The dovetail construction is done starting with a round tube, unlike dovetail chopperlump. Take a tube & cut a flat on one side of each , for mating together & bringing the C/Ls in closer. then for fitting the underlump, imagine you rotate each tube 45° & cut another flat, but not all the way across, leaving a step at lower edge. When the mating flats are thus put together the area where the lump will fit in starts to angle down & out on each side at the angle cut till it reaches the step, where it turns 90° & then angles down & back in toward C/L for a short distance. The lump then has to be machined to fit this "Dovetail". This adds more strength to the joint than had the angle just been cut completely across, leaving only the brazing to support the lump. This is a little hard to describe, but perhaps try drawing it out. As has been pointed out many high quality guns have been made by this construction, particularly those using underbolts. It would be somewhat redundant on a strictly top bolted gun as Lefever, L C Smith etc, as the force is into the brazing rather thn pulling it apart.
PS; I seem to recall the British BSA preceded the Win 21 with dovetail chopper lumps, perhaps others as well.
Last edited by 2-piper; 12/31/06 05:15 PM.
