My new project Yugo M59/66A1 incomplete.(Gunsmith special)

[Greatguns]

Awe man...   I was hoping to find step/step pics and details of how you located the sweet spot, supported/ setup the press, and the over travel in action etc.   

Lookin good so far!   

Yeah, ain't hind sight grand. I thought about that right as I finished my last bend. So, since I was a bonehead and didn't get pics or a video, here is the next best thing.

I can tell you this. For support I used small blocks of 2x4 pine as it is soft and forgiving so it won't mar the finish on the barrel.
I set about a 4" piece under the receiver to a) give fuller support under the receiver and b)keep it balanced on its side since the bend was to the 3 O'clock position as looking at it from the rear of the rifle.
the front block for first bend was  placed in front of the gas block/valve assembly and the ram of the press was placed on center about 1" in front of the RSB.
My normal over travel was between 1/4" and 1/2" each time. I like to start out small and work my way up to get to where I need to be.
After a few bends at that location I walked it out keeping the rear support block under the receiver the entire time. I shifted the front block out an 1" or 2" then moved my press point forward about 2"-2 1/2" and gave it a few more bends.
Next I did a couple for bends with the ram right behind the gas block. I then pulled the action out to check where I was at with things. I was close, but not quite there. I placed the front block directly under the gas block and shimmed the block so the barrel wouldn't roll on me and, moving it to where the ram was back at the first position in front of the RSB, gave it a few more good bends. And that was that. I did my straight edge check, my concentricity check, and then my laser bore sight check. Everything looks good so far.

The next step is to clean it and go test fire it. If needed I will go back and fine tune it on the press, but I am fairly confident that I won't need to do that on this one.

[xtriggerman]

 Nice work on barrel bending GG. Its really just a lot of common sense & understanding basic soft metal properties & you'v got that nailed! I like using soft pine also on mid point pressure since it gives to conform to the barrel OD some what. I actually love the challenge of bending barrels back straight! I had a trap shooter once have me bend his Rem 1100 barrel to a different point of aim several different times before he finally realized he was just a lousy shot with that gun!
  My introduction to barrel bending started in 1981. I started working for Auto Ordnance of West Hurley that spring and was put on the Thompson semi and SMG assembly line. Soon I was shown how they wanted to do customer returns and one of the common issues for the fixed sight Tommies was point of aim grouping. So the floor manager (Tom Casey) walked me back to the Numrich Arms shooting range with a "point of aim" issue gun, a big flat head screw driver and a few boxes of our reloads. Being freash out of Gunsmithing school, I couldn't figure out how in the hell was he going to fix a gun that's shooting 6-8" out at 50 yards with a freakin flat head screw driver. He wasn't about to tell me either.... it was all about "show you" how to do it.
  So with a target up at 50 and shooting off the table, customer complaint was verified. Then Tom takes the big screw driver and removes the forend and butt stock. Walks over to a big cut pine tree log that's standing up on end and holding the big long end of the receiver in both hands like a base ball bat, looks it over a bit standing over the stump and suddenly swings the tommy barreled receiver up over his head and brings the barrel down hard onto the edge of the pine stump.   He turns to me and says don't worry about the wood if it gets stuck in the barrel fins.... you clean that out latter.  WTF   .  Well it took a few whacks of the stump to point the muzzle into the sight point of aim but that's the way they were doing it. The wood had to be removed to keep from spliting the butt stock at the 2 attaching screws. This all came as a shock to me because of how in school it was all about how EVERYTHING had to be done with the most precision humanly possible. Live & Learn 
   

[Dannyboy53]

That's a neat story xtriggerman! An Officer I worked with years ago picked up a S&W Model 10 dirt cheap, after shooting it Jesse decided he could shoot around corners with it. We went in to see the Dept Armorer (Larry) and he told Jesse that the pistol could be fixed easily and quickly. Larry turned to his work bench, picked up a hammer (non-metal) and struck the barrel about twice. Looking at Jesse I thought he was going to have a stroke!  After firing the pistol 3 or 4 times Larry went back to the table and repeated the procedure. Jesse never was quite the same after that but that old .38 Special shot as well as the day it as made!

Greatguns I'm glad this project is turning out in your favor, sometimes gun repair is merely a simple procedure like the use of a hammer or a press!

