Spring number four is installed and so far holding.  It's made it through several cycles of the hammer and while a little stiff, is working well.  My new method of tempering springs will now be using lead.  I held the lead temp at just around 630 and soaked the spring for 20 minutes.  Once I know for sure it will be okay in a few days, I will thin it so the hammer is a little easier to work.
Bob

Thanks cudog.  It was tough enough holding that temp a few minutes.  I’ve always had good luck with springs until this one.  I’m thinking by the end of the year I will have a small heat treat oven.  I have other uses for it anyway so it would be nice to have.
Bob

The last couple days I've been playing around with the lever and lever spring.  Of course I needed to design and make the spring.  In the picture the spring is not attached to the barrel but the false barrel stub instead.  I needed to now exactly where the spring was to be positioned and this gave me a good test without messing up the barrel.  Now that I know where the screw goes it an easy transition to the barrel.  Parts are just rough finished but the lever is closing and holding closed.  When closing it snaps shut with a nice firm snap. The lever profile is also starting to take shape now, although I think it looks a bit heavy, so when I start really fine tuning the function and look of the different parts, I will correct this.  Next it will get chambered and test fired.
The only major thing left, after that, is the lever pin, the sharps style with the lever attached on the right side that rotate to remove the pin.  Not sure how I'm going to make that yet.
Bob

I finally got to a point I felt comfortable cutting away the excess metal on the tangs.  In the first picture I have it mounted on the rotary table which just help me line up the angle of the top tang.  Using an end mill, I just cut the tang loose on the line I was wanting.

In the second photo the excess is gone.   
The frame, the way it sits here with no parts installed, weighs 13.2 ounces.

The last photo shows a comparison between the Sharps Pistol Rifle action and a Stevens 44 action.
Bob

The gun is now chambered and the extractor fitted.  It was a bit tight around the chamber for loading an actual shell.  I had to remove some metal from the front of the breech block and the front of the loading trough.  This didn't really surprise me because I wasn't sure where things would end up after the chambering and I had already planned on lowering the breech block anyway.  I chambered it in 25-20ss and I think this is the largest shell rim I would try to fit to this frame.  A 22 long rifle would have been a smarter choice but I already have several guns already in 22 lr and wanted something different. 

I fired 12 primed shells while it was still in the lathe for chambering and am pleased with the primer strike, especially since the firing pin angle is setting at 24 degrees, and it fired everyone on the first strike.  The transfer bar is also working very nicely so far.

I did a live fire at the range yesterday, 10 rounds and no problems, except extraction was a bit cumbersome, but when I get the breech block and loading trough opened up I believe it will be much easier.

Photo of the firing pin strike on the primers.
Bob

I now have the frame opened up a little more in the cartridge trough area.  I deepened it at the front .050 to 0 at the rear and widened it .045. It's much easier to get the shell in and extraction works much better.  Put ten more rounds through it and everything worked good.

Functionally the action is working, although it still needs quite bit of refinement.   

But, I decided to start contouring the frame anyway, getting it to the rough final shape.  I started on top, at the front, shaping the transition between the barrel and back into the frame.  Here are four pictures as it progressed on the right side.  Sorry about the white fuzzy stuff, it's the chalk that I use on my files!  Next I'll move to the other side and get it the same shape as this side, then refine both later in the final shaping.  But, this is really close to being the finished shape.  Although, now that I look closer at the pictures, I do see some work that needs done around the top edge.   
I take these pictures and it's surprising how ofter I see things I need to do different or change when looking at them.
Bob

Bob,
That is really coming along!   

I took a break from a damaged high wall I've been trying to revive and dove down a deep crevasse - and I'm still falling.  I'm doing an action with English origins, a Webley with a round block, it's the second one of these round block actions I've tackled.  Not going to admit that is a favorite nor one I despise - the jury is still out.  I am real happy you kept pushing on this.  Thanks for sharing.
Greg