Gunsmithing Rail not laying flat on reciver

[Peter83]

Hi guys.

So this has me wondering for a long time, and would like to hear if you guys have tried the same.

I was mounting a rail for a friend a long time ago. I noticed that the rail was not laying flat on the reciver, but had a small gap in the middle.

We tried with two identical rails, and same thing. My friend told me, that another friend he had long ago tried to mount another rail for him, but could not get the rear pin used on tikka rails in, because some old factory loctite was still in the bottom of the pin hole on the reciver. He tried banging the pin in with a hammer and a punch, but the pin just started to flaten on the top, and he could not get it all the way in ( thats why i installed a new one for him ). He really used force with the hammer trying to get the pin in. The pin that he did this with was the rear one, i attached a image showing the location of the rear pin on the old rail. The front pin went in without using too much force.

The rail actually sit totally flat after the screws were tighten down to spec, the picture is taken with the screws not tighten down.

Now, the question is. Could the hammer blows with the punch trying to get the rear pin in have bend the reciver, and thats why the rail is not sitting flat? I would say, that because the force of the hammer blows was applied to the rear end of the reciver, the "bend" would appear diffrent that what is showed. But i am really not sure. The gun shoots fine, but i would really like to hear you guys opinion. We tried to measure if the rail was flat of course, but we got diffrent results depending on what object we laid it on, and i dont trust we had anything that was truly straight to measure with.

All the best, Peter.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Do you have any sort of straight edge you could place across the rail and the receiver?

What brand is the rail? I've seen some less expensive rails that are made by extrusion that were not straight.

 

[hermosabeach]

you said you had 2 rails- We tried with two identical rails

if you lie one rail upside down and set the other rail on it, do they meet up 100%?

Setting both of the mounting surfaces together will help identify if the rails are flat or if they have a slight bow from casting / machining

 

[ShtrRdy]

Good idea Hermosabeach

 

[86alaskan]

Might want to check the rail for flatness with a known good straightedge. Also check the receiver with a straight edge as well. That'll lead you to your conclusion pretty quickly. I have several tikkas and I know that something you have is fishy, all my rails lie dead flat on the top, and I've used 3 different rails on my rifles.

 

[Peter83]

Thanks for the ideas. The rail is a mountain tactical.

I will ask my friend next time i see him and try what you guys descriped.

The rail actually sit totally flat after the screws were tighten down to spec, the picture is taken with the screws not tighten down.

What about the hammering on the rear pin that wouldent go all the way in cause of hardend loctite in the bottom of the pin hole. Could that bend the reciver so it look like what showned in the picture?

 

[86alaskan]

unless you were using a 5lb sledge and also had the receiver laying on something totally solid, I doubt that you were able to bend the top of the receiver. not saying it isn't, but very unlikely. Those tikka actions only have a small ejection port for a reason, they're strnoger all around that way. I'd suspect the rail, but until checking with a straightedge, there's no telling. Post pictures when you put an edge to each suspicious part.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I really doubt you could bend the receiver by hammering on a pin.

 

[Peter83]

Thanks so much guys

 

[Primus]

Someone is about to learn the joys of bedding a rail.