[Greatguns]

Nice work on barrel bending GG. Its really just a lot of common sense & understanding basic soft metal properties & you'v got that nailed! I like using soft pine also on mid point pressure since it gives to conform to the barrel OD some what. I actually love the challenge of bending barrels back straight! I had a trap shooter once have me bend his Rem 1100 barrel to a different point of aim several different times before he finally realized he was just a lousy shot with that gun!
  My introduction to barrel bending started in 1981. I started working for Auto Ordnance of West Hurley that spring and was put on the Thompson semi and SMG assembly line. Soon I was shown how they wanted to do customer returns and one of the common issues for the fixed sight Tommies was point of aim grouping. So the floor manager (Tom Casey) walked me back to the Numrich Arms shooting range with a "point of aim" issue gun, a big flat head screw driver and a few boxes of our reloads. Being freash out of Gunsmithing school, I couldn't figure out how in the hell was he going to fix a gun that's shooting 6-8" out at 50 yards with a freakin flat head screw driver. He wasn't about to tell me either.... it was all about "show you" how to do it.
  So with a target up at 50 and shooting off the table, customer complaint was verified. Then Tom takes the big screw driver and removes the forend and butt stock. Walks over to a big cut pine tree log that's standing up on end and holding the big long end of the receiver in both hands like a base ball bat, looks it over a bit standing over the stump and suddenly swings the tommy barreled receiver up over his head and brings the barrel down hard onto the edge of the pine stump.   He turns to me and says don't worry about the wood if it gets stuck in the barrel fins.... you clean that out latter.  WTF   .  Well it took a few whacks of the stump to point the muzzle into the sight point of aim but that's the way they were doing it. The wood had to be removed to keep from spliting the butt stock at the 2 attaching screws. This all came as a shock to me because of how in school it was all about how EVERYTHING had to be done with the most precision humanly possible. Live & Learn 
 

Hahahaha, I love it XT. You make my method sound hi-tech. And here I was worried when I started this thread of getting re-buffed.

[xtriggerman]

That's a neat story xtriggerman! An Officer I worked with years ago picked up a S&W Model 10 dirt cheap, after shooting it Jesse decided he could shoot around corners with it. We went in to see the Dept Armorer (Larry) and he told Jesse that the pistol could be fixed easily and quickly. Larry turned to his work bench, picked up a hammer (non-metal) and struck the barrel about twice. Looking at Jesse I thought he was going to have a stroke!  After firing the pistol 3 or 4 times Larry went back to the table and repeated the procedure. Jesse never was quite the same after that but that old .38 Special shot as well as the day it as made!

Greatguns I'm glad this project is turning out in your favor, sometimes gun repair is merely a simple procedure like the use of a hammer or a press!

  Yeah 53, Iv heard about the revolver barrel beatings but never did one myself. Its hard to get my head around the fact that the "soft" fat barrel will bend before the skinny top strap and crane cut will and even the barrel shank that screws into the frame makes the barrel there at the shoulder skinny as hell!  It just defies imagination that a lead hammer over a lead block is not going to do damage to those skinny ass parts I guess that's what heat treat for strength is all about.
  Hey GG, I didn't know you were a front end guy and probably a better one than the "best frame/front end specialists" in southern NY!!
  I gotta tell you how I got screwed over once. about 14 years ago I had a 97 Chevy Tahoe 2 door 6.5 Diesel that I had to put in a ditch culvert pipe or else slide out past a stop sign into traffic. So the drivers wheel A frame bent back and up into the wheel well. Nearly 5K in damage. The Frame shop straightened everything and replaced all but the sway bar. The truck handled like crap but only on right hand turns. The idiots jacked the new torsion bar adjustment all around until it was a better right hand turner but now worse when turning left...... I complained again to my body shop guy and told him I thought the sway bar might be twisted. He said the frame shop said that cant be because they are too tuff to twist. I forced the body shop to unhook both ends and measure their drop and lo and behold a freaking 4 inch difference! Big pissin match over who would replace it since the insurance $$$ was long gone by then. I sold the truck. Didn't really want to but I had had it with incompetence at that point. Cant believe Im still ticked off over that! I wish I had taken it to you.... I'd still have that ol oil burner....

