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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Building Double Rifles & Gunsmithing
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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Double rifle top ribs
      #177781 - 28/03/11 10:02 AM

Dear fellow double rifle lovers,
I have finally located a machinist who is capable of making up one piece double rifle top ribs in the same style as those sold by our old friend Tom Ondrus. They are to be one piece with a tapered quarter rib section at the back and a concave middle with an attached front sight rib piece. To start with they will be made in one half inch widths and the proper lengths for 24 inch and 26 inch barrels.

I am having some of these currently made up for myself and I need to know if there is any interest out there from other double gunsmiths/makers. The estimated cost will be $100.00US plus $10.00 for packing and shipping in the U.S. Overseas orders will be offered on a one to one basis with shipping costs figured at the time of the sale. Orders of multiple ribs at a time will save money on shipping.

At this time the measurements are pretty well set but he will be able to adjust things like the overall length of the rib, the length of the quarter rib section, and the length of the front sight rib section. At some later date we may be able to offer other widths as well. Please P.M. me and let me know what your needs are, including any special sizes needed. We may be offering concave bottom ribs as well in the near future.

These are both items that have been hard to find and are now extremely scarce since the passing of our friend, Tom Ondrus. I am hoping to be able to fill this void in our gunbuilding supplies.

Bob H. Birdhunter50

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500Nitro
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Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #177782 - 28/03/11 10:10 AM


"Overseas orders will be offered"

Just be careful shipping items (gun parts) over $100 from the US.

Or adjust the $ value !!!

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Tallchief
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Reged: 11/12/09
Posts: 108
Loc: Colorado,USA
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: 500Nitro]
      #177785 - 28/03/11 11:19 AM

Good news, I just forwarded your post to some builders.
Thanks
TC

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Birdhunter50
.375 member


Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: 500Nitro]
      #177813 - 29/03/11 03:18 AM

500Nitro,
Good Point! I wouldn't want to get into trouble with the Government! I wouldn't want some Ultra Liberal Beaurocrat to get his panties in a twist over a piece of 1/2 inch steel two feet long! These laws are getting crazier and crazier. I guess it is just a sign of the times. Maybe I could just ship them as milled and contured Tomato stakes! Ha!
Seriously though, I'm not too enthused about shipping to other countries. It is too easy to get in trouble by inadvertantly breaking one of their strange and obscure laws. Bob H.

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Birdhunter50
.375 member


Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Tallchief]
      #177814 - 29/03/11 03:23 AM

Tallcheif,
Thanks for the assist! I am still in the trial stages of trying to figure if I want to go big time with this or not. It will depend on how much market demand there is out there. If I can sell more, I can get them made at a decent price. If not, then it may not be feasible. Just thought I would offer them here first and see what turned up in the way of orders and inquiries. Bob H.

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500Nitro
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Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #177819 - 29/03/11 06:05 AM

Quote:

500Nitro,
Good Point! I wouldn't want to get into trouble with the Government! I wouldn't want some Ultra Liberal Beaurocrat to get his panties in a twist over a piece of 1/2 inch steel two feet long! These laws are getting crazier and crazier. I guess it is just a sign of the times. Maybe I could just ship them as milled and contured Tomato stakes! Ha!
Seriously though, I'm not too enthused about shipping to other countries. It is too easy to get in trouble by inadvertantly breaking one of their strange and obscure laws. Bob H.



Bob

I hate typing posts like that, but I face the reality of it every week / month and yes, your Gov't is a PITA.

Tomato stakes sounds fine !!!

Just be creative with the description, leaving key words in but dangerous words like rifle, barrel out.



Edited by 500Nitro (29/03/11 11:29 AM)

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Ron_Vella
.333 member


Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: 500Nitro]
      #177834 - 29/03/11 11:21 AM

Bob,
Why am I always "A day late and a dollar short"? About two weeks ago I decided that I needed to build another one to fill the gap between my .303 British and my .450 #2 NE. It didn't take long to decide that a 9.3x74R was in order. Unfortunately, since the demise of our friend Tom, it has become impossible to find another supplier for rifle ribs. I drew up a plan for a top rib for 26" barrels and put my tool and die maker friend to work on machining it for me. Today I ordered a pair of barrels from McGowen. Now I find your post here. As I said, a day late. However, if your contact decides to build bottom ribs, similar to those that we were buying from Tom, I'd take two or three of them, in a heartbeat.
Best,
Ron.

