Lever Gunsmith Needed

[totallycustom]

-TC-

[John Traveler]

I will second the opinion that a Marlin M1895 barrel is of marginal thickness for cutting another dovetail for mounting sling swivel stud, rear sight, barrel band, or whatever.

I've examined several M1895 barrels and found that the dovetail cuts (especially the rear sight dovetail) produces dents on the barrel interior.  Whether this was caused by a too-thin barrel wall or an overly enthusiastic hammering of the rear sight into position, I dunno, but the dents are there. 

A Cowboy 1895 octagon barrel may or may not be thicker than the standard 1895 barrel.  I would use low temperature soft solder to attach a sling swivel stud, and insist that the sling swivel attachment point have LOTS of surface area.  The soft solder will not result in bluing discoloration like silver solder.

[totallycustom]

tc

[John Traveler]

I just examined my Marlin Cowboy M1895.  Without taking measurements, it appears that dovetail cut for holding the magazine tube mounting stud leaves the barrel wall VERY thin, probably 0.030" to0.050". 

I'm not saying the barrel should not be milled for a dovetail, just that it requires extraordinary care to not leave the barrel wall too thin.  The Marlin factory uses CNC controlled milling machines and fixtures to control this dimension.  A manual machinist will have to be extremely careful.

That picture of the barrel band sling mounting stud is for a round barrel.  It would have to be modified by milling or filing to fit your octagon barrel.  I would try for for 100% contact on the bottom four faces of the octagon barrel, or close to 1/2 square inch of contact.  Careful sweat soldering will produce a plenty strong attachment for your sling swivel stud.

I would file, fit, and scrape the contact surfaces of the stud and barrel to a blue-free light-tight fit and tin both surfaces using rosin-core solder.  Flux again, clamp in place, and apply heat to sweat the joint. Use solvent and brass brush to remove excess flux.  Correctly done, the barrel bluing is not affected.

[totallycustom]

-TC-

[John Traveler]

I've seen that type of concave-base swivel mount used on surplus Swedish rolling block rifles converted for civilian use in Sweden.  The base is about 1/4" x 1" and seems to hold up well for supporting the forward sling swivel.  At least, I've not seen or heard of any detaching in the several dozen RRB rifles I've examined.

The previous sweat soldering description would apply for either gunsmith or do-it-yourself hobbyist.  For that matter, shortening the magazine tube, installing the forward mag tube support, and sling swivel are within the capabilities of a careful workman with dovetail file, hacksaw, and propane torch.

What length do you want the magazine tube?  3/4 or flush with the fore end?

[totallycustom]

-TC-