Filing and stoning

[kflach]

The trigger on my Pietta 58 Remington has some sharp edges and corners at the very bottom near the trigger guard. It doesn't affect my shooting but I'm thinking I'd like to round them just a little bit so they don't scratch my fingers up when I'm handling the gun during clean up. It seems pretty straightforward, but...

I read people's posts and they talk about filing things and 'stoning' things. What's the difference?

What kind of file (or stone) should I use?

What is the basic procedure - do I need to wet the metal and then run the file along with the edge (top to bottom) or do I rub the file across the edge (side-to-side). Do I wet the metal with something afterwards? Do I need to polish the metal after working on it? Do I need to use some kind of sandpaper after filing/stoning?

My gun has a brass frame but the other parts are steel. I'm not planning on filing anything but the trigger for sure and there's one edge of the hammer that looks like it has a spur (just a little metal sticking out that leaves scratches on the inside of the hammer channel) that I might try to smooth out. Will the same file (or stone) work for any metal on the gun or do I need to use a specific type of file/stone for different parts of the gun?

I'm sure it's pretty obvious that I am a complete novice at doing anything like this. I've never worked on anything metal before, so if there's specific materials the files (or stones) should be made of or anything that needs to be bought at a specialty store of some kind, please let me know. I'm thinking this should be simple, but I'd rather ask questions and look like an idiot than not ask and screw up my gun.

Thanks!

[St. George]

Tell you what...

Head over to your local Public Library, and check out what they have on 'Gunsmithing'.

They should have a number of books, so get 'em all and read them thoroughly.

You're going to want several Hard Arkansas stones in various configurations in order to do any stoning, and you're going to be doing this by hand, and 'not' with the aid of a friendly power tool.

'Stoning' is essentiially 'burnishing' and it will polish away small burrs, without removing metal in any quantity.

'Filing' is just that - done with fine-tooth metal files developed for the purpose - and it involves metal removal.

By reading 'before' you decide to 'do' anything - you'll have a better grasp of the task at hand.

Go s-l-o-w-l-y...

Understand exactly what the bearing surface relationships are, and lay out your work neatly and do 'not' get ahead of yourself.

Be advised that brass-framed revolvers 'will' eventually stretch - so use this as your practice piece and save up for a steel framed one.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[kflach]

I just did a check on the term "bearing surface." It's defined as "the area of contact between two surfaces." I'm not talking about any area between two surfaces - just the bottom edge of the trigger itself (see the attached picture).

I'll check the library for books on gunsmithing.

Thanks!

[Montana Slim]

I routinely remove sharp edges / burrs all over on new guns. "Cowboy" guns more than others. I use a very fine stone and carefully remove them. I don't like snagging my fingers or cleaning cloths while working on them. I use a large, illuminated magnifyer, plus wear magnifier lenses to just work the edge. A few light strokes are usually enough to do the trick. The removal cannot be noticed with the naked eye. Smoothing innards and triggers require more thought & finesse.

Good luck!
SLim

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I know exactly what you are talking about. The trigger on one of my Remmies used to bother me the same way. I rounded it up a bit and now it does not bother me anymore.

First off, the difference between files and stones is exactly that. A file is made of very hard steel. They come in many variations of tooth and cut. The coarser the cut, the more metal they remove. For a really good description of different types of files and their uses, google File (tool) and take a look at what Wikipedia has to say. It is pretty informative.

Stones come in a pretty great variety too. Stones are available in a variety of hardnesses, the harder they are the less metal they remove and the better they are for final polishing. Some are natural stones quarried from the earth, some are man made products. Arkansas stones are a naturally occurring form of Novaculite from the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. They come in a variety of hardnesses. Soft Arkansas stones are good for quickly putting a cutting edge on knives. Hard Arkansas stones are for final polishing. India stones are a man made product, one uses oil to lubricate an India stone. Ceramic stones are also a man made product. Water is used as a lubricant with ceramic stones. Brownell's has a bewildering array of stones available.

Very generally speaking, removing metal with files and stones is exactly like removing wood with sandpaper. You usually start with something coarse to remove a lot of material in a hurry. Doing this leaves deep scratches in the material, so you progress to finer and finer files or stones to smooth out the scratches and leave a finer finish. What tool you start with depends on how much metal you need to remove. I keep a couple of 6" Mill Bastard files around and seldom use anything coarser when doing gun work. I usually progress through medium India stone and finish with a fine ceramic stone.

If I wanted to round off the edges you pointed to in your sketch, which is exactly what I did, I would probably remove the trigger and secure it upside down in a padded vice, so as not to scratch the part. I would very lightly round the offending sharp edges with my Mill Bastard file, then smooth the cuts up with a medium India stone and finish with a Hard Arkansas stone or a ceramic stone. Total time spent probably about five to ten minutes. Not entirely sure if your trigger is case hardened or not. If it is it will be resistant to cutting with the file, but the file may cut right through the case hardening in a few strokes. The stones will abrade away any case hardening, they will just take a little bit longer as they do not remove as much metal.

When you are finished, the surfaces you have worked on will be shiny, raw steel, you will have removed the blue. You can touch them up with a little bit of cold blue, but frankly, this usually does not last very long. I think I just left the edges on my trigger shiny, a tiny bit of oil when cleaning will help prevent rust.

[Flint]

A couple of differences, the file will remove more metal per stroke, the stone is smoother and depending on the grit, removes metal more controllably.  A definite difference is the hardness of the steel you are trying to work on, some gun parts can be as hard as, or harder than the file, so the file will not work, and actually is the part damaged.  The stone will cut a very hard steel part.