Simple homemade jigs and tools....

[Benelli B76]

Some great tips. It’s always the simplest ones the save you the most time and frustration.

I found this saved me a lot of time making chequered grip plates for pistols. First select a bolt or old tap with the thread size corresponding to the size chequering you want, and then grind away surplus metal to give a single toothed cutting edge:

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...pskdy8etno.jpg

Clamp a sheet of selected hard wood of the final thickness to the lathe cross slide and make a single pass under the cutting tool in one direction. Then move the plate round to make a second pass, so giving a diamond pattern. The shape of the diamonds can be made anything you want by choosing the angle between the two passes..

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psjezomet9.jpg

You can then cut out the shape of the grip plate and add any necessary side chequering by hand. This method cuts out 90% of the hand chequering, and the machined pattern gives you an easy guide for the hand chequering bits.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...pscbj2t5qz.jpg

Now that is brilliant John, never seen that idea before. My most used tools are not as sophisticated, sharpened leather punches to cut the O.D. and I.D. of seals, and wooden clamping system to hold the difficult Airsporter and Mercury trigger block squarely in the vice when putting a strong new spring in. Like this thread.
Oh, I forgot top of a pen to put new seal on piston dovetail...

Baz