Jeff686 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Was it really case hardened (surface only), or just hard steel (tool steel)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Jeff686> It is case hardened. The only way you can really phase it is to use a stone dremel bit to grind away the metal. The only drill bit that was able to make a dent in it was a carbon steel version. But even that would instantly get dulled and have to be replaced. I had to feed about $40 worth of drill and dremel bits to it before I got it done. Like I said before, if I knew back then how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be I would have figured out a different solution. It would have been easier for me to just take the part over to my friends machine shop and have him make a copy of it out of tool steel with the extended mag release built in. Hopefully Henning will start making one that is adjustable. It would be sweet if he made one that you could not only adjust the mag release button hight and location, but also allow you to adjust the spring tension with a set screw on the same side as the button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Wow! That mag release is SO HARD! I tried to drill and tap mine this week. I bought a couple of cobalt bits, and thought those would be hard enough. They barely put a dent in it!! Why is it so hard? Is there a reason? Other guns I have don't have such hard steel mag releases. I bought a MAPP torch yesterday. I'm going to anneal that sucker over night this weekend. Those cobalt bits should go through it like butter after that. I'll harden it again by quenching in oil then tempering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMuffin Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I bought a MAPP torch yesterday. I'm going to anneal that sucker over night this weekend. Those cobalt bits should go through it like butter after that. I'll harden it again by quenching in oil then tempering. Please let us know how that works out for you. Details to replicate the tempering process would be great too if it works out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 I don't know everything about metal, but I believe its so hard to work with because it has been case hardened. The only way I was able to make head way on removing the metal was to grind it away with a stone dremel bit. Then finised it up with cobalt drill bits but it still made short work of those bits. I can see why they would harden it so much given that the mag catch hook is pretty small and if it wasnt really hard it would easily get bent or deformed by slamming mags into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I think this was posted on another thread but for those that haven't see it..... http://www.ericgrauffel.net/shop/images/ex...mag_release.jpg Maybe Henning can get these into the US. I understand they require trimming of the LH grip to fit, but for those wanting an extended mag release it is an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckle Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I asked henning about the extended mag release earlier this weak, don't quote me on this but from what I remember him saying is that its not worth getting, or maybe he has a plan for making one later on down the road. As for drilling out the factory mag release an option to try would be annealing the metal. I would also try and find a drill press to use, drilling it out by hand is about 10 times harder than with a drill press, either way use lots of oil or you will wear out the bit in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I bought a MAPP torch yesterday. I'm going to anneal that sucker over night this weekend. Those cobalt bits should go through it like butter after that. I'll harden it again by quenching in oil then tempering. Please let us know how that works out for you. Details to replicate the tempering process would be great too if it works out. Thanks! Well, annealing went fine, but didn't soften like butter. The cobalt bits worked OK after annealing. The biggest problem was that I used a lot of pressure on the drill press, and the hole did a little wandering to one side. That probably made tapping it more difficult. I used a very hard tap from the industrial supply store and went extremely slow, a few degrees at a time, then backed out a quarter turn, then back in again. The metal was still very hard. I used the Arrendondo extended release button (4-40 threads) and it looked good. I decided it was still plenty hard, and I wasn't going to harden or temper it. However, after the annealing, it was very dirty and messy. I was going to clean it up with a wire brush and then buffing pad in my dremel. Unforunately, I put it in the vice crooked, then used too much pressure... snap, right at the thin part. I ordered the extended version from Eric Grauffel as a replacement. It had some problems, but he is helping me work them out. I'll post more on that when I get it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnsyk Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I had one of those "extended" ones which all they do is go back. Never liked it, very easy to bump it. I've always welded on mine to make it bigger. btw. I'm considering making a 40% lighter mag release spring which will help a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The only good way to drill a hole in hard steel is with a solid carbide spade or straight flute drill. The spade drill is the strongest one. Do not use oil! Run it dry. Then if you need to tap the hole, anneal it and the sides of the hole will get annealed, not just the top surface. Use oil to tap with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 btw. I'm considering making a 40% lighter mag release spring which will help a lot. Yeah, I'm thinking that would be the way to go unless you have small hands. Then you don't have to worry about dropping the mag on table starts or a big release gouging your hand. My......oops, I mean Leslie's CZ TS has a mag release that looks like a kickstand. If it wasn't made of depleted uranium I would take about half the length off. