Castable DLT

[Tig70[TK]]

After making my first DLT I've decided to have a go at making a castable version.  I'm making this one out of Whitewood as the grain is less evident once painted.  I've used the refrence pics at the top of this forum page as I'm trying to get this as close as possible with the limitation of the wood and my tools. I will be making it in several bits as it is too complex to cast in one piece. I have seen a few videos for mould making and casting and it doesn't look too complex but if there is anyone with experience any advice would be very welcome . Here is the first part primed ready for moulding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Griffin-X[TK]]

Looks very nice, crisp, and clean!

[Flykiller[TK]]

Very nice

 

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[Locitus[Admin]]

Your wood working skills are on point it seems.

[Tig70[TK]]

Cheers Guys . Here is todays work on the next bit ,did a bit of cheating by using copper rivet rather than making wooden ones. The block covering the ammo port and the little block above with the pattern in it, will be made seperate .I will also be making the saftey catch as a seperate item to be fitted as I dont think this could be cast in place. Cheers for looking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeanTX]

That is slick.

 

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[Lichtbringer]

Wow, most impressive. 

[Wargasm[TK]]

Wow looking awesome! Will be watching this build ^^

[ISBEAR[501st]]

Il be watching this thread, Keep up the good work!

 

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[Tig70[TK]]

Been a while as works been keeping me busy , so here's a few more new bits Iv'e got done.

First the rear sight , the only thing is I couldn't get the numbering right as I dont have the right punches ,but I think it still looks ok ,also made the site so it can be laid flat or raised and the range finder can slide up and down the sight ,

 

 

 

 

 

The mid section I made in two the same as the real MG34 as its the only way I could get the seam on the connection right  ,which also allow me to mould the smaller section with the maid body and the rest of the mid section seperate as I think they will need to be moulded different ways .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The two centre mount ring on the barrel will need to also be cast seperate to get the small circular channel on the inside .

 

 

Also discovered that 1" 1/4 Solvent waste pipe has the exact OD of 1"1/2 push fit waste pipe ID so Im thinking of casting 1"1/2 in the mid section and the barrel which is 1"1/4 will fit perfect ,and use the two small screws in front of the mid mounting point to secure , or thats how it go's in my head to get my barrel conection ,

 

Almost forgot the little cut out on the stock as well .

Any thing else you can see Iv'e missed please let me know , two heads are better than one

Cheers Andy

 

[rl180]

Wow.  Amazing work.

[magni[TK]]

Well done! Great attention to detail.

[Tig70[TK]]

Cheers Guys .

Now for the muzzel parts .

Iv'e found a high density PVC pipe to make the inner barrel with which is 20.5 mm O/D or 13/16th" so bored my muzzel parts to fit this all the way through the barrel, so you can see it once the outer barrel has all the cooling holes drilled ,and it  should also stiffen up the hole thing nicely .the flash surrpressers ID is th same as the PVC inner barrels I/D so once assembled you can look down a continues barrel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not made the front sights yet but maked centres for the mount pins so they can be drilled once cast and be moverable , also trying to make the bipod mount so this can swivel as the original by machining the circular groove where the white ABS pipe fits . and will drill the holes in the outer barrel when I get to putting it together .

 

 

 

 

[TK8776 jgarrettg]

Nice work Andy.  I can't wait to see this finish out.  

[rl180]

Looking great Andy, do you plan on casting the bi-pod assembly as well? 

[Tig70[TK]]

Yeah Rich that is the plan but i am a bit concerned about how strong it will end up , so I wil continue and see what happens

[Tig70[TK]]

Got to say the Anti Aircraft sight was a bit of trouble to make as a few of the bits where to small to use the machines. so after many hours of going back to some small hand tool, fine files and careful sanding I think Iv'e managed to get the main details , and as carefull as I could be some dont look quite as sharp as when there machined .but as mate said when your 3ft away you cant see it .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rl180]

Looks really good.  You have detailed lines I haven't seen/noticed before.  Looking at your part you can tell its really 2 parts hinged together which is really cool.

 

The two parts are actually external to barrel but looks like you incorporated or modified to be insert into your external barrel jacket instead of clamping around the barrel or sliding over it?  I'm curious why you went that way.

 

Just in case you haven't seen this picture before:

 

Looking forward to your next set of pictures!

[Tig70[TK]]

Cheers Rich <br>

Yeah used that pic as one of my references . The idea of doing this way is that the outer barrel fits over the shoulder on this part ,the inner barrel passes through and is stiff enough to carry the outer ,when the outer and inner are glued to all the barrel parts it should also add even more structure . I've also made a bush to fit at the mid section end , I'll post some pics of my idea .

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Looking good Andy, going to have to keep an eye on this one!

[rl180]

Cheers Rich <br>

Yeah used that pic as one of my references . The idea of doing this way is that the outer barrel fits over the shoulder on this part ,the inner barrel passes through and is stiff enough to carry the outer ,when the outer and inner are glued to all the barrel parts it should also add even more structure . I've also made a bush to fit at the mid section end , I'll post some pics of my idea .

 

Got ya.  If I had to build another DLT I would make the barrel one piece.  I don't see an advantage of making it from 2 parts if you just have to glue them together and worry about making sure the holes line up. Worry about this being a weak point so you end up adding extra weight with parts to reinforce the connection, etc. Something to think about.

[Tig70[TK]]

Yes Rich thats what I did with my first build ( on here under, New Members Self Build )but also used ally rod for the inner barrel for extra strenght with that one , and a bush under the anti aircraft sight as well . I was worried about the 1"1/4 being weak with all the holes in it and 1"1/4 can sag over time ,  It also more differcult to bend shorter length of pipe , you also end up with a sort of triangulation with the inner and outer barrels as the outer would either need to streach on one side or compress on the other if you where to try to bend it . But it not too late I could still machine the the anti aircraft sight out on this one . Something to think about indeed

Edited November 10, 2016 by Tig70

[Tig70[TK]]

Started making the Bi Pod and am thinking that I may stick to a fixed position as very complex to get all the bits to move and be strong enough .

 

 

 

Then realised I need to finish the part on the main gun so made the catch on the end of the feed cover .Managed to get it down to 2.5mm or 3/32ths" thick but it starts getting a bit fragile to machine .Tried using a knurling tool on a spare bit of wood to cut pattern in the side but it only compressed the wood with very little pattern . So after a couple of hours and a steady hand cut them in by hand with a small triangular file ,its a bit wider gauge than the oringinal but considering hand cut pretty happy.

 

 

 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Bloody hell mate that hand file work looks machined. Going to have to have a look at these at a troop once you're done!

[Tig70[TK]]

Not had much chance to get things done works been taking over my evening as well , but did make the cocking pin mechanism last night decided to make this out of plastic as being pretty thin would be very weak in wood . manadage to use a knurling tool to cut pattern in cocking pin but took about 8 go's to get it ok ,and cheated with the good old cooper rivets as well