doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Bending a Trigger Guard

I would appreciate any advice in bending a trigger guard--the actual bow part. One came in the other day with a noticeable flat spot and I cannot seem to come up a plan that would take it out without leaving a bunch of small hammer marks. I am thinking about making a brass hammer; that would presumably work on one side. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.
quailman85749@hotmail.com 520-760-8853

Gil:
Every bent guard is a job unto itself because they are all different and all bent differently. However, the general cure is heat to soften the metal and rapping the bend out against an anvil of brass, bronze etc. to minimize work marks. But a draw file, polish and blue is generally unavoidable.

Best, Kensal

Gil;

If the tigger guard may be taken off the gun.....create a wooden template of the arc you wish to impart. Leave the front and back area a little short so you can get into the bow without closing up the loop. Use a rubber mallet to stike the metal onto the shape of the loop. Be firm but gentle. Oh, roll the edge of the side edges corners just a little to keep from putting creases inside the bow. If the trigger may not be taken off....make a curved hard wooden arced punch with half of the width of the tiggerguard as your guide. Stike the bow from the inside of the loop downward at an angle from both sides using again the rubber mallet. Metal hammer seems to put too much force straight down and the bow will not move out in an arc.

Gil,
All the trigger guards I've had were dead soft steel. I imagine there are some that might be casehardened, but haven't seen any.


My approach would be to take a piece of wood and cut a shallow V in it that would touch the guard loop at the points you believe are the end of each side of the flat area. Clamp the wood in a vise with the V up and set the guard on it. Take another piece of wood of appropriate length and size to make a drift to fit in the loop for pushing inside the loop, forcing the loop to bend in the V form block, and sand a radius on the end. The radius just needs to be smaller than the radius you want to end up with. Don't over think it. Just sand a radius on it. Then I'd take the wood drift with the radius and hit it with a mallet when placed inside the loop. It won't take much to bend it. Go light first and check it.

I would not heat a guard to bend it.

One thing about cold forming even soft steel, there is what's called "springback". This is when the metal is bent to a certain shape and then pressure is released and it returns toward it's previous shape. If your bend does not take the metal past it's yeild point, it will return completely to the original shape. Even if you take it past the yield point, it will return a certain amount.

Like any metal fabrication process, there are many ways to the same end. This is just my way.

Gil,
Here's the idea.

Gil you don't have a brass hammer?

I like Chuck's idea of using a wood vee block and wood drift, but I think I would rather apply the force in a more controlled manner with a small arbor press. Same thing could be done horizontally in a vise. I have seen case hardened guards and some guards are somewhat brittle. Look at how many actually do break, especially across the tang screw hole where there is less strength. So a little heat would not hurt. Even temps lower than those which will produce temper colors will make steel less brittle. The steel mill where I worked in the 1970's would soak 20 ton coils in a large tank of near boiling water before slitting certain high carbon/high alloy stuff in order to keep the narrow strips of scrap from constantly breaking while being wound up in the scrap baler. This was especially helpful in the winter when the steel was ice cold. We made a lot of steel that was used for grenades and cluster bombs that would often shatter like glass even when it was still glowing coming off the Hot Mill.

Gil,
Darned near invariably you end up having to do some stoning/filing and polishing. It's a good chance to do a little rust blue job in a SS pot on mama's kitchen stove like we've talked about. Mine is used to it by now, she doesn't even complain and whine anymore !!

Chuck, great drawing!

I found this in my archives for after the bend is repaired:


Oil&Ash(Charcoal)blueing

Trooper Lennox:

Howdy', read your question about charcoal blue.� I'll give you a method that I have used for years.� It's easy to use on triggerguards and backstraps, but more difficult to use on barrels, as you will understand after I've described it to you.� I read about it in American Rifleman back in the 60's.� It's the same method that Springfield Armory (the original Springfield Armory) used back in the late 1800's.

The part that you want to blue is removed from the gun and degreased.� Then you rub a very thin coating of boiled linseed oil on the surface of the part.� Not thick or runny, but a nice even thin coat.� The next step is to dust a coating of HARDWOOD ash over the entire surface.� I keep a coffee can of ash from my fireplace in the shop for this purpose.� You want to make sure that the ash is very, very fine, about like talcum powder.� Anyway, dust the ash on.� Hang the part on a piece of coat-hanger or heavy wire.� Use a propane torch to slowly heat the part.� You will be able to see the part change color from straw to purple to light blue to full blue.� After it reaches full blue, it will get light again and then go through the colors again.� When it reaches full blue the second time, remove the heat and let the part cool.� Do NOT let the part get red.� Dust off the part and apply some oil.� Let it sit over night to let the blue harden.� Blueing is an oxide and is a little fragile when it is new.� If you have an old copy of Machinery"s Handbook, the process is similarly described there.� It also lists the various colors associated with different temperatures.� You want to keep the temp below the critical� temperature where the steel is compromised.� Anything below the red color is ok.� Springfield armory used ovens to control the heat, but I didn't have one that went to the right temperature.� Try the process on some scrap steel first to get the hang of it.� Remember, the higher the polish, the better the blue.� As I also said earlier, this is difficult to do on a barrel, because the frame acts as a heat sink and you will not get an even blue.� This finish is very durable as is witnessed by the finish on any of the old trapdoor Springfields.� Good luck.

Hope it is useful.

JC

I tried the method described above and had trouble getting a consistent temp with my propane torch, so I fired up the gas grill and got it to 600 deg. Worked pretty good, the bluing has been pretty durable on the trigger guard I did.