upgrading my cz 455 supermatch

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amosfella

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I got the winter blues, and decided to upgrade my CZ 455 supermatch. I had been doing some reading on jeweling, and took a while to find the tools to do it with. So, I got some wire end brushes from Acklands, and some valve grinding compound from NAPA, and played with the drill press for a bit. I decided to share the result photos, as I know that this is like #### to gun nutz.... ;)

Here is the bolt taken down:

cz bolt pic 1 by wolverine00089, on Flickr
now, a few of the bolt jeweled while dissassembled:

cz bolt pic 2 by wolverine00089, on Flickr

cz bolt pic 3 by wolverine00089, on Flickr
One of the bolt assembled:

cz bolt pic 4 by wolverine00089, on Flickr
In the gun:

cz bolt in rifle by wolverine00089, on Flickr
And the gun itself:

cz supermatch rifle by wolverine00089, on Flickr
 
I had built a crude jig out of wood, and for some of it did it with a measuring stick, and then switched to freehand measurements as my marker blead on the wood. I just used a straight edged piece of wood, a 5 inch long piece that had a 'v' cut out of it lengthwise with a piece of plywood nailed over the end, and a small adjustable bar clamp to hold the bolt against the plywood. All rotations were done freehand...

They say that jeweling helps carry the oil, but whether that's true or not, is a subject of debate. To me, I dont' care, as it looks really cool.... :D
 
Now, I'm trying to buy some t7075 aluminum bar for pillar bedding. It doesn't seem that anyone in Canada stocks it in .500". If I have to, as it's a rimfire, I'd try T6063. Then, I"ll end drill it to approximately the diameter of the hold down screws. Either a 15/64" or 1/4" diameter should do the trick. I'll machine groves into the circumference of the bar as well so that the epoxy has something to grab on to. Then I"m going to do what looks like a target crown on the end that will face into the floorplate/triggerguard so that the taper on the screws doesn't interfere with the pillars.
I'm going to build a drill bit with a pilot so that it will drill out the holes straight, and not have misaligned holes. I'll mill about a 1" long pilot the approximate diameter of the existing holes in the stock, then take and make an undercut under the outer edge of the part that will do the actual drilling, and then grind a flute or 3 into the part that will do the drilling as well. I may add some saw teeth into the outer edge as well. The point is to have the outer edge do the cutting, and just use the flat edges created by the flute to break away the chips left from the cutting. Much like a forsner bit.
The stock seems a little haphazard in the drilling of the bedding holes. I have 2 CZ 455 and a CZ 453. The holes behind the trigger seem consistent at around 9mm diameter. The ones in front of the trigger however vary from 7.8mm, 8.2mm, and 9mm. so, I might be building a few pilots, or be making sleeves to adjust the size of the pilot, as the pilot is to do no cutting.

So, on the to do list next time I"m in the city, get some .500" steel rod, and some .500" aluminum rod. And get my metal lathe back together........
 
Got my aluminum rod the other day, and finally got my lathe back together, and had time to make the pillars. I cut 2 little pieces to make the ones for the supermatch. I'm intending to raise the action only 0.5mm. Here are the lathed pillars:


Untitled by wolverine00089, on Flickr

Now I need to mill in the magazine relief in the front pillar. I think I've changed my mind about drilling it. The 455 stocks look a little tricky to drill without a insert to keep the bit going straight on the front part. There's just under 2/3rds of a hole there, and drill bits have somewhat of a tendecy to try to walk out of holes like that unless they can be held very steady. I don't think I have that capability right now. Might be easier to make a special chisel on the lathe that will cut the wood fibers in a half inch circle, then use a 1/8" chisel to clear the chips out. Somewhat like the special chisels the old timers used to cutting hinge reliefs in doors, etc.
 
I tried doing the cutout for the front pillar today. I wound up buggering up the first front pillar I had made with a rotary rasp in a milling vise. :( So I had to make another, and I filed this one by hand. Here is the final result:


Untitled by wolverine00089, on Flickr

I wanted to leave as much on the front as a possibly could as the support for the front of the action is a very small area. I wish they would have left a somewhat bigger area for the mount to set on. Kinda looks like the front of the barrel rests on the stock wood. I don't know why that would be...
Here is the action with the trigger guard and plate in place with the bedding pillars. Looks like it all fits as it should...


Untitled by wolverine00089, on Flickr

I wound up making a mistake and only had 0.45mm raise of the action.

Looks like I'll need to make a special cutter for the lathe to make the undercut on my chissel for carving out the bedding holes in my stock. Might work on that later tonight yet...
 
Grant, I'd need to know exactly the depth of the holes in your stock to the 0.001" or 0.01mm, and how far you want the action raised. There is no adjusting them bigger when they're made. Smaller is possible. I've done 3 sets of pillars, and they take about 2 hours to get done per set. Which rifle are you thinking of doing?? 452, 453, or 455?? Make me an offer.

The pillars I made are for 2 455s and a 453. One set is raised exactly 0.450mm, and the other 2 sets by 0.500mm. Now, I'm busy working on building a cutter that will cut the stock exactly. I don't have a milling machine... Yet....
 
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