Dovetail cutter
- Thread starter lone-wolf
- Start date
I googled that and came up with this article.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=33233
He was doing it on an octagonal barrel, not sure how I'd fair on a round one.
you can do it with a file but .....
You can literally do anything you can do on a mill with the correct files. But it takes a lot of practice and a lot of technique. The big problem with cutting a dove tail is that it is hard or impossible to get rough cut files in small sizes. You also need safe edge files. you can make them out of triangular files using epoxy to coat the edges that you don't want to cut with or buy them which is spendy. the short answer is that it you have a mill and the right cutters it is a joke like a ten minute monkey job, with a file it is a long job for a skilled experienced patient guy with good files and a good eye. try it on some scrap steel if you still want to do it on your gun, then do it you will learn a lot. My only tip is to use a magic marker to see exactly where the file is cutting. you will be surprised at how un level it is when you first cut. Try it you might love it. If you don't try you will never know. happy filing and watch those pins!
You can literally do anything you can do on a mill with the correct files. But it takes a lot of practice and a lot of technique. The big problem with cutting a dove tail is that it is hard or impossible to get rough cut files in small sizes. You also need safe edge files. you can make them out of triangular files using epoxy to coat the edges that you don't want to cut with or buy them which is spendy. the short answer is that it you have a mill and the right cutters it is a joke like a ten minute monkey job, with a file it is a long job for a skilled experienced patient guy with good files and a good eye. try it on some scrap steel if you still want to do it on your gun, then do it you will learn a lot. My only tip is to use a magic marker to see exactly where the file is cutting. you will be surprised at how un level it is when you first cut. Try it you might love it. If you don't try you will never know. happy filing and watch those pins!
If you dont have a mill or access to one, you can try using a drill press, a dovetail carbide cutter bit (Allied Tools) and a drill press vice. I've done a couple of mod's that way. That said, it all depends on you skill level, the price of the item being worked on. Good luck.