[Greatguns]

That's a neat story xtriggerman! An Officer I worked with years ago picked up a S&W Model 10 dirt cheap, after shooting it Jesse decided he could shoot around corners with it. We went in to see the Dept Armorer (Larry) and he told Jesse that the pistol could be fixed easily and quickly. Larry turned to his work bench, picked up a hammer (non-metal) and struck the barrel about twice. Looking at Jesse I thought he was going to have a stroke!  After firing the pistol 3 or 4 times Larry went back to the table and repeated the procedure. Jesse never was quite the same after that but that old .38 Special shot as well as the day it as made!

Greatguns I'm glad this project is turning out in your favor, sometimes gun repair is merely a simple procedure like the use of a hammer or a press!

  Yeah 53, Iv heard about the revolver barrel beatings but never did one myself. Its hard to get my head around the fact that the "soft" fat barrel will bend before the skinny top strap and crane cut will and even the barrel shank that screws into the frame makes the barrel there at the shoulder skinny as hell!  It just defies imagination that a lead hammer over a lead block is not going to do damage to those skinny ass parts I guess that's what heat treat for strength is all about.
  Hey GG, I didn't know you were a front end guy and probably a better one than the "best frame/front end specialists" in southern NY!!
  I gotta tell you how I got screwed over once. about 14 years ago I had a 97 Chevy Tahoe 2 door 6.5 Diesel that I had to put in a ditch culvert pipe or else slide out past a stop sign into traffic. So the drivers wheel A frame bent back and up into the wheel well. Nearly 5K in damage. The Frame shop straightened everything and replaced all but the sway bar. The truck handled like crap but only on right hand turns. The idiots jacked the new torsion bar adjustment all around until it was a better right hand turner but now worse when turning left...... I complained again to my body shop guy and told him I thought the sway bar might be twisted. He said the frame shop said that cant be because they are too tuff to twist. I forced the body shop to unhook both ends and measure their drop and lo and behold a freaking 4 inch difference! Big pissin match over who would replace it since the insurance $$$ was long gone by then. I sold the truck. Didn't really want to but I had had it with incompetence at that point. Cant believe Im still ticked off over that! I wish I had taken it to you.... I'd still have that ol oil burner....

Bad thing is, the shop probably billed for the part then didn't put it on and pocketed the money. All too common.

One thing I learned quick with cars, working on front ends and such. Metal, regardless of strength and hardness, with 2 fixed connection points will either bend twist or break upon impact. PERIOD

[jeepguy]

Not to hijack, but if you still have the sight and bayonet I would be interested.  I am gathering parts for a restoration now.

[Greatguns]

Not to hijack, but if you still have the sight and bayonet I would be interested.  I am gathering parts for a restoration now.

Sorry JG, everything I took off has long since been sold.

[jeepguy]

It was worth a try, carry on.

[Greatguns]

Latched onto a 5 digit Chinese rifle in a trade yesterday and it was housed in an M59/66 beech wood stock that was pretty clean, soooooo......



Thinking I may refinish it in a dark Kona stain with 5-6 layers of satin tung oil. Thoughts?

Oh, BTW, the Tapco HG is probably going away. I couldn't find an OEM gas tube so ended up buying the Tapco along with a piston from Copperhead29 off Ebay. May end up with a UTG quad-rail, but not sure I want it that heavy. That would give it the SOCOM look though, lol.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Kewl....  do it!   I like dark stocks.

[Greatguns]

Well, I ended up not getting the P50 front sight, but instead got a used Magwedge rail and a scope from Tornfeather on the SKSboards. Opted to go a different route on the stock(for now) and finally got to the range to test it out.
Here are a couple of pics. One of the rifle in its current configuration and one of the last sight in grouping. I only went to 25 yds because it wasn't cycling, but was still quite happy with the 1 1/8" 5 shot group. That was using Tula FMJ. Got the cycling figured out now and am anxiously awaiting a new gas valve from Murrays. Will take it out again after that arrives so I can check both the cycling and shoot it out to 50 then 100 yds to see if it is walking to the right or not. If it maintains good groups but walks right then I have to tweak the barrel a little bit more. If POI stays with my current POA then I am finished with it.