Cutting Dovetails by KSCO

Cutting Dovetails by Hand
By Jim KCSO

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Let’s start this off by my issuing a disclaimer; I’m not an expert at anything. I am a poor country boy gunsmith who has been lucky enough to be able to learn from his elders. What I am passing on here I was fortunate enough to pick up from folks like Greg Roberts of the Green River Rifle works, Bill Large, Doc Carlson and V.M Starr. I have cut enough dovetails by hand so that is I don’t happen to have a 5/16 rougher in the mill I will just cut one rather than take time to set up the mill. If you work slowly and carefully you can cut as neat and as well a fitting dovetail as any machine. So listen up…
Tools required:
1 square file, preferably with a safe edge
1 Triangular file 60 degree with, safe edge REQUIRED
1 small square
1 depth gauge, this doesn’t have to be fancy my favorite was made from a broken CB antenna.
1 Hacksaw with a 24 tooth blade.
The safe files should look like this…

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 004.jpg
I ordered these files from MSC and made the safe edges by grinding them flat on a grinding wheel. I kept the temper by keeping them wet and keeping my finger on the stock as I ground.
To start the dovetail take a square and mark the barrel with two lines just smaller than the top of the dovetail. You want to err on the side of caution here as you can always make the dovetail bigger but you can’t very well make it smaller. The take the sight and make sure that all casting lines and burrs are removed the base of the sight should be clean and smooth or the sight won’t fit properly.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 001.jpg
Here is the barrel with the sight and the square on it. Notice that the pencil lines are NARROWER than the top flat of the intended sight.
Now that the dovetail is marked out you need to make two cuts inside the lined you just marked. I use a 24 tooth hacksaw as it is less likely to catch and slip as compared to an 18 or a 10 tooth blade.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 002.jpg
The first two cuts should be shallow and you will FILE the cuts to final depth. I don’t measure this I just eyeball it. After you get the first two cuts made go inside those cuts and make several more like this.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 003.jpg
Now you take the square file and clean out the blank and square it up. Work slowly and try not to mar the top flats of the barrel. Use the safe edge of the file against the outside of the work to be removed and cut from both sides to the inside. When you have the scrap removed then square up the cut and cut down to just under the proper depth for the sight. You need to leave about 5 thousands for clean up as you work the square cut into a proper dovetail.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 005.jpg

Here the cut is nearly squared and the depth gauge is ready to check depth of the cut. A fancy tool isn’t necessary for this, but a Harbor Freight dial caliper will only set you back $12.95.
Once the cut is squared and nearly to depth take you triangular safe file and lay it in the cut with the safe end to the bottom and start cutting each end to form the dovetail.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 006.jpg
When you are cutting to the ends you will notice that the dovetail will start to curve up away from the bottom of the cut. Viewed from the side the dovetail will be curving up. Take the safe file and turn the safe edge into the dovetail and square the cut ever so often so that as you view the cut from the side it is flat and square.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 007.jpg
As you look at this you can see the edges of the dovetail are not sharp and are starting to curve slightly, it’s time to turn the file and flat them out.
As you get close to the final size of the dovetail try the sight in the cut every few cuts. As soon the sight will start in the dovetail go slow and work to clean up, sharpen and square the dovetail.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 008.jpg
The dovetail is close at this point and you want to go slow here and try the sight in the cut ever couple of file strokes. You want the sight to go in with just enough resistance so that a light tap with a brass punch will move it back and forth. You NEVER want a cut so tight that you have to pound on the sight to move it, or deform the sigh to make it move. When the gun is sighted in you take a center punch and lock the sight in place with a punch mark. Most factory sights are WAY too tight in the dovetail as they are pushed into place with a hydraulic ram. This can actually cause a thin walled barrel to deform and put a wrinkle under the sight on the inside of the bore. I have had several factory 45 caliber guns that had to have the barrels cut back and re dovetailed by hand because the bore was deformed under the factory dovetail. In a number of cases the reason for this was that the bottom flat of the front sight had not been properly smoothed.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imag...etails 010.jpg
Here is the finished dovetail with the sight in place. There are no gaps under the sight and the top of the sight base is flush with the top flat of the barrel.
Now I don’t time any job in my shop as I don’t work to a clock, I prefer to just keep plugging and make sure the job gets done right. With practice I would guess that it should take less than ½ hour to cut a proper dovetail. Even if it takes you 1 ½ hours to do the job, you can balance that against the $35 a machine shop will charge you. Any you have the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
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That's a fine job and you don't need to worry about a dovetail cutter coming apart on you in the middle of the job either. Thanks for posting this!

