Fun with Frank dehaas

[skeettx]

Watching and waiting
Good luck
Mike

[redneck1]

Very small progress , after eating I went out and managed to get the
Firing pin block drilled and tapped for the breech face .
You'll have to excuse the ugly screw , I ordered tapered head screws I could counter sink . And got fillister screws instead . In the effort of progress I butchered one up for temporary service .

It seems distraction free Saturday evenings and girlfriends don't mix well together , so I'll have to wait till she goes to bed for some quality shop time .

Attachment 194336
Attachment 194337

[Jedman]

I am glad you chose to make the thread on the barrel shank 3/4-16 as FDH suggested 3/4-14 and that makes no sense.
To attach the side plates he says you can weld them , several ways to do that or use screws .
I was thinking if I were to use screws I would also use two taper pins each one reamed and driven in from opposite sides of the receiver. Along with two screws on each side. A taper pin can be nearly invisible when dress off flush and are quite strong.
There are many ways to make his Chicopee action and make it possibly stronger or easier with what equipment or materials you have to work with.

Good Luck with your project as many of us would like to build something similar.

Jedman

[Naphtali]

Do you intend to do the welding, or are you going to "farm it out?"

[redneck1]

I plan on welding it myself , I'm no expert welder by any means but I can do ok and I have access to a tig welder .

[redneck1]

I know I have been a bit lax on updating this , I do apologise.
It isn't from lack of progress though .
It's simply that I dislike showing stuff half done . So I promise a quite large update Sunday evening .

The thing that has been holding me back is springs , but that is no longer a problem , the music wire I ordered showed up finally so I can now wind some springs on the lathe .

I did a bit of research and learned that one of the key parts of successfully winding a spring is that first you have to straighten the wire ... who knew !

So with a bit of head scratching I came up with a simple solution I think will work .

This little gizmo will simply clamp in a tool holder .
The wire will ride in the groove with a plate clamped over it to provide a bit of tension to straighten it as the spring is wound on a mandrel
Attachment 194955Attachment 194956

[405grain]

I really like the Chicopee center fire actions. Of the four actions in Frank DeHaas's book, I think that it is the nicest one. I think that a lot of the diameters that he chose for pivot pins, and the thread sizes he used were just based on what he had laying around at the time. Many of the parts dimensions are left open so that the individual builder can make (sensible) changes as they see fit. Many of the pivot pins can use standardized sizes, like 1/8", 3/16" 1/4", etc. 1018 steel is a good choice for these actions, and even with mild steel they are really strong.
The limiting factor on the strength of the Chicopee action is mostly the diameter of the barrel shank. In cartridges much above 30 carbine or 357 magnum diameter, the breech end of the barrel starts getting too thin. Also, the pressures for this action should be kept below 46,000 psi. Chicopee's have been built in 223 and 222 Remington, but these rounds are really pushing it as far as the pressure goes, and Frank De Haas recommends against these calibers in his book. The cartridges that do work well in this action are: Cartridges based on the 22 Hornet case like - 17 Hornet, 22, hornet, 22 K-Hornet & 25 Hornet. Also cartridges based on the 32-20 case like the 218 Bee, 25-20 & 32-20. Other options are cartridges based on the 357 Magnum case, like the 256 magnum, 30-357 wildcats, 38 special, & 357 magnum. Chicopee actions can also be used with a host of other cartridges like 30 carbine, 32 Smith & Wesson long, 32 H&R magnum, 9mm Luger, etc.
One of the unique things about building a Chicopee is that, even though there are probably hundreds of them, no two are alike. Everyone that builds one makes it slightly different than anyone else's. Also, most builders end up making a lot of the parts twice because building one is a learning experience. On the first Chicopee action that I worked on, I chose 357 magnum as the caliber because brass and bullets for it would be cheap and plentiful. I got the barrel from Numrich (part # 1199550). Just a thought - if you plan to chamber a rifle in a pistol caliber, remember that you'll need a "rifle" chambering reamer, not a "cylinder" chambering reamer.

[dverna]

I am amazed at what many of you can accomplish. I have neither the skill or patience to attempt something like this but enjoy these kinds of threads immensely.

Thanks for posting.

[izzyjoe]

Very nice, I'll be following this cause I'm leaning towards building one myself.

[smokeywolf]

redneck1, on your spring winding toolholder, put a scrap of leather between your plate and the music (spring) wire.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Redneck 1, You are doing really great, I just hope you don't make the same mistake I did. I built one back in the 80s and I used a barrel that I had bought from Numrich, where they got it I do not know. Anyway, after completely finishing the rifle, I found that the bore is .227 instead of .224 so right now I am in the process of rebarreling. which is a real job, cause the front scope mount and fore end iron are attached to it.

[725]

This is fascinating. Most sincere good luck in the project. As you can, post photos and narrative to keep us up to speed. Can you please post the title and ISBN number of the deHaas book.
725

[Parson]

Redneck 1, You are doing really great, I just hope you don't make the same mistake I did. I built one back in the 80s and I used a barrel that I had bought from Numrich, where they got it I do not know. Anyway, after completely finishing the rifle, I found that the bore is .227 instead of .224 so right now I am in the process of rebarreling. which is a real job, cause the front scope mount and fore end iron are attached to it.

This is not uncommon with Numrich, I once had a 45-70 barrel from them that measured .452

[woodbutcher]

Looking good sir.Please keep the updates coming as you can.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[725]

I did a basic google search for deHaas books. Oh my....... they are expensive!