Building Sequence ?

I have been building my RG&G gun based on the plan sequence and was wondering what everyone else was doing. As I was starting on my Box Cam I noticed that it would probably be better to make the recoil plate (48-14) first to line up the 2-56 holes in the box cam. Also is there a secret to tapping the 2-56 holes without breaking the taps? I seem to be breaking a lot of small taps and drill bits lately.

PS Here is a photo of my barrel group that is almost finished.

I have been jumping around on my build. The cam was the first part that I made because I thought it would be the hardest part to make. I now have changed that thought to the yoke being the hardest because of the silver soldering on it. Damn those thimbles :|
If you are using a rotary table or dividing head you shouldn\'t have a problem with the 2-56 holes in the recoil plate matching your box cam. I know that it seems risky to trust, but it is do-able. Just make sure your bottom dead centers are all lined up.
 I drilled my holes with the next larger size than what was called for using a #49 instead of a #50 drill for the box cam 2-56 holes so they would be easier to tap. Make sure to use cutting fluid and the best taps in my opinion are the spiral flute type that make long continuous chips like a drill bit does. You don\'t have to back them off to break the chips like a regular type of tap.
bruski

Bruski, thanks for the info. I had always heard that the box cam was the hardest part to make.  I did have some soldering problems with the yoke as some of the parts are close together and I found myself unsoldering parts that I had previously soldered if I did not watch my heat. I started on the box cam fixture today and turned the box cam to size and bored it to 2.520.  I have an extra tube in case I screw up.
Bob

Your gun looks great so far to match the beautiful carraige that you already have finished. Good luck,
bruski

Thanks Bruski. I have only been doing metal working for about 6 months but have years of woodworking experience. Since I\'m still recovering from a triple bypass I can only spend 2 -3 hours in the shop before I get tired.

Sorry to hear about your heart condition. I too am operating with a handicap as I lost my right hand and damaged my left one about 12 years ago. You guessed it, I was right handed at the time. I now use my right handed hook to pickup hot metal and it also makes a great hammer. For some reason or another, I have acomplished more creative things with my damaged left hand than when I had both.
bruski

Wow that\'s amazing Bruski. Do you have a CNC mill? I was thinking of getting one so I wouldn\'t have to crank so much.

I do have a CNC mill that I purchased used, but I am still using it in the jog mode until I figure out the cad-cam software to make parts automaticaly.
bruski

Manually written G-Code works pretty well also. If you can crank it, you can write it.

Bruski, all the code I shared before was hand written.

gary

Thanks nitewatchman, I still need to figure out how to build up the tool library also.
bruski