Dovetail Machining...

Stu · 12-01-2002, 03:41 PM

Interesting question Pete. I was just wondering this morning if anyone had written anything about the production process for Lugers.

I'm not familiar with the dovetail on the 45 you refer to, but certainly there are plenty of examples of machined dovetails even prior to that era ?

It's an interesting topic; to give 2 examples, S&W claim not to be able to reproduce the contours of the original Schofield and so had to modify it's shape for modern production. I've also seen reference to an examination of a WWII Daimler aero crankshaft by Rolls Royce who also stated they couldn't reproduce it with modern techniques. Some engineering skills and practices do seem to become outdated and eventually abandoned. Certainly the craftsmanship I've seen on some 19th century British doubles is really wonderful and would be cost prohibitive to produce today.

I'll be very interested to see if anyone can make a definitive statement about the dovetail you refer to.

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12-01-2002, 03:41 PM	#1
Stu User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 452 Thanks: 4 Thanked 25 Times in 16 Posts	Interesting question Pete. I was just wondering this morning if anyone had written anything about the production process for Lugers. I'm not familiar with the dovetail on the 45 you refer to, but certainly there are plenty of examples of machined dovetails even prior to that era ? It's an interesting topic; to give 2 examples, S&W claim not to be able to reproduce the contours of the original Schofield and so had to modify it's shape for modern production. I've also seen reference to an examination of a WWII Daimler aero crankshaft by Rolls Royce who also stated they couldn't reproduce it with modern techniques. Some engineering skills and practices do seem to become outdated and eventually abandoned. Certainly the craftsmanship I've seen on some 19th century British doubles is really wonderful and would be cost prohibitive to produce today. I'll be very interested to see if anyone can make a definitive statement about the dovetail you refer to.