How To Do Melt Job?

[Joeywhat]

Is anyone here versed in performing a melt job on a steel handgun? I'm primarily concerned with the tools needed to get it done...I'm not familiar with working with steel. I'm reasonably sure I can do a good job if I have the right tools.

I'm assuming I can use my dremel. Will a flap wheel be enough? What grits are good to start and end with?

Or do the pros actually do this stuff all by hand?

[Joe R.]

NOT a Dremel! You should need to pass a background test and waiting period to buy one of them! More guns have been butchered by dremel tools...

To do a carry bevel I use several tools. Files, stones, sanding sticks and aluminum oxide paper.

[dougwg]

Is anyone here versed in performing a melt job on a steel handgun? I'm primarily concerned with the tools needed to get it done...I'm not familiar with working with steel. I'm reasonably sure I can do a good job if I have the right tools.

I'm assuming I can use my dremel. Will a flap wheel be enough? What grits are good to start and end with?

Or do the pros actually do this stuff all by hand?

sigh....Joey Joey Joey.....

bring it by the shop....

[ColdDeadHands]

don't forget to post a pic when you did it.

[interfan]

NOT a Dremel! You should need to pass a background test and waiting period to buy one of them! More guns have been butchered by dremel tools...

To do a carry bevel I use several tools. Files, stones, sanding sticks and aluminum oxide paper. A lot of patience, a steady hand, and a good eye for angles, depth, and straightness. Experience with metal work helps too.

Fixed it for you. A de-horn and carry bevel job isn't for the inexperienced. You can't easily add back any metal removed if you get the angles wrong. (Mig weld, maybe) You are much better off taking it to a good shop that does this all the time.

If you do insist on doing it yourself, the dremel is a very very bad idea. When you buy the right quality files (you need several to get the right angles), stones (you need several grades from rough to finish), and sand paper; you have reached around 80% of what a good shop will charge you.

When I was around 18, I tried it myself on an old Beretta 70. I bought some cheap files and cheap sandpaper at the hardware store. The enthusiasm of youth won out over a careful, steady hand and it was a disaster.

My dad was pissed because it was his Beretta. After the well deserved bruise subsided, he had one of his friends who had experience with gunsmithing show me how to fix the damage to the frame. We did have to replace the slide as it got the most damage, and wasn't salvageable or safe due to too much material removed.