doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Off-center bead

I thought about that craig, but decided it would take too much figgering to get the bead to tighten up at the same orientation in the holder as in the rib. I'd rather take my time and carefully shape it in place. I have no doubt I can do it. I'm a screwball............I actually enjoy tedious filing and shaping.

SRH

I was thinking more along the lines of not worrying about the alignment. Maybe, stick it in the end of some rod stock or an old bolt. Then, quick rough grind it like a tapered pin vise were holding the bead. Could always make two careful marks at 180* to keep oriented with the direction of the rib if it'll help to visualize. I'm not arguing, you'll git 'er done and nicely, just thinking about clearing that rib out of the way for a little bit. I think you came up with a good, practical solution

I have a Thread Check'r that it will screw right into, but with a little blue painter's tape on the rib I don't think there will be much advantage. I really have a lot more confidence in the end result if I do the job "in place". The only way that shaping it somewhere else would work is to install it in the rib, make a mark as to orientation, then remove it and screw it into the "fixture" at the same orientation. Even then I am afraid I might miss it a bit. Doing it in place means I can look "downrib" as I work....................invaluable.

Thanks for the idea, craigd. That's what makes this forum such a great place.

SRH

This is a problem that is more common than a lot of people think due to people fitting beads themselves , I have solved this problem a number of times but it is a complete an utter pain to do. Because I feel that you will only get one chance to correct the situation it is down to hand tools to correctly re-position the hole, using a needle file then re-thread using the next tap size larger, then make a bespoke bead with the new thread.
Re-fitting of a bead this way makes it a cure for a mistake undetectable.

It's tough to reposition a hole and tap to the next larger size when the hole is already .118". That's suitable for 6-48, which is the biggest thread size I know of that is commonly available.............thus my idea. It's not a super expensive gun so I don't want to throw the bank at it. If it were I'd fill the hole and have it engraved to match the rib matting, then start over with a new hole.

Thanks for the input, damascus. I'm going to try my idea. If I'm not satisfied with the way it turns out I can always go another route. I like SKBs fix, and had considered that, but just don't want to sink too much dinero in this job.

Waiting for the beads to arrive...............SRH

Stan I know this information is rather to late but on second thinking my post I should have added a little more information. Other than guns my other love in life is making clocks and we clockmakers have solved the screw thread size problem a long time in the past. To this end we have screw plates that go up in very small increments unlike engineers taps and dies that increase in standard size and screw pitches.
In the photograph is a clockmakers screw plate with its set of taps, from memory that particular one ranges from .7mm to 2mm in 14 steps they look expensive but the one in the picture costs �13 and you can find them on e-bay. They are made from carbon steel not high speed steel so a limited usable life though over the years I have gathered a collection of these of sizes you would not thought possible, the thread is only standard to the taps that come with the plate in other words just a screw thread. The one thing that sets this system above every other method of generating a thread is that no matter the diameter of a thread needed this system will produce it for you. These plates are still found in instrument and clock workshops because they work to produce a thread and a matching threaded hole when all else fails.

Thank you, damascus, for that post and picture. There have been times when a set like that would have been very handy.

For an update on the project............. I took an entirely different route than what I had planned. Turns out that the hole in the rib for the mid-bead was smaller than the front, which was 6-48. The mid-bead hole was actually threaded, and was 5-44. It was not too far off center, so I enlarged the hole with a Dremel burr, on one side, so as to center the hole on the rib. Then I drilled and tapped it for 6-48, ordered a tiny mid-bead with those threads, and screwed it in. Perfectly centered now, and impossible to tell that it was ever buggered up.

Thanks to everyone for the ideas and suggestions.

Best to all, SRH

AWESOME