Great article. You can also practice on a piece of pipe or square stock first before trying a bbl. Check with a gunsmith for cut off bbl ends for practice stock too. Gianni.

Nice job! I would also like to complement you on the nice work that you did on the photos and text. It just goes to show you that you do not need fancy equipment to make nice things. People tend to forget that craftsmen have been making works of art just by using their brains and a common sense approach for centuries with simple hand tools in wood stone and metal.

jim, thank you for taking the time and for the pics to put together this post.
very informative with good tips. dan

That is really a great pictorial!
I have done a few dovetails by hand. Actually, fairly simple if one uses plenty of time, and goes slowly. Making reference points not only on the main metal removal, but also the depth really help.
Remember, removeing metal, anybody can do it. Putting it back is another issue indeed!
I made a left hand save edge, and a right hand safe edge file set. I later found Barret files.
Makeing a safe edge, I used a sharpening stone and honed off the teeth. No heat involved. It doesn't take much to make a safe edge.
Rather than useing a singel hack saw blade to make the cut outs, I taped several together. I held the bundle to make the cut. With lots of cutting oil, it doesn't take much in cutting. I file the cut out to the depth I needed.
I tried grinding my safe files to the degree needed so they could rest on the cut out and file to depth. That was kinda a waste of time. It was more accurate tilting the files and guageing by eye with checking the piece to be dovetailed.
I did ok. It was very satisfying to have done it myself. On one Hawken, I found out about dovetails by trying to put an Hawken front sight in the Italian dovetail. Some fileing and fiddleing and it was on. That gave me the where with all to get a barrel and try it myself.
It is an art, and quite satisfying.
Very descript pictorial. Good job.

Great contribution! How does one make dovetail fillers? I replaced the factory rear sight on my Winchester M94 with a Williams receiver mounted peep sight. I'm left with an ugly open dovetail.

The MacFarland book, "Introduction to Modern Gunsmthing" 1965 has a section on cutting dovetails with a hack saw.

Having a mill and dovetail cutters, that book always reminded me of the term "barefoot doctor".

I've cut a bunch of them using safe edge files, but only on octagonal barrels. I there a layout Jig you can make to cut them on round barrels?

Hi:
I wanted to thank you for the photos and instructions on the sight installation.
It is really appreciated.



Now I don’t time any job in my shop as I don’t work to a clock, I prefer to just keep plugging and make sure the job gets done right. With practice I would guess that it should take less than ½ hour to cut a proper dovetail. Even if it takes you 1 ½ hours to do the job, you can balance that against the $35 a machine shop will charge you. Any you have the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Major Tom

Great contribution! How does one make dovetail fillers? I replaced the factory rear sight on my Winchester M94 with a Williams receiver mounted peep sight. I'm left with an ugly open dovetail.

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I do believe Brownell's has a filler wedge for empty dovetails. But it seems to me you could reverse the process of cutting the dovetail and make a filler piece of steel, or a nice piece of nickle silver, maybe a cutout from a large piece of silverware handle.

I just checked, and Brownell's does have a dovetail slot filler.
Brownell's is a supporter of this site, and has a link add at the bottom of the page!!

ALUMINUM SLOT BLANK
Fills Empty Sight Dovetail Without Fitting
Price Range:$6.95 - $6.95 (In Stock)
Mfr:WILLIAMS GUN SIGHT
Learn More

They also make a steel one that you peen over and file smooth but is best used for when you are going to re-blue the gun.

