450 Rigby Project

thestelster said:
Prechtl can supply these actions in either 4140 or 8620,(not exactly, but the European equivalent). The 4140 steel would be through hardened, and the 8620 would be case hardened (case coloured). We ordered the action unhardened in 8620 so that we could case colour after we do all the machine work and modifications to it. He provided me with the exact composition of the steel as well as the heat treating procedure for it.

I have had many actions case coloured with minimal dimensional changes. There is quite the art and science behind it. We have had a pair of Holland & Hollands, Heym, Itacha, and a number of other English guns case coloured with only slight changes that I had to deal with. That's part of the game.
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Still I would preffer that producer would bear all the risks however small. IMHO compact receivers like Ruger no 1, Browning Hi Wall, Martini, shotgun actions etc are somewhat more resistant to warping during heatreading. All long and thin receivers will warp, some more some less after the process thats why great majority of custom precision actions are machined in hardened state.
 
gunrunner8 said:
Still I would preffer that producer would bear all the risks however small. IMHO compact receivers like Ruger no 1, Browning Hi Wall, Martini, shotgun actions etc are somewhat more resistant to warping during heatreading. All long and thin receivers will warp, some more some less after the process thats why great majority of custom precision actions are machined in hardened state.
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Thestelster has worked on a number of my guns. Including I think 4 redos of case hardening. As Ardent suggested in his post, I have no hesitation trusting this guy with my metal!
 
I am impressed. A cool project. Why did you choose 450 Rigby ? Say over 416 Rigby ?

Not that your choice is a bad one, just wondering.
 
thestelster said:
The Magnum Mauser run app. 5,500.00 Cdn, and the std length around 4,500.00 Cdn. Not cheap but they are spectacular. Totally depending on the exchange rate, and right now its pretty good.
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I guess it's the old adage ......... "If you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it".

This applies to me in this case. :p

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This is going to be beautiful. I can hardly wait to watch this thread progress.

Unlike a lot of threads here...you know, the ones that you can hardly wait for them to end.
 
buckbrush said:
I do not think most people here appreciate the amount of work that went into the barrel. That is some great machining, in the class of Rolf Martini.
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One of the hardest parts is trying to visualize the end product from a heaping block of steel. It's one thing to have the knowledge to use CAD software and such, but for me, I take a long piece of bristol board and start drawing to scale. Coffee, pencils, erasers, and white out, french curves, protractors, compass, scientific calculator, straight edge, more coffee, all at the ready.

Once that is done, you have to plan out how you're going to hold it and machine it, while planning your next moves. It's almost like chess. Many hours go by where I'm thinking and day dreaming about a particular step in the machining process before I start that step. And it's slightly different everythime, depending what the customer wants.
 
Awesome project and great skill. Would love to see progress you make. I shoot a friends 416 Rigby at my local range and it sure knocks my dentures off. Hate to think how to manage 450 recoil.
 
jamesharrison said:
Do you not think, given the beautiful grain showing in the blank, that there is the possibility of the stock splitting, given the recoil level of the .450 Rigby, notwithstanding, or perhaps because of the top & bottom strap extensions?

Do you have a website for your work?

Thank you kindly.

Jim
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Hi Jim, stocks splitting on large caliber rifle is always a concern, but you must choose the proper wood, with good grain structure, and generally a quarter sawn blank will be less likely to split than one that is plain sawn, all other things being equal. You must have good contact between the main recoil shoulder and its mortise. In this case we will be using a steel rectangular cross bolt with steel caps, but also there is a second recoil shoulder on the barrel which will lock down into the forearm. For maximum strength as well, you only remove enough wood as necessary, specifically in the trigger unit area.

And lastly, when properly inletted the rear wall of the magazine box is snug up against that section of the wood, giving you another area of strength.

The tang extensions will add strength through the grip area in case of a heavy fall. All in all, if I do my job, I won't have any worries about the stock splitting.

You can see some pictures on my site www.scgunworks.ca
 
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