Finally! Someone who's got their head screwed on straight!!
I kid
I completely agree Bill. Don't get me wrong, I'm very fond of the intricate design of the stop plate/dovetail but, it's as though an obvious small machining step was just flat-out missed or completely ignored altogether.
I've solicited opinion b/c I have a 28ga that's not suffered damage but if I don't take an action and do the mod..a problem's going to develop b/c the stop plate's slightly loose. I like proactive.
I've thought of two ways to approach it. The first doesn't involve modification to the ejector rods at all. A screw with a nylon tip that rides over top the ejector rods as they are and without a slot cut into them just might be enough to slow the ejectors down and avoid damage. The nicety of this concept is that the tension upon the rods would be adjustable, and so would the strength of the ejectors. I've decided against that mod though b/c it's ultimately nothing more than a band-aid and, I like good strong ejectors on a gun so equipped.
Instead, I've decided to go forward with cutting a slot into the ejector rods but I don't want to machine it with a standard e-mill because that'll leave sharp ninety-degree corners and I'm concerned that'll create a weak spot right where the ejector rods will slap up against the screw-stop that I've made, and break. I'm going to mill the slot with a ball e-mill and that will do two things for me. First, no sharp corners/weak geometry. Second, I can cut the slot along the axis of the rods and forego finishing the slot side to side which will leave me with a radiused pocket that will match the diameter of the pin at the end of my stop screw that's going through the lug. The nice thing about that is the large amount of surface area, where it counts, because the stop screw will be machined to fit the rounded end of the ejector slot perfectly, nesting into it. That will allow the use a brass screw which makes me feel much better than a hardened screw or something harder than the ejector rod material. The large amount of surface area between mating parts will ensure the brass maintains integrity w/out getting beat out of shape due to the constant pounding it'll take from the ejector springs. It should be a permanent fix and I'll feel better knowing the screw is the sacrificial component in the system while offering the greatest protection to the rods through good design. If, for some reason, the brass just doesn't hold up, I'll use some mild steel. Aluminum in a gun, no thanks.
Stay tuned..I might be making up some ejector rods from billet material by the time this projects been completed..
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