Hey All
I am currently doing a scratch build on a FWT LC Smith circa 1927. While scratch building a rotary bolt for said shotgun I have had opportunity to examine the locking system very closely. The seat for the rotary bolt is a blind pocket 11/16" in diameter, 5/8" deep bored forward into the receiver very hard up under the tang. I got to thinking about how the LC machinists pulled that cut off; there is hardly any room for a cutter shank however you went about it. When I consulted some engineering drawings I found evidence that the tang was forged straight, the pocket put in, and then the tang bent down. That makes sense from a machining viewpoint, but I personally have never seen a receiver forging of any era that was not forged directly to shape. The tang has a thin graceful profile. Would there have been some tendency for the tang to return to the original position over time and use? I have read that the fellows who shoot these vintage shotguns a lot experience some problems with the relationship of trigger, sear, and safety parts. The water quench color hardening process would certainly contribute to "freezing" the tang in place I would think.
I am currently doing a scratch build on a FWT LC Smith circa 1927. While scratch building a rotary bolt for said shotgun I have had opportunity to examine the locking system very closely. The seat for the rotary bolt is a blind pocket 11/16" in diameter, 5/8" deep bored forward into the receiver very hard up under the tang. I got to thinking about how the LC machinists pulled that cut off; there is hardly any room for a cutter shank however you went about it. When I consulted some engineering drawings I found evidence that the tang was forged straight, the pocket put in, and then the tang bent down. That makes sense from a machining viewpoint, but I personally have never seen a receiver forging of any era that was not forged directly to shape. The tang has a thin graceful profile. Would there have been some tendency for the tang to return to the original position over time and use? I have read that the fellows who shoot these vintage shotguns a lot experience some problems with the relationship of trigger, sear, and safety parts. The water quench color hardening process would certainly contribute to "freezing" the tang in place I would think.