"Safe edge" files are very handy for lots of jobs and reasons. One trick I've reinvented all by myself ;) is to grind off teeth and round over sharp corners on a fixed belt sander. It provides a straight and flat platform on which to grind, is faster than a pedestal grinder and the file remains cooler.

When I learn to post pics, I'll throw a few up here.

Very, very fine dovetail work:!:

Just make sure when laying out a dovetail , especially for a rear sight, that you take and make your initial cut lines square to the bore and not to the barrel side if your barrel is swamped...

...http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how...il-for-a-rifle

A filing guide that clamps to the barrel can be made using small sealed ball bearings on either side to rest the file on to do round barrels as well..Russ

Wonderful! I am thinking of taking up making muzzleloaders as a hobby and this is precisely the kind of info (and confidence builder) I need!

Wheeler Engineering used to make a hardened tool to do that, but they no longer sell it. I am too prone to messing up when I try to 'eyeball' work. It's good to know there are guys like you out there that know the art of it.

I can see how it would be easier to do with a flat topped barrel (e.g. octogon), but what's the secret for doing it on a round barrel so that you are sure that it absolutely is at the top of the barrel and not a couple of degrees off? Like on a Thompson Encore barrel?

their is a gun smiths wife up in the blackhills who does all his dove tails by hand, huge number every year and they are perfect. she inspired me to do my own. they arent as good as hers which are perfect but they are as good as a machine does it. if i, get tired of it i just lay it down and come back to it later but it really doesnt take that long saves me money when i do them my self. good post and pictures.

I find it much quicker with a mill and a carbide dovetail cutter. I can cut dovetails on most barrels for $15 each and make money.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-to...s-prod698.aspx The dovetail files are not cheap.

Good stuff guys!

I must comment ! Great job , My milling and cutter for dovetails would have not done better .

Yes you can John but I started making muzzleloaders with a post drill, a forge and hand tools, in fact other than rifling the barrels I did it all myself just as it was done 200 years ago. One rifle took me over 2 months to make including forging the small parts. I have a mill and use it for a lot of work, but if I am doing a restoration I want the tool makrs to be right to, and when the electricity is off I can still make guns.

Question ?
I am wanting to cut a dovetail on an 1858 for a front sight.
The sight is suppose to have a 74 degree angle but most files seem to be 45, 60 or 65 degree.
I see Brownells has a cutter but not a file in 74 degrees

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Taylor

I find it much quicker with a mill and a carbide dovetail cutter. I can cut dovetails on most barrels for $15 each and make money.

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I use the Bridgeport for the depth and top width and finish with a safe sided file.

your gonna size them and lube them again why bother standing them up.



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A steel slot blank can be made from an old rear sight or ordered on line. Better looking than an aluminum one IMO.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I've hand cut a couple on my 44-40 barrel swap into a Marlin 1894. I didn't want the full length magazine tube. For a filler blank, a bevel gauge and a protractor gives a good reference on any bit of steel you've got laying around. My background is wood, so dovetails don't scare me, only the materials and tools are a little different. Take your time.

A good hand with a mill and a sharp cutter I'm sure can do it quicker, but at what cost? Don't forget, someone built that first lathe by hand. Working on some fine antiques over the years, and building boats, sharp hand tools in skilled hands are remarkably efficient for one-ofs.

Nice job. Tidy. I congratulate you

This is a very useful sticky post. I followed the instructions, took my time and cut/filed a good dovetail the first time on a piece of barrel stub. My only problem was not taping off the top of the barrel adjacent to the work and letting the hacksaw get away from me when making the initial cuts. My failure to maintain firm control caused the teeth to skid out of the shallow groove and scratch the barrel. If it had been "for real", I could easily polish the area and re-blue, but that is why you should practice first.

I'm working with a round barrel, and to find top center, found a scope reticle alignment tool with a spirit level to be useful.