• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Aluminum Pusher, or how to while away the hours...

Greg B

.410
Started this little project just to see if I could. The factory part seems just fine and there have been no issues with it. But I DO love a challenge?
First I set up a piece of round stock in the machine.
Cut the profile, machined the bores and drilled, reamed & tapped the holes for the pusher rods.



Once that was done, I chucked it in the lathe and just sliced it off the spud. If I were to do it again, I'd machine the bores first, and then set it up with a fixture in the CNC. Less waste & more efficient.
 
Then up on the indexer for slotting to reduce weight.


I tried making rods from stainless steel, but they were way too heavy. Even after drilling holes 2.75" deep in them for weight reduction.


Back to the drawing board. Titanium.


Drilling deep holes again, for weight reduction, that wasn't too bad.
Threading was a pain though.


That's better.
 
Last edited:
Sorry about that last pic. Photo bucket is giving me attitude.

Anyway, bonding the rods in with RC680. Strong stuff.


Finished project.



And only a few grams heavier than the factory part. But according to William at OR3GUN, their Competition MST is about 3 grams lighter than factory, so it should even out.
 
Sweet, first one I've actually seem completed.


If it works I'll take one!!!!!
 
I've ordered a MST from OR3GUN and it should be here tomorrow.
I'm planning on getting to the range on Wednesday. That will be the final test.
In hindsight, I think I could have gotten the weight down a few more grams by chamfering the slots, and making the rods half an inch shorter where they thread into the body.
If my calculations are correct, the assembly would have been pretty much right on the weight of the factory part.
 
That is one nice, strong looking piece! I would also be interested in buying one, if you decided to sell them. Reducing the weight even more would be icing on the cake.
 
Well, still need to see if it will work.
Ideally, this should be made on a Y axis lathe with live tooling, for the most efficient production. With thoughtful programming, the body could be machined in one set up, and nearly all de-burring done on the machine. With a sub spindle, maybe even eliminate any secondary hand finishing.
The rods could be efficiently made on a screw machine, or even a chucker. Another option would be purchase titanium bolts and just cut them to length. I would have done that, but it seemed all the suppliers wanted a 50 piece minimum order.
Material wise, I'll bet the cost could be kept under $20, if the volume was there. That, of course, doesn't take machining costs into account.
Having said all that, I really have zero desire to make these. I used to manufacture performance parts for old Suzuki inline fours. And it just is too much effort. What with working a full time job as well. And that was back when I had my own CNCs. I've since sold those.
However, if anyone feels so inclined to appropriate this, go right ahead.
 
Last edited:
Well, still need to see if it will work.
Ideally, this should be made on a Y axis lathe with live tooling, for the most efficient production. With thoughtful programming, the body could be machined in one set up, and nearly all de-burring done on the machine. With a sub spindle, maybe even eliminate any secondary hand finishing.
The rods could be efficiently made on a screw machine, or even a chucker. Another option would be purchase titanium bolts and just cut them to length. I would have done that, but it seemed all the suppliers wanted a 50 piece minimum order.
Material wise, I'll bet the cost could be kept under $20, if the volume was there. That, of course, doesn't take machining costs into account.
Having said all that, I really have zero desire to make these. I used to manufacture performance parts for old Suzuki inline fours. And it just is too much effort. What with working a full time job as well. And that was back when I had my own CNCs. I've since sold those.
However, if anyone feels so inclined to appropriate this, go right ahead.


Yeppers, and... Noppers.
 
Unfortunately I have zero knowledge of machining.

No worries I really did not expect you to start mass producing these, but it never hurts to ask. ;-D
 
That is a very good looking part.

Well done.
 
Very nice work and thanks for the pics and write up. Please post how it works out.
 
With the addition of the Competition MST, the weight of the parts is actually 1g less than the factory set-up.



And it looks pretty nice installed. Kind of a pity it's all hidden under the fore end.
 
So I got out to the range yesterday. But before I went, I marked up the pusher with a sharpie so I could watch for signs of rubbing.


I'm happy to report, it ran almost flawlessly, except for one shell that had the rim ripped by the extractor.
And that one Winchester that seemed extremely bulged, almost like the bolt wasn't completely in battery.


But that ain't bad out of 150 shots.
 
After I got home, and tore the weapon down, there were indeed signs of some rubbing. Although it didn't seem to have any detrimental effect on performance.



So, I made a few slight adjustments, and will see if that stops any rubbing next time I go to the range. Probably in a couple weeks.
 
So as of now, I'm pretty happy with the gun.
I had some light strikes on the very first outing after I bought it. But a Wolff spring seems to have sorted that right out.
It was a fun project. And I had a lot of fun making it.
Thanks for all the helpful input, and I hope you all enjoyed the read. :)

Completely unrelated to the subject at hand, I did notice it seems the forward edge of my ejection port is getting kind of beat up. Anyone else have that happen?
 
Back
Top