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Master Cam video of machining the VG1-5

Chuck — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 08:06:38 +0000

In this video we are showing the steps to do the first op on machining the upper receiver on the VG1-5 on the machining center.

We are getting closer every day to completing the VG1-5.

More on the VG1-5

Chuck — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 08:08:09 +0000

You have now seen the first series of spot welds necessary to put the strengthening plats in and putting then together. With this accomplished it is time to do the first machining op on the receiver. This operation cuts out the trigger opening and also the holes necessary to weld in the front barrel support. The magazine housing area is also machined out to the rough shape necessary to install it.

here are a few solid models of the fixture we used.

The individual components use in the VG1-5 lower receiver fixture.

This is the Master Cam simulation for machining the VG1-5 lower receiver for op1.

This video is showing the machining of the VG1-5 lower receiver op 1′

this is a picture of the part after machining but still in the fixture.

MP-44 Trunnions up date

Chuck — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 08:00:42 +0000

We have now finished the first six test pieces up to the 5th operation. This next week we will complete op’s 6 and 7 and send them for verification for proper fit.

With the first 5 operations completed we will be starting on op6 soon. This is a master cam simulation of the process.

Reverse Engineering and machining the MP-44 trunnion

Chuck — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 15:43:05 +0000

Here at Gun Lab we do a fair amount of reverse engineering, most of what we like to make have no drawings. However when there are drawings or solid models available we will use them. With this said I have found that most of what is available on the internet or in books is just not correct.

A case in point is the MP-44 trunnion. I have all the drawings that I have been able to find on this part, a number of different sets are out there, and when compared with the actual part have found them to be lacking. Some are just wrong and in some cases I don’t think the person has actually looked at a part.

Over at weapons man he had a write up about reverse engineering a while back.

http://weaponsman.com/?p=21915

It was a very interesting write up and I recommend reading it.

Now back to the MP-44 trunnion. We were contracted a while back with making a limited number of new trunnions for the MP-44. He sent us a very good original one and we had a poor copy of one at the shop. Using these two pieces we started the project of reverse engineering it. The easiest thing to do was look for engineer drawings off the web. These are the ones that I found.

The measurements have been removed from these copies, however you can find them on the internet. I did use the basic drawing as a starting point. The sheets were cleaned and measurements were taken using a cmm, micrometers and pin gauges. Tolerances were set using not only the trunnion but also matching parts. When there was a doubt other parts were located to increase the measurement standards. This allowed us to come up with a reasonable solid model that we felt was accurate enough to start programing.

Even with this solid model and prior to making the parts we still caught a few errors that have been corrected.

Now comes the portion of the project were we start working on the machining of the part. A master cam programed was written to run the trunnion on the cnc machining center. It was determined that 7 set ups would have to be done to machine this part. This is a video of the master cam operation to complete operations 1 through 4.

With the program checked out we then ordered the proper tooling and set up all the off sets on the machine. Test material was brought in cut and machined to size to do a test run. This is the progress so far.The material was saw cut to size.

Then machined to the proper size and squared.

The first 4 ops have been completed. Op 1 and 2 cut the groves on both sides and drilled the ejector holes.

The next phase was op 3 and 4.

The parts are set up in the vises ready to machineThe barrel hole drilled and machined.

The hole for the bolt carrier is drilled, machined and then bored to a very nice finish.

The gas tube support is machined in.

The first six test pieces.

Even now we are still not working on the actual parts. These are 6 test pieces that will be completed and set to the buyer to test on his kits to verify proper fit. In this case because of tolerances we went with a smaller bore diameter for the barrel fit, it is easier to remove metal then to add it.

Finishing machining the safety for the AR-180B

Chuck — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 14:20:22 +0000

We have finally finished machining the last part for the AR-180B safety. This is the master cam video showing the steps that were performed to complete this task.

With this last installment we have now completed machining the safety for the AR-180B. This picture shows all the steps that we took to make the safety selector. The bottom on is an original.

A close up of our safety to the original AR version.

We installed the newly made parts on my AR-180B rifle to verify proper fit.

You can see that both the pivot pin and safety fit properly.

Our next step is waiting for the medium to come in to de-bur everything them off to heat treat on the shafts and start parkerizing the parts

Making the AR-180B bolt hold open button

Chuck — Sun, 07 Jun 2015 15:41:00 +0000

This post is about making the pivot button for the bolt hold open device for the AR-180B.

With no engineered drawings to work from the first item of business to take care of was making a drawing of the part with all the dimensions. To do this we used micrometers, feeler gauges and an optical comparator.

Using these measurement devices we were able to accurately measure the the complete button. We also used references from parts suppliers to verify correct dimensions for matching components.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#97431a290/=xirvt8

Side-Mount External Retaining Ring (E-Style)

Black-Finish Steel, for 7/32″ Shaft Diameter

For Shaft Diameter	7/32“
Fits Groove
Diameter	0.188″
Width	0.029″
Ring Size
(A)	0.437″
Thickness	0.025″
Additional Specifications	Black-Finish Steel
RoHS	Compliant

Snap rings into the groove from the side of the shaft. Their three prongs make contact with the shaft and provide a wider shoulder than other external retaining rings for a larger retaining surface. They are magnetic.

Black-finish and zinc and yellow chromate-plated steel rings have a minimum Rockwell hardness of C47.

Next came a solid model of the part.

A program was written with master cam to run on the cnc lathe.

This is the video of machining the part on the lathe.

This is an picture of the part as it comes off the lathe when the first op is completed.

A comparison of the original part to the newly machined one.

What has been done so far with still more to be made.

The second op to come

Working on the safety shaft for the AR-180B

Chuck — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:40:17 +0000

Sorry for the late post today. When I finally got home last night I went to the shop to work on the shaft for the AR-180B safety and did not finish until late. This is a quick master cam video on the process to do the first op on the shaft.

Here is the picture of where we are now on the project.

I have a video of the machining that I will post later.

Making parts for the AR-180B

Chuck — Fri, 29 May 2015 08:00:42 +0000

We were down to see our friend Rick at http://ar180s.com/ a while back and over the last few weeks during conversation he was interested in if we could make a few AR-180B parts. Why not that’s what we do. So while we are waiting for ATFE approval on the VG1-5 and the machines are kind of idle we started a project to make impossible to get fire control parts for the 180B.

The first part we decided to tackle is the safety selector. This part is specific to the 180B as it is longer then the standard safety for either the 180 or the ar-15. The orginal ones were investment cast so making them that way was out of the question. What we did was to redesign it to a two piece part.

A quick look at the master cam video of the first op being performed.

This is the actual video of the part being made.

This is what the parts look like after the first op is completed.

Here is the complete lot done with this op.

Making the 1930 Sauer firing pins

Chuck — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:39:24 +0000

I went to do a little shooting on a few weapons in my collection that I have never fired only to find out that the firing pins were broken. In this case the pistol that I had taken out was a Sauer model 1930 32acp pistol. For some odd reason I happen to have three of these cute little pistols and two of them had broken firing pins. Now it was off to the computer to design up a new firing pin. Getting into this project it was determined that with three of the same pistols that there were 2 different sizes of firing pins. This is a video of the making of the firing pins.

Here is a picture of the firing pin prior to milling it.

This is a solid works look of the part.

The firing pin after completion in the milling machine.

Shop Tuesday 10-8 fluting machine

Chuck — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 16:06:29 +0000

We are working on all the components for the barrel fluting machine. This is the Master Cam video for the making of the lower base. This part allows the chuck plate to move in and out. This allows us to load and unload the barrels from the chuck.

This part has now been machined.

I will have a video of the machining process soon.