PS: There are absolutely NO restrictions on importing parts like these into Canada. To avoid any BS on your end, I'd just enter "semi-machined parts" on the customs declaration, or keep the declared value under the "magic" $100 level. What is more brain-dead and useless than a bureaucrat ???

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Birdhunter50
.375 member


Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #178066 - 01/04/11 01:45 AM

Ron,
I know just what you mean about being a day late and a dollar short. It seems that problem has haunted me all my life. As far as the ribs go, I will be glad to make you up three or four for "future projects", and don't try to tell me that the 9.3X74R is going to be your last one. This building bug is addictive, I aught to know! I'm convinced that you will be doing other projects in the near future, probably sooner than you think. I wish I had bought more ribs from Tom when I first started getting them from him! That is the one piece I had nev er been able to sourch anywhere else. Bob H.

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baileybradshaw
.333 member


Reged: 21/06/08
Posts: 305
Loc: Diana, TX
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #178177 - 02/04/11 01:30 PM

I would certainly be interested. Can you post any pictures?

--------------------
www.bradshawgunandrifle.com

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Birdhunter50
.375 member


Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: baileybradshaw]
      #178235 - 03/04/11 02:54 AM

Bailey,
I don't have any pictures just yet but I will post some as soon as I have the finished product in hand and ready to ship. I checked just this morning with my machinist and he is currently working on them, but he also works full time for a wind generator factory and they keep him pretty busy. P.M. me and give me some idea of how many you can use and what lengths you need. Bob H.

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Birdhunter50
.375 member


Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: baileybradshaw]
      #178340 - 04/04/11 04:01 AM

Bailey,
You were one of the guys who asked for pictures so here's some to look at. At this point we only have these to fit 24 inch length barrels but we will be getting to the 26 inch ones as soon as possible. This rib is the right size to do 24 inch barrels if you butt the rib up against the short rib on the mono block. If you mill the short rib off back to the crossbolt extension, then these would be too short in the rear end. If we have any requests for some like that I will try and talk my machinist into making a few like that with the longer quarter rib section on them.

This one measures 22 inches long with a 5.5 inch quarter rib section and a front sight ramp area that is 1.5 inches long. The beveled section on the bottom at the rear of the rib measure 6.25 inches and the area between the front and back standing parts is beveled off at 45 degrees leaving about a 1/16 inch flat edge. You may notice that there are two "lopped off" places on the very front of this prototype rib, these will not be on production models, they was caused by a slight fault in the CNC program. This rib measures 1/2 inch wide by 3/8 inch deep. I hope this answers all questions but if not, don't be afraid to ask, and if you need something special or different, let me know and I will try to get it made up for you. Bob H.















Edited by CptCurl (13/04/11 09:31 PM)

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MagnumHunter
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Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 63
Loc: North Carolina, USA
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #178924 - 13/04/11 02:58 AM

Ok,I must be way behind as I just tried to call Tom and email him about buying a top rib. I did not realize he was no longer in business?????? I am interested in getting one for a project I am working on. How do I go about ordering one? Thanks in advance.

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Ron_Vella
.333 member


Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: MagnumHunter]
      #178927 - 13/04/11 03:42 AM

Magnumhunter,
As info, our friend Tom Ondrus passed away some time ago!

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MagnumHunter
.275 member


Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 63
Loc: North Carolina, USA
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #178929 - 13/04/11 04:36 AM

I am sorry to hear that. I had an old catalog that I finally put to use. How do I go about getting one of the ribs mentioned above?

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Ron_Vella
.333 member


Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: MagnumHunter]
      #178955 - 13/04/11 10:26 AM

I'd suggest that you send a PM to Birdhunter50.

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Ron_Vella
.333 member


Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #179034 - 14/04/11 12:02 AM

Birdhunter50,
Here's how I've approached the problem of creating top and bottom ribs:
For the top rib I bought a piece of cold-rolled, 1/2"x3/4"x26 1/2". 3/4" high may seem extreme but I've found out that it's better this way. Once the rib is final-fitted and soldered in place, you clamp the barrel assembly in the Bridgeport, with the axis of the bores exactly paralell to the bed of the machine, and mill what's required off the top of both the front sight island and the quarter rib. This way, the tops of both are exactly the same height above the centre line of the bores. There are then no problems with matching up the correct heights for front and rear iron sights, and no problem with a scope running uphill or downhill when mounted on the quarter rib. I had my friend with the Bridgeport, mill a 30 degree chamfer along two edges. I then took it home and soldered it with Force-44 to a piece of 1 1/2", thin-wall square tubing. This gave Bill a means of holding it while he milled the profiles. Last night I finished stoning out the few tooling marks and this afternoon, I'll set it up over my two-burner Coleman stove and remove it from the square tube.

