Drill and tap a mauser?

[NickB1075]

I have been approached by a friend that he wants to drill and tap a mauser action he has. What are you guys using for a task like this?

My initial thoughts on it are to just use the mill to locate and drill. Make a holding block for the action in the vise. Are you guys using any of the various jigs on the market? If so which ones and how are they working?

I do understand the importance of a good set up and have drilled and taped a bunch of things over the years. Just never a reciever. I have no problem buying tools but I can't justify the cost of a rig like the Forster for possibly only one time use.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks
Nick

 

[Rustystud]

You may find the Mauser extremely hard on the surface. You may find it very soft on the surface. This may be due to different heat treating. As you know carbide drill bits and taps are very brittle and required to drill hard metals. Soft metals break a carbide tool as it is more gummy. Nothing worse than a broken drill bit or tap in the bridge of a rifle. Good luck
Nat Lambeth

 

[shortgrass]

As the Mauser is forged, locate center off of the bolt raceway for best results, not the outside. If I was going to do it in the mill, I'd use a set of soft jaws and cut 'um straight, then do my drilling and tapping. That'd be if my holding fixture was absolutely true. That's the advantage of the jigs,,,, a lot less set-up time. The B-Square style jig will work fine. You're not building a target rifle with the Mauser (I hope!). If you decide to do it on the mill, a 18mm ground rod will slip nicely into most '98s (to reference from). High speed tools usually work fine when d&t '98s. Springfields and Model 1917s/1914s are "harder than the hubs", where carbide is desirable (required) just to get through the hard 'skin'.. I've built sporters on Mauser '98s for over 20yrs and never needed carbide, just good sharp HS tools. I own and use several drilling jigs, a B-Square, a Forester, and a Ron Power. All work equally well with the Power being the most time consuming to set-up. I wish I could find an old Billy Best. They were long enough to be able to mount front sights/ramps on 24" barrels. The Forester is not, unless you could come up with the obsolete "extension" that was made for awhile and then, discontinued.

 

[Ggmac]

First I would ask what model and make ? Next , if you do it freehand on a mill , with 2 piece or 1 piece bases , be careful how you locate your rear screw on your front receiver ring . You don't want it to weaken the upper lug , nor do you want it onthe upper lug locking surface. Other than that all ways listed work. I prefer the old forester jig . It was the first true tool I bought in 73 .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Cant you just hold it in some v blocks? I guess the jig does something else?

 

[shortgrass]

Real good point on missing the upper lug. I've seen several ruined by improper base hole placement.

 

[NickB1075]

Thanks guys for the great information as always.

I am not sure of the particulars of the action yet. I literally got off the phone with My friend and posted this question. This is deffinenetly not a target rifle.

I think I will make an investment in a jig.

Ggmac- Thanks for the tip on locating the front mount. I was thinking of doing blind holes in the front. Is this ok or are thru holes preferred?

Dusy, that was my first thought on work holding. I think the jig just speeds up the process of locating the proper location and spacing of the holes. Anybody correct me if I am wrong.

Now another question for you guys. Should I stick with standard 6-48 or go with 6-40 or 8-40?

Nick

 

[shortgrass]

Cant you just hold it in some v blocks? I guess the jig does something else?

The Mauser is a flat bottomed receiver, that's one locating point. The Forester uses the flat bottom and vertically adjustable V blocks that the barrel is clamped to, so the action can be leveled to the jig. It has an overarm, that rides in a T slot for linear adjustment, for the drill bushings that are on the same centerline as the V blocks. Quick and easy to use. The B-Square style uses the flat bottom, also. It locates the center of the action with a round bar slid through the raceway and has a plate, as a seperate piece, that goes on top for the drill bushings. a pic would make it much easier to visualize. There's one on E-bay with 3 bids @ $50, or so.The Forester works with a barreled action. The B-square can be used with an action, alone, or with a barreled action. The Forester is a 'serious' tool, useful on not just the Mauser, but other makes as well. The B-Square has multiple top pieces for different actions, but, not as versitile as the Forester.

 

[shortgrass]

Thinking about it, I did have a commercial, Swedish Mauser that was so hard on the outside that I used my carbide #30 drill to get through the 'case'. I know, a #6-48 uses a #31 for a tap drill. By using a #30 I didn't worry too much about using a HS tap! After all, I only used the carbide for the depth of the drill point, then finished drilling with a HS twist drill (a new one!). Use through holes on the front and rear, to answer your question about that. Bases will come with 6-48 mounting screws. Have the bases in hand before doing anything, as not all use the same hole spacing.

 

[Ggmac]

If the case is too hard and you don't have carbide , I have used an old MAC tools 12 volt dc carbon arc marking pencil . A few seconds of the arc is all that's needed for any of the many hard skins .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You can also make a pretty good center punch spot and then drill into it.

 

[shortgrass]

One final 'tid-bit',,,, if its a rusty piece of junk with deep pits or some off breed "Chiang Kai-Shek", or he's gonna' barrel it up to .375 H&H or .338 Lapua avoid it. You don't want to be associated in any way with something that could turn out to be a danger to anyone. DWM, Mauser, Oberndorf, Steyr, FN, Zbrojovka Brno (that's CZ), and the Yugoslav 24/47s that are currently available are basically, sound actions. They should be inspected closely for any lug set-back. Just be careful what you work on.

 

[NickB1075]

Thanks again guys. It is really appreciated

Nick

 

[shortgrass]

If you're handy enough with that mill you could make yourself a B-Square style jig. It'd be a good 'exercise' and all you'd need to buy then would be the d & t bushings, provided you already have the drills and taps. Just remember, drilling location (being on "center") of those scope mount holes is critical. There's not a lot of room for error in your jig.

 

[Ggmac]

Hey , let's not forget about the Turks . I like them , only the 38s . There military load was a 150 gr to over 3000 fps , that's pretty hot .