Advice on fitting a scope rail required.

[Alpha1]

I have bought a scope rail that is designed to fit a Mauser action. Does any body have any tips on how to fit it keeping everything in place and square to the action. Should I remove the action from the barrel would that make it easier. I will be mounting it on a mill to do the drilling and tapping. I'm keen to get this right first time for obvious reasons.

[Triffid]

When I've mounted rails and/or bases I've fitted a scope to the rail/bases and, while bore-sighting the scope, super-glued the rail in place on the action. I use a small bubble level to make sure the rail is level with the action. Then I remove the scope and mark/drill the action directly through the screw holes in the base/rail. That way it's guaranteed to all line up.

I've no idea how proper 'smiths do it, but this works for me.

Triffid

[Alpha1]

Thanks.

[Ovenpaa]

I built a Mauser fixture that holds and supports the receiver square, screw the action on and pop it the vice on the mill, you can use the back edge of the vice as a reference, halve the width of the fixture and you should have a centre line. You are welcome to borrow it as I do not use it all that often.

[Alpha1]

Your action wrench did you make your own or did you purchase it.

[Ovenpaa]

I have several action wrenches most of which I made myself with the exceptions of a Remington one and one for a Barnard P.

Some pictures as follows:

My barrel vice (25,000kg) I machine wooden inserts for the majority of the jobs however I have had to resort to split aluminium caps in the past. I add a sprinkling of powdered Rosin to the wooden contact area and it usually works first time without slipping at around 5000-8000kgs pressure. If I need more pressure I resort to oak caps or the solid inserts. I remove the plastic covers on the front and back before use!

My 'universal' action wrench, I can add different profiles as required and it is currently fitted with parallel sided blocks plus an SMLE profiled one. I also blocks for many receivers and have a load of blanks drilled should I have something unusual to work on. The length of scaffold pole is self explanatory :)

One thing I will say is you can put a huge twisting force on receivers using such a system and I often have the Viking to hand to support the back of the receiver, it just makes me feel a bit better about things and her office is under 15 feet away from the area. Not shown is the lathe I use which is just to the left, hence the wooden stool, we all need to sit down occasionally...

Close up of the 'universal' action wrench. The handle is screwed and pinned and I could have welded it as well however I never got around to it. The threaded screws can be removed and replaced if they ever get damaged and are just off cuts of M12 studding. They are the original ones so doing well. The nylocks are so things do not slacken off.

The Mauser fixture I made a while ago, it is very simple yet does the job, the centre screw and plate is to clamp the middle to prevent any chance of the receiver bowing.

Behind are vertical and horizontal band saws, the former for stock work and cutting profiles in steel/aluminium and the latter is the one I use for cutting materials prior to machining and chopping up scrap firearms :)

Right at the back is the stove roaring away as it was cold in the workshop first thing

[Alpha1]

Interesting thanks for the pictures. The press looks pretty impresive.

[Ovenpaa]

The press was a game changer, I was looking at 10 Ton set-ups however they were huge and I wanted to keep the press compact and close to the lathe, I spotted this one and had it on the spot. Despite its size (400mm high x 170mm wide) it is incredibly heavy at around 70kgs and was a struggle to lift into place on its stand. On a plus side the operating height is around 1250mm/50" which is perfect for me. From memory it came in at under GBP400 including the stand and is in constant use. I have even used it to remove stuck sound moderators including one from another RFD who was worried about deforming the tube, I machined a pair of wooden blocks to suit in a 4 jaw, stuck the moderator in the press and an action wrench on the receiver and off it came :)

[Alpha1]

I have orderded a action wrench this project is starting to get expensive. I ordered a universal one plus a
mauser dedicated add on. A fixture similiar to the one you fabricated for the mauser action is £90.00. I was tempted but how often would I use it. I will have to think about it and see how much Is in my gun slush fund.

This gun better do the buisness other wise I am going to be upset.

[Alpha1]

I have now officially spent more on tools to do this conversion than I paid for the rifle and I am a long way from finished yet. I'm not sure the scope rail I bought is the best one for the job either. It seems to be a tad to long at the bolt end I'm worried the bolt is going to catch on it. This is how silly this is turning out if I can get it ready for early next month with a suitable scope rail I have a £2000 Schmidt and bender scope to fit to it and use for trial purposes because we don't have any thing else to fit it on at the moment. (Im hoping its going to end up on a Ruger jobby)
Madness absolute madness
hmm whats next.