While waiting on my RKS barrel to finish my Hepburn build I have been working on a Ballard kit. Got the breech blocks done but when I try to insert them from underneath they are hitting as you try to bring them to battery on the area of the angled shoulder. I know with any castings you have heavy areas of material and sometimes not enough material. Is this normal and if I need to remove material where does it come from? Certainly don't want to take any off the breech blocks so I guess it needs to come off the receiver. Wish I could do pictures but the overlap condition is about .125 I hope this makes sense. Any ideas anyone? It is one of Rodneys last order kits.


JMH

I am talking through my hat here but without a barrel, you should at least be able to fit the blocks up into the receiver to BEGIN the fitting. You certainly dont want to take anything off the tails of the blocks like you say. Nor would you want to take any off the receiver itself so wouldnt that leave the threaded tang the easiest to remove some from? And the easiest to replace if you screw it up?

Dave mentioned a discussion about fitting the breech block, I tried finding it but didn’t have any luck.  It must be imbedded in someone else’s thread.

It would help explain how the lockup works, but I’m not sure how much it would help you, since it would have been on repairing a non-working original.  I have a casting set, but have not worked on it yet, so I may not be much help.  Greg (GT) would be much better talking about setting up a new casting.  He has done many!

Don’t guess and don’t assume on this action.  Use something like Prussian blue, to see where the actual contact is, in order to diagnose what is happening.

I would suggest being certain the tail end is correct, in two ways, before going too far on the other points of contact.   

First, be-sure the rear tang is correctly installed, it can be upside down, and look correct in the area where the tail rides. If I remember correctly the drawing show it installed wrong.   

Second, make sure there is vertical clearance so the tail can more freely in the rear tang. 

If the tail is not moving freely, the bb cannot lockup properly.
Bob

I found my drawing, and I do believe the rear tang is incorrect in this drawing.  I’m pretty sure the angle should be up, making clearance for the tail to move when opening and closing the bb.

A little bit of advice for fitting, once the tang is in place - correctly- work with one half of the breech block.  You can see a little better.  making a gage breech block half, approximately 1/16" smaller in dimension is time well spent - and the barrel isn't needed to finish an action and get "Ballard snap"

Thanks everyone. All points well taken. Haven't taken any material off anywhere yet. Going to start over and take it one step at a time. Think I will use half a block and try that. I have built many from castings but the Ballard is a bit more complicated just due to how the mechanism works. By the way the tang or tail piece is threaded and installed and the receiver is threaded for a barrel. Both were done by indicating in receiver to be true in the mill so I know both are correct. Going to make a barrel stub to facilitate a two piece extractor I want to try. I do need two fastener dims though. One for the lever pin and the other for the hammer. 


JMH

Glad it worked out. The first time I had the tang off a Ballard I got it back on upside down and couldn't figure out what the heck I'd done. I thought I'd screwed it in too far, and began to try 1/2 turn at a time. First half turn it worked, and then I realized they had to be indexed correctly.

calledflyer wrote on May 31^st, 2025 at 3:57pm:


Since the tang is sort of rectangle shape at the receiver end, once the stock is on there's no way they can turn or unscrew. But most factory originals I've got show a small chisel like mark next to the thread in the receiver which I assume is to stake the tang. But they're never difficult to unthread, and I don't stake them when reassembling them.

I’ve also always found on my Ballards when the tang serial number is on top it’s correct.

I had to go look and see if Rodney's casting came with the recess on the south end for the stock or not... I couldn't remember.  Most do I think, the Ballards I've built from scratch needed some creative setup and machining to cut the oval recess with tapered sides.  Here's a pic of one setup in process.
GT

The first picture GT supplied the side walls of the receiver have a bit more thickness where my receiver has about the same amount as the second picture and has the slight bevel to them.  Without going to the shop and looking I can't remember the threat tap I used for the tang. I know it is a little larger than the first picture. Closer to the second one. The sides of my receiver were ground parallel (I checked to be sure) so I used a 6 inch angle block and securely clamped it and turned a stub that slip fit the area of the tang threads. The other end I held in the mill. This got me close then I indicated for location and bored for the tap size. Did the front for the barrel threads the same way. Worked out good. Got to make some screws to hold the block together and hammer location. Then a through hole for the lever and a screw. Thinking of a 32-20 for a caliber. Can you use a .308 bore barrel for 32-20? If not what would you recommend? Thanks for the discussion and pictures.


JMH

In my experience, on original receivers the tang is prevented from rotation by the rear plug screw for the tang sight (or the screw for the tang sight base, if one is installed).  It goes through the receiver and impinges on the tang threads, acting like a set screw.

Of course a casting set doesn't necessarily need the holes if a scope is contemplated as a sighting system.  Even if a tang sight is mounted, any size base can be accommodated on the receiver casting, located at the builder's option.  But the stock bolt hole does act as a positive stop as well.