Hello everyone, for awhile now I have been fascinated by the Sharps Borchardt action. It is a goal of mine to own one someday but the price is somewhat prohibitive. Considering that I am a young guy with more time than money, I have been considering the crazy idea of building one. I would like to find drawings to study to determine how ridiculous of an idea this is. I have been searching for a source for machinist drawings of this action and the best I can come up with is a rumor that they can be found in the ASSRA archives. I have attempted to find them (maybe I’m doing it wrong) and I have been unable to. Can anyone here assist me with finding these drawings?

Not a crazy idea!  Call them, it shows they have drawings.

Pictures show the path.

Thank you for all the replies. LRF, I sent you a PM. 

Bobw, thank you for the pictures. I was trying to search on the librarything website but I missed that line on the Archives page. 

Can anyone point to any threads detailing a build of one of these rifles?

Dealdan, that is a great thread that Bobw pointed you to. Notice that it ended 8 years ago. Also notice that someone said that at some point you will need a factory one for reference and one of BRC's would be a great start which incorporates current techniques.

I had found that thread and I was disappointed to see that apparently it had never been completed. It is still very helpful though. 

I have thought about watching for a Borchardt action to buy and measure but as I said in my original post, they are rather expensive. And a BRC action is even more than an antique one by a long shot. 

I have seen that BRC sells parts so, one thought I had was to make the receiver and the breech block, and buy the rest of the parts from them to make the project a bit more attainable

I just started down this path myself. I got really lucky and found a member that had a set of castings, a bunch of pictures, and a magnitude of knowledge. I have some photos and stuff I would be more than happy to share with you. Just so you can see what came with my parts kit and what doesn’t. The sharps castings from storie all have a Big dam in front of the mortises and two large casting lugs that must be removed. I had a place or two that needed a touch up with a little weld. So that’s my first plan of action. Feel free to pm me.

LRF, I am a mechanical engineer that enjoys working on many mechanical devices ranging from engines, to clocks, to guns. My dad is a very experienced machinist that owns a machine shop with several cnc machines that I am able to use. I have never built a firearm but I have had a couple firearm related projects. On was restoring a Remington model 12C .22 and a current ongoing one is building a .22 hornet martini cadet. I think if I can figure out how to make a square hole, I could attempt this project.

dealdan wrote on Sep 9^th, 2025 at 8:58pm:

Sounds like you are pretty well positioned to take on this project.
Also read the thread Bobw referenced as there is quite a lot of good construction manufacturing ideas in there plus how a couple of unique challenges were over come by basically stepping back to "old-school", 1870ish technology to machine the shape. Bob does a great job of explaining his work.
Let me know when the prints arrive.