Mounting a Fuseend 3X28 IR Compact Scope to my .20 Cal Crosman 2050

My simple red dot equipped .20 cal carbine project didn't stick.  Mostly because the red dot wasn't doing it for me.  Or, mostly because I'm weak and wanted a shiny new toy.  I was scrolling ebay for I don't know what, when I found a small 3X illuminated compact scope. 

And just like that, some 30mm dovetail rings from UTG almost finished the project.

 

 "Almost" because that front ring ate up too much real estate on the tube.  I'm not a die hard lens cap guy, but a thinner ring would hold the scope AND allow for the cap.  Of course, no one makes that.   

Off with the ring.

The set up in the milling machine was a bit tenuous.  The 1-2-3 block gets the clearance above the vise jaws.   Couldn't find a great way to hold the ring as securely as I wanted.  Lighter cuts will have to suffice.

Want to remove half of the 30mm clamping band and allow clearance for the scope cap-- but leave the two-bolt dovetail portion untouched.

And I didn't want a sharp corner at the bottom of the cut left by the endmill. 

A gage block stack representing HALF of the original ring thickness.

This went on the 1-2-3 block the ring is supported on.  Changed to a 1