Roamin_Wade
member
Is there a way to jewel, or re-jewel, a bolt at home either by hand or with a stationary drill press, or by another way?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Jeweling A Bolt
- Thread starter Roamin_Wade
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Alaskan Ironworker
Member
https://www.cratex.com/Products/Rub...6u9R6BZOa0aMcGtihFO-PeiOrMpWqRoBoC25cQAvD_BwE
I used these in a drill press to jewel a mauser bolt. Get the “coarse” 1/4” sticks and they will fit in a round soapstone holder you can get at a welding supply shop. Then you need to have a travelling table, and also some way to index your bolt. I made a wooden cradle for the bolt to sit in, and attached the bolt to an old gear i had laying around. Each point on the gear became an index point. My traveling table is metric, so I think I moved the bolt .5 centimeters laterally per 1/4” polish mark if I remember right. Get creative, its artwork. It worked out pretty nice, I wish i would have went a little deeper in retrospect, its a little faint. Ill go to the garage here in a minute and get sone pics.
I used these in a drill press to jewel a mauser bolt. Get the “coarse” 1/4” sticks and they will fit in a round soapstone holder you can get at a welding supply shop. Then you need to have a travelling table, and also some way to index your bolt. I made a wooden cradle for the bolt to sit in, and attached the bolt to an old gear i had laying around. Each point on the gear became an index point. My traveling table is metric, so I think I moved the bolt .5 centimeters laterally per 1/4” polish mark if I remember right. Get creative, its artwork. It worked out pretty nice, I wish i would have went a little deeper in retrospect, its a little faint. Ill go to the garage here in a minute and get sone pics.
Alaskan Ironworker
Member
Heres the simply dyi setup I came up with. I know the pros would have a real index, and Ive read they use small aggressive wire brushes and abrasive compounds also, but I like the cratex sticks because you can see what your doing without the slurry of paste. I definitely should have used more pressure if I did it over. I may never do it again, was just something I wanted to try. More than one way to skin a cat though. Get creative. I think youll want each jewel to overlap the last by about a 1/3 roughly? I dunno im a bubba.
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SGW Gunsmith
Member
Back when I was just a "cub" trainee toolmaker, I didn't have much money left over from my 40-hour paycheck to buy any extravagant tools. So, from what little gun work I was doing and whenever any over-time was available, I did finally save enough to get a 12-speed floor model drill press from Sears. Then, scrounging around in the steel scrap bin, I got hold of a 60-tooth spur gear that I thought would make a great indexer with fairly accurate spacing, so that became my basis for the jeweling fixture that I still use today:
I made up a "fence" for this fixture to rest against when traversing ¼ distances for the next swirl, so now I could index very well and set the longitudinal spacing fairly well also. After a few years I did purchase an X-Y vise and that made a world of difference with my swirl spacing:
For round work, like the above bolt, I prefer to use the little wire brushes because they seem to hold the #600 diamond compound much better and then conform to curved surfaces more to my liking, and for me they just work much better on parts like cartridge followers:
For flat work, like the sides of a hammer or trigger, the Cratex rods work very well, especially when the work is held in an X-Y vise:
I begin with the part polished as shiny as I can get it, because that will show the soft swirls really well and they are deep enough to hold lube to prevent rusting and provide smooth interaction with the parts they work with.
I made up a "fence" for this fixture to rest against when traversing ¼ distances for the next swirl, so now I could index very well and set the longitudinal spacing fairly well also. After a few years I did purchase an X-Y vise and that made a world of difference with my swirl spacing:
For round work, like the above bolt, I prefer to use the little wire brushes because they seem to hold the #600 diamond compound much better and then conform to curved surfaces more to my liking, and for me they just work much better on parts like cartridge followers:
For flat work, like the sides of a hammer or trigger, the Cratex rods work very well, especially when the work is held in an X-Y vise:
I begin with the part polished as shiny as I can get it, because that will show the soft swirls really well and they are deep enough to hold lube to prevent rusting and provide smooth interaction with the parts they work with.
troy fairweather
Member
I wanted to pickup one of those cheap aluminum machine vices with the turn wheels. I would think it would work for the jeweling
OP
OP
Roamin_Wade
member
Looks really good!
OP
OP
Roamin_Wade
member
Looks great. You are definitely familiar with machine shop practices.
SGW Gunsmith
Member
Yes, they do, and I have one where the cost was reasonable. I did a bit of adaptation on the one I have so that the screws that control X & Y movement, to remove most all of the "backlash", or looseness involved. And then, once I get started on a new row of swirls, I always go in one direction and never back up the work. That can screw up the pattern real quickly.
troy fairweather
Member
I think I've seen those cheap china knockoffs for like $25-$30 worth a try. What did you have to shim to get the backlash out.
Alaskan Ironworker
Member
https://www.amazon.com/Multifunctio...a_1_3?keywords=xy+table&qid=1578016358&sr=8-3
This is the one I have, its too sloppy for machining anything important, but adequate for jeweling I think.
This is the one I have, its too sloppy for machining anything important, but adequate for jeweling I think.
troy fairweather
Member
Wish.com had some cheaper last time I looked.
SGW Gunsmith
Member
It looks much better than the one I have. Mine was a bit sloppy also when I got it so I added a few "set screws" to tighten up the movement in the X & Y axis'. Then, I set my indexer in the X, Y vise to get rotary spacing of the swirls.
For that price, I'd make that sucker work, and it even L@@KS pretty good.
SGW Gunsmith
Member
I didn't use shims, I installed some brass tipped set screws to rub against the adjustment screws.
Alaskan Ironworker
Member
I may try doing something like that, I wish I would have spent the extra $100 and got a quality one though.
SGW Gunsmith
Member
If I did much more engine turning on parts than I do now, then maybe I'd look into something more precise.
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