Rossi Rifleman

I only had 2 options when it was down to refinishing the stock on my .357 RH. Cut out the center of the forearm or make a new mag band. There was no way I was going to use a force multiplier to sqeeze it back together once I was refinished.
After some careful measurements, taking stock of the tools and material I was going to need, I figured I was only lacking 4 items. 2 drill bits, 1 chunk of steel, and a machine screw. Total cost less than $35. 1.5" x .5" x 5' Smallest I could find $8 and change. As long as the drill bits held out I could make a lot of mistakes. Cleaned and trued it up with 80 grit on the combo belt/disc sander. Time for the drill press. I decided to go with a 8-32 for the cross screw so I used a 29 bit. that is a 6-32 in the pic. 35/64 for the mag tube, 16.5 mm bit for the barrel. Scribed out lines for a rough cut and cut it with the porta band and dremel. Sanded it down by hand to 600 grit and then hit it with the perma blue.

Other than the cross screw being... a bit gaudy.... NICE JOB!

Gaudy??? What is this "gaudy" thing you speak of? Oh. That.
Well Pimp My Ranch Hand!!!

Get the screw to about 500 degrees in your gas grille if you have one then dump it in oil. I did that with an AK sight and it turned out well. That's ASSuming you don't like it shiny. Nice work on the band.

Pretty good.
I think I'd have blended the corners off but it gives you a unique profile.

Looks like the screw coming through the mag end cap has been shortened to keep it from interfacing with the barrel? I was under the impression that screw should slot into the bottom of the barrel without bottoming out to help keep the mag tube resist backing out under recoil.

You are correct GasGuzzler, no butts there. My problem is that whenever I attempt something I have never, even remotely, done before I have a tendency to over analyze the situation, almost to inactivity. That being said, I know where I can borrow a heat gun with selective temp control so I can watch the color change without burning my eyebrows off.
Archer, at first I was going to radius the corners, but 1. what I call the coffin shape started to grow on me and b. it was a whole lot easier to sand the flats from 80 to 600 grit than it would have been on a curved surface that small. I'll never admit which reason swayed me more.

The mag cap screw has not been shortend. You have to realize the factory band is approx. 5/8" center to center. The new band is approx. 3/4" centerline. While I agree with your impression about the purpose of the screw, I think it is secondary or even tertiary, when you consider the clamping action of the factory band. I am using the notch in the barrel as the primary, and only considering the 16.5 mm hole is a loose fit on the barrel, holder of the mag tube. I don't think it will be an issue with the .357. I'll let you know Thur. That is when I am going to field test everything.

Failed. Barrel jumped the screw. I need to make a new one. I need to bias the screw hole about a 1/32 to 1/16 further into the barrel notch. May have to use a 41/64 bit and enlarge the hole to fit. 16.5 mm was at the large end of my acceptable hole size for the barrel. Might have to look into case hardening. I could be dealing with elongation issues with the mild steel.

Too much inertia on the mag tube?
Little or no deformation clamping from the band?

I guess filming with a high speed camera so I can see it in super slo mo would answer those questions, but I have to put that on the list of things I'll never buy. On the other hand, unless I need that 4' 10" long chunk of steel for another project, I have another 58 chances to get it right. I figure If I can't get it right by then I'm gonna give up.