TF99 Total Rebuild Project

[mcmi]

Thanks for following along guys.

A bit more info: I cut the new trigger from a chunk of scrap D2 steel. It's a bugger to work but it's hard and it'll last for a long time. After I assemble it, and test the action, tuning will require heavy rasps, bench grinders and die grinder pads at about 80 grit. I'll work that down to fine grits (400 or so) before polishing the final job. Then I'll reassemble and test it again just to be sure I have what I want.

Once that's complete, I have to disassemble again to pull the spring guide because I want to finish this rifle with a steel one. I hope to have that done tomorrow but that depends on the trigger/action tune. I could spend all day getting that right. Maybe all weekend. We'll see.

[mcmi]

Well, I have reached a milestone. Today I assembled the trigger assembly and fired a few rounds out the back window. Whoa! what a difference this new trigger makes. I hardly had to tune it. It broke nice and clean. The action is silent and totally smooth. As good as any firearm I've ever shot. I still can't believe how smooth and clean it was.

I also made a saddle bushing for the safety. It was built with thinner material and left to float around in the .25" trigger housing on it's pin. This would allow it to rock from side to side. I built a saddle bushing to wrap around it and nest it into the assembly nice and snug. That cured the rocking and it moves nice and smooth now. The contact between the safety and trigger required a quick tune to slightly break the contact edge of the trigger. Once I did that they locked and unlocked very smoothly. The action between the two is solid and smooth. When the safety is on, there is no trigger jiggle. You know the trigger is disabled because it is stuck firm. Much better than before. It had about a sixteenth of an inch of slop from the factory.

This evening I'm going to go into the shop and polish everything again for a final assembly of the trigger components and that will knock one of the big jobs off the list. Then I'll start on the new spring guide. I have also decided to replace the plastic trigger guard with an aluminum one. It's an aesthetic improvement, but a big one. What's the sense in making this thing fire like a very expensive rifle if it's still sporting flimsy plastic parts?

Here are a couple of shots:

[mcmi]

Neat, I guess this thread has a new home. Sorry I posted it in the wrong area Mod. I'll pay more attention in the future.

I made a trip to the shop tonight and polished everything for the final assembly. I hope it's the final assembly, anyway. This trigger assembly is pretty tough to get together. It requires 3 hands and 7 thumbs along with a bit of luck. The sear goes in through the main spring opening. You have to position its action spring above it and pin it into place. The trigger then has to be slid into the housing while its action spring is compressed into position under the triggers spring retainer. Then it takes 27 tries to get the trigger into position for it's pin without letting the spring slip off. Wheew!

For those of you that have never seen this assembly, here's a pic of it completely assembled:

[dave2288]

looks like it really comin along nicely!

[shadow]

Yup real soon he'll have a TF99 that they should have been pushing out of the factory in the first place hehehehe. But it's nice to take a ok shooter and bring out the best in her. Great work and more to come. Ed

[RCnMo]

Very impressive. Can't wait to see it finished with groups.

[mcmi]

I drew up the spring guide today. For those of you that want the actual dimensions in a 3d file, download it here: Guide.skp. That's a Google Sketchup drawing. If you don't have this software, get the free version here.

Here's a pic:

[dave2288]

can'w wait to see what the guns shoots like(you're gonna eventually post groups, right?)...this outta just about wrap things up, right?  this really seems like an awesome project!

[mcmi]

Yes, Dave, I can't wait to post some groups. This whole project is about creating a straight shooter out of something that should have been a straight shooter from the factory. Unfortunately, I can't post pics of the "before" because I didn't take any. Not that this rifle was bad, It grouped 2 inches at 30 yards out of the box (with crap scope mounts) and impressed me with it's potential... that's really why I started this whole thing. I hope it works out well. I'd like to see this rifle perform as well as it looks.

[dave2288]

when do you think it''ll all be together?(i'm getting anxious!)

[mcmi]

Didn't work on anything today because we were swamped at the shop. Hopefully I'll get the spring guide done tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll have a shoot after that. I'll post photographs, too! (Imagine that?)

I still need to build the trigger guard but I can work on that in parallel. In fact, I'll probably build that tomorrow afternoon regardless of what else is going on.

It should be done this week. Sorry for taking so long. I'm not a professional.

[dave2288]

can't wait to see it all done!

[mcmi]

Well guys, I got the main part of the rifle done tonight. I'm pretty stoked with the results. This thing is perfect as far as I'm concerned. The only plastic left on the entire gun is the trigger guard, and I'll get rid of that soon .

Tonight I turned the new spring guide. It's steel and it's a little heavy, but the weight compliments this rifle perfectly. It truly feels balanced now. I love the way this rifle shoulders and feels. The assembly was pretty quick and the scope mounted nicely with the new one-piece mount.

I popped off a few rounds out the kitchen window and I can not wait to get this thing outside and shoot some targets with it.

I'll do a 10, 20 and 30 yard group tomorrow and post results if I get home at a decent hour.

I hope the rifle shoots as tight as it looks and feels. This experience is unbelievable so far.

[mcmi]

Here's a shot of the new trigger and the spring guide without the plastic boot.

[RCnMo]

Well done Kev! Can't wait to see how it groups.