This winter I have casted most every scrap of lead I had and there isnt any empty brass laying around the shop either, so I started looking for another project. After surfing the net and reading a lot, I decided to give Frank Dehaas's Chicopee design a try. I ordered the steel stock and printed out the templates. Once the steel got here I broke out the side grinder, hacksaw and files. I managed to get most everything cut out and roughed to shape. To make two identical pieces, I tack welded the two plate together and cut and shaped them as one.
I followed Dehaas's plans for grinding the outside radius on the drill press. The inside radius for the shoulders was a little more difficult. He suggested using a 4 inch diameter grinding wheel and just pushing the stock into the wheel and let it cut the radius. Instead I used the previously cut radius of the breach block as a guide and scribbed the radius on the raw stock. I used a flapper disk and side grinder to get me close to the mark. Then I came up with the contraption below to to sand the shoulders to fit. Once I was happy with the fit, I lapped them in using the same contraption.
Then came the receiver block. I cut the rabbits with a hacksaw and finished them to size with a file. I did pretty good too. I did not trust my drill press to make the hole for the barrel. I went the the benchtop mill that I have a limited access to and used it. While I was at it, FDH plans call for the firing pin assembly to be two pieces held together by a screw. I did not like this so I milled an assembly out of solid stock.
In the mean time, I had been dreaming of saving some money to buy a lathe and mill. That whole saving money thing is just a dream, I have two kids one of which had to have braces. I was bored and decided to cruise craigslist so I could dream some more. Instead I found a combo machine that was priced right. so ended up with getting it. Just like everything else I own, its missing some bits and bobs but it works! Now I just have to save up for some tooling.
Here is a little intro video I did of the progress so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYCiAcKvpdY