Threads in frame for grip screws

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by John Sabato

Gunsmith Hourly rate: $25.00 (BTW, these are 1970 rates)

Interesting you should post that, as that is what I charge for my labor in 2011...Of course, I'm a gun hack, not a gun smith...

But I only take work that interests me...Production work gets a thumbs down immediately...I don't usually charge for setup, unless it involves a lot of muscle or fabrication...

A good example of what interests me is a guy on another forum who has made a laminated Enfield buttstock to military configuration and needs to drill the hole for the butt stock bolt...I would use the original buttstock as a template and I would clamp it to my angle plate to locate the hole and then clamp the laminated stock to the plate and drill it with my lathe chuck...(I might make a simple wooden cradle to hold it securely)...

Something like that would take me an hour or a bit to set up and maybe two minutes to do...and I would charge $.00...because it interests me...

...Now...What was this thread about???

Oh, yeah - grip screw holes! If this was a shooter, I might peen the hole edges and re-tap/chase it then...In the mill...Maybe even peen it for a collectible...Depends on how bad the threads were buggered...

Or you could drill it out oversize, and press or thread an insert in (something like the M1911A1 uses)...and then tap that...That wouldn't need re-bluing...Just touchup...You could weld in a plug and tap it, but that would require re-bluing...

[ithacaartist]

Received the BSF 3/16"-32 bottoming tap in the mailbox today from e-taps. After work, I chased out the offending grip screw hole. All went well, did not need to feed it thru the frame from the good hole's side, nor fuss around setting it up for the drill press. Feeling for the right "start", it became evident that I could run it gently through by hand and have the tap remain perpendicular all the way.
BTW, I did try the thru the frame method, tempted by how much of the tap's shank was relieved to clearance diameter. Lucky again, there was just enough room between the walls of the mag well to allow the tap to be applied in the manner I suggested above!