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) btw. I'm considering making a 40% lighter mag release spring which will help a lot. Yeah, I'm thinking that would be the way to go unless you have small hands. Then you don't have to worry about dropping the mag on table starts or a big release gouging your hand. My......oops, I mean Leslie's CZ TS has a mag release that looks like a kickstand. If it wasn't made of depleted uranium I would take about half the length off. . Yea, I'm one of those guys with the small hand. I have to rotate the grip in my hand to reach the release. I installed the extended release, and added an extra button to it, and it fit my hand perfect. However, I'm still working to get it functional. More on that later when it is done. As far as the low power spring, I'm in. I was going to buy a bunch of regular strength springs and start clipping coils. The problem with that is two fold; they are $10 each, and you don't know you've gone too far until you've gone too far. You'll need at lease two (one to experiment with, and one to actually modify for shooting). I'm using a sidewinder on the same side, so I'm not worried about the table starts. However, with my 1911 with a lightened release, I went too light at first, and was bumping the release with my weak hand. Hey toolguy! Where can I buy the carbide spade bits? I need a #43 (4-40) ?? Edited February 3, 2009 by Jeff686 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 mscdirect.com. #76552538 $14.42 each #43 straight flute drill .089" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) I started thinking about Henning making a 40% strength spring for the magazine release. Then I started thinking about the shortcomings of the current factory release (hardness, location, and size) and the aftermarket extended release (doesn't work yet for me). Maybe I'd designing something that is not needed or wanted, but the magazine release really bothers me, and I really want a good solution. So, I came up with my own design ideas. Please let me know what you think. Feedback welcome. Understand that the drawings are not meant to be blueprints, so the dimensions might be off, or I might be missing a small feature somewhere. Here are some of the features: 1. Slotted hole for plunger. This is intended to provide more lateral strength over the factory half-moon cut. Additionally, it is smaller in size, so the plunger bushing won't slide down into the hole and cause binding (problem with my aftermarket extended release). 2. Strong side spring/pin layout. In the factory design, you have to remove the trigger and plunger to get to the spring. The little pin and spring can fly across the room. Assembly requires a punch or small allen wrench to compress the pin/spring so the plunger can be pushed into place. On my design, the spring and pin can be installed from the strong side after the plunger is installed. The spring is held by a set screw, and the tension of the magazine release can be adjusted by changing the depth of the set screw. Now that I think about it, I should make that hole go all the way to the other side, so you could still assemble/disassemble in the traditional manner, once you set the tension. 3. Modular button size/height. By using spacers and several different button sizes, you can customize the feel and reach of the release to fit your hand better. Edited February 4, 2009 by Jeff686 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMuffin Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Maybe I'd designing something that is not needed or wanted, but the magazine release really bothers me, and I really want a good solution.So, I came up with my own design ideas. Please let me know what you think. Feedback welcome. Understand that the drawings are not meant to be blueprints, so the dimensions might be off, or I might be missing a small feature somewhere. I'll take one, when do you start shipping Seriously, looks great. I'm not enough of an engineer or a Tanfoglio expert (yet) to comment otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgerunnr Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I like the ability to adjust the tension and length to suit me. I'll take one too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 I was thinking about doing something just like that. Get-r-done!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ks-shooter Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I started thinking about Henning making a 40% strength spring for the magazine release. Then I started thinking about the shortcomings of the current 1. Slotted hole for plunger. This is intended to provide more lateral strength over the factory half-moon cut. Additionally, it is smaller in size, so the plunger bushing won't slide down into the hole and cause binding (problem with my aftermarket extended release). 2. Strong side spring/pin layout. In the factory design, you have to remove the trigger and plunger to get to the spring. The little pin and spring can fly across the room. Assembly requires a punch or small allen wrench to compress the pin/spring so the plunger can be pushed into place. On my design, the spring and pin can be installed from the strong side after the plunger is installed. The spring is held by a set screw, and the tension of the magazine release can be adjusted by changing the depth of the set screw. Now that I think about it, I should make that hole go all the way to the other side, so you could still assemble/disassemble in the traditional manner, once you set the tension. 3. Modular button size/height. By using spacers and several different button sizes, you can customize the feel and reach of the release to fit your hand better. THIS GUY IS GOOD! NICE DESIGN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks for the great feedback. Unfortunately, I may execl in my imagination, but lack for mechanical fabrication skills. Plus, I only have a drill press and dremel. I was hoping to pass my ideas to someone willing and able to make them happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-mishka Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Resurrecting this. Chalee, do you still have pics of you your modified mag release? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-mishka Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thank your very much, looks very functional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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