up with a larger tool cutter as a shim, then squared it up and centered
it. Now I can cut threads. After getting the threading done, I drilled the center hole all the way thru, then counterbored it
on both ends to prevent glint off the edge of the aperture.

Finally, heated it red hot and dunked in oil which hardens it and also puts a nice black oxide finish on it. I will not easily be
damaged.

Here are some pix of the aperture disk and the sight. It is kinda fussy work single pointing just a few fine threads next to a shoulder
like that, but I got it done. Still learning but having fun with it. It is a bit amazing at the roughness that these super closeup
pix show. I though it looked pretty nice.....:headscratch: don't us high magnification on your machining
projects. ;)



aperture with peep02.jpg

aperture01.jpg

aperture02.jpg

Kinda fun to save an old rifle like this, and it is very accurate, feeds reliably. Just a nice old .22.

I'll pass it on to a grand nephew eventually.

Bill
 
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Ian

Notorious member
Sounds like one of my projects, fixer-upper Deluxe with good bones but needs some TLC. Can't do half of it without a lathe to make a part, or make a tool. Other half requires Numrich or a mill. Did you use the half-nuts on that aperture thread, or bean power (aka "infinite back gear")? Looks pretty good even under magnification, probably better than the original.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Pretty nice work Bill. Yeah to be able to save an old piece like that is great and then to have it actually shoot well too . . . Sweet.

Ian, don't say mill, you'll drive Brad nuts just saying it. :eek:
 

Ian

Notorious member
I was all set to buy a mill but the money went to vehicle repairs, vet bills, and 2000 feet of high-tensile game fence that was too good of a deal to pass up (half price, delivered). So, for something less than $150, some scrap, and a little time, you got a nice rifle that's likely better than anything you could by brand-new for that price. Sounds like a win to me.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words. It actually looks better 'in person'.

Yes, is nice to save a gun, and a good bit of learning and fun. I threaded under power, not bad at 70 RPM
almost as slow as back gear on the Sheldon. This one thing to keep in mind when selecting a lathe, very low
speed is your friend when threading close to a shoulder.

It is now pretty nice, wood is just plain birch. I wonder if Ben can give me a hint on trying to stain birch
during refinishing to make it look as good as it can. It will always be birch, but the
last time I tried , not on this one, it is good original, I was not at all happy with the
color I wound up with.

As far as "what you can buy for that price", and ordinary Glenfield Model 60, the baseline tube mag .22 semiauto
will go for more at a gun shows in avg condition, which usually isn't real nice.

I won a Rem 592 (IIRC) box mag .22LR semiauto, current production. It is good enough not to miss a pop can at 15 yds, but that is about the level of accy. I was disappointed, but it was free.

Bill
 
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fiver

Well-Known Member
that's the same brownish color that savage got on their birch stocks too.
I have got them to a nice yellow color, but have never tried a darker stain to mimic walnut, which [I think] is the look they were going for.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Kryptek camo hydrodip?

I only did one with Tru-Oil and no stain, it turned out a golden oak color, not bad in and of itself but I didn't care for it as a gunstock. That one got spray painted black. I'd think a red mahogany stain would look a lot better. Maybe try it in the barrel channel and see what you get?
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Yeah, the last one I did, many years ago turned too yellow, too, not so nice. I'd like to come close to the
factory color or even a bit darker. You can see what it is now in the pic, and it really isn't half bad,
just wondering if I can do better. Staining is the key, it would seem.

Not much into camo for a .22, rather do it trying for a walnut look. Maybe that is impossible.

Bill
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
maybe a little bit of a black watered down under stain to get in the open pores, then a brown over the top would get pretty close.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I've stained a little bit of birch, maple, and beech, mostly cabinets and guitars. The trick seems to be using a water or alcohol-based dye.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Hmm. Seems like all the stains I have used are some sort of oil base. Maybe not soaking in that
well into birch? Why woudl alcohol or water based stains work better? Not doubting, just trying
to understand, if there is an explanation.

Holy Cow....I'm in serious trouble, it seems. If Ben hasn't been able to make it work, after seeing what
he CAN do, sounds pretty serious, really.

Bill
 

Ian

Notorious member
There are a few non-traditional ways to make wood do what you want it to. Look at what the guitar finishing guys do with wood dyes, like indigo blue quilted maple, or bookmatched, fiddleback with orange sunburst. Very, very different than sand 'er down and slap on some Minwax from the home store. If you have a light colored, dense hardwood (beechwood is a good example), dyes are just about the only way to achieve good coloration and depth.

https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/show-off-figure-with-dye
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
A sealer like shellac applied first then sanded down can stop some of the blotchiness too.
I agree with Ian, sometime you have to get out of the box store stains and go a bit extreme. We have a few custom ML makers around where who swear by Tandy leather dye for maple stocks.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the article link. Since I have mostly stained walnut and oak, plus some pine (different kinds
got different results!), only on birch stock, many decades back, I had not heard of the dyes which
recommend for birch and maple.

Will do more research and give it some testing.

Tandy leather dye....hmm. worth trying.

Thanks, guys.

Bill