For the bottom rib, I bought this piece of low-carbon, seamless tube, .065" wall thickness, and 24" long.

I also bought a piece of aluminum, 1 1/2" in diameter and 24" long. Here I'm turning it so that it's a tight drive fit inside the steel tube.

Here you see the tube with the aluminum driven inside and screws every 1/2" around the circumference at each end. I then put it between centres in my South Bend and used the carriage to scribe index lines, every 1/2" along the tube. My hope is that this will allow Bill to hold this assembly with a milling vise at both ends and then use a 60 degree cutter to slit the tube into 1/2" wide strips, with the edges already chamfered. We'll find out tomorrow how it works!


Edited by CptCurl (20/04/11 08:53 PM)

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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #179059 - 14/04/11 07:51 AM

Ron,
That's a very cool way to do the top rib. I had mentioned that to my machinist but he felt that would be too slow a way to go for a production run. I also visited with him about doing them on a magnetic chuck. That might also work , but he decided to make up a holding fixture to hold them while they are being machined. It works well with a few provisions. The fixture must fit that exact rib, that means a seperate fixture for each different size. The milling cutter can't be forced to cut too much at a time, otherwise massive warpage and failures occur.
If I had to make one up myself, I would have it soldered to another bigger piece of steel to hold in the machine. I like your idea about slicing the tubing into strips with a 60 degree cutter. Please let us all know how that works out and thanks for sharing your projects with us.
Bob

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Ron_Vella
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Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #179064 - 14/04/11 11:31 AM

Bob, I'll post some photos of the strips for the bottom ribs, once Bill finishes the slicing. I sure hope that my idea works after all of the time, money, and effort that I've put into it.

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4seventy
Sponsor


Reged: 07/05/03
Posts: 2210
Loc: Queensland Australia
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #179068 - 14/04/11 12:19 PM

Ron,
I'll also say that you have a cool way of making those ribs!
Very neat indeed.
I've always enjoyed seeing how guys like yourself come up with ways of doing different machining jobs.
Very interesting and thanks for posting the photos and description.

How far away from finished is the 9.3x74R that you are building?

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Ron_Vella
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Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: 4seventy]
      #179095 - 14/04/11 10:06 PM

4seventy,
The barrels are supposed to be ready mid-May. I'm going on Sunday to look at a BRNO ZP-47 in 16 gauge which I hope to use as the host gun. Right now I'm just trying to clean up some of the tag ends so that I'm ready to roll when all of the pieces come together. Certainly, it's at least several months down the road!

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4seventy
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Reged: 07/05/03
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Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Ron_Vella]
      #179157 - 15/04/11 04:11 PM

Ron,
Sounds good, please keep us informed as she's being created!

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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #179984 - 26/04/11 08:29 AM

I wanted to give everyone an update on these ribs. The shorter ones were delivered and have almost all been sent out. I think there may be two left. I have found another machinist to make up the longer ribs. They will be basically the same as the shorter ones, only these will be 2.5 inches longer in the quarter rib section. They will be 24.5 inches long overall. I hope to have some of them ready to ship out in the next week or two. The price is $100.00 each plus $10.00 for shipping and I can send up to four at once for the same shipping cost in the U.S.only.

As most of you know, we are just getting started in this business and there have been a few bumps along the way, but I'm convinced that we can offer you a great product at a fair price. I think all the people who ordered the short ribs were more than happy with them. We are working to get these available on a regular basis so that there won't be any more waiting for delivery. Thanks to all who ordered some of the first ones. Bob H.

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portdivers
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Reged: 28/10/09
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Loc: Vic. Australia
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #179996 - 26/04/11 01:38 PM

For overseas sales, should the cost exceed the $100 mark, peg it back and make the difference up on the postage and "handling." which are not taken into account from my understanding on the $100 ruling.

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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
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Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: portdivers]
      #180041 - 27/04/11 12:03 AM

Portdivers,
I will do that if I get any orders outside the U.S. I haven't had any requests so far from overseas builders but I did sell some to a guy in Canada. I sent them to a friend of his. Thanks for the good advice. Bob H.

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AkMike
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Reged: 19/11/05
Posts: 2576
Loc: Anchorage, Alaska
Re: Double rifle top ribs [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #180043 - 27/04/11 01:45 AM

These look good Bob!
What about having an option of building in some scope bases? That might be desired by some.

--------------------
"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; you may know that your society is doomed." Ayn Rand

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