Project Blade Runner Part 2

Page Two

 

The barrel also gets a full painting run, plus one extra coat and a couple of coats to the inside of the barrel.

 Switching to the mill setup, three holes are drilled for the screws that mount the Steyr receiver and the ammo housing to the model.  A flat cut must then be milled near the housing end of the barrel by the Bulldog's frame so that the barrel will clear the cylinder's rod.

Next on the milling setup, the aluminum tube made for the bolt is milled by cutting off a section to make a C-shaped part; then with a special jig made to hold this new part, I mill a slot in it for the sliding travel groove.  Finally, a hole is drilled and deeply countersunk to facilitate mounting of the cocking lever.

For the hammer, the small lever return spring hole must be drilled by hand, and then the spring, lever, and retaining pin are installed.  The hammer can then be pinned into the Bulldog frame using the special piece of brass tubing fabricated for this purpose .

For the trigger, the return spring hole must also be drilled by hand, after which the spring is installed, and then the assembly is mounted into the frame with its retaining pin.

Next I install the pistol grip frame by fastening it with four screws -- two per side.

With the primary trigger and grip frame in place, the trigger guard can be installed into its rear capture slot and then fastened with the cylinder swing arm to the frame.  A 4/40 Allen screw is used to hold both.

 I then assemble the hammer spring assembly.   The ball end is mounted onto 4/40  threaded rod, which is cut to length, sheathed with a pre-cut brass tube, fitted with the return spring, and fastened together with a washer and 4/44 nut. 

The hammer spring assembly is then installed into the pistol frame and seated to properly engage the hammer.

I test fire the weapon a few times to make sure it works properly.  The front trigger is then installed with its brass  retaining pin.

Taking the tubing previously parted with the lathe, I solder these parts together to form the cylinder's locking rod.  Slipping on the cylinder's swing arm and spring, I then solder a small piece of tubing onto the assembly to hold the spring and arm together.  A quick trip to the belt sander results in smooth, beveled joints.

 After cutting a 3/4-inch length of 1/2-inch OD aluminum tubing to create a barrel mount, I insert it into the Bulldog's fame and then slide and glue the barrel onto it.

Next, a 6/32 button head Allen screw is cut to length and threaded into the tapped front scope mounting hole of the Steyr receiver in order to form the front sight, exactly like the original prop. The three remaining scope screw holes of the Steyr are plugged with slotted set  screws, again to match the original.  One of these is a special screw -- slightly longer to allow it to lock into the bolt's slot at the top for rotational travel control.

The tiny tip-like projection of the Steyr receiver end cap is then glued into place, followed by insertion and gluing of the cap itself to plug the opening of the receiver above the Bulldog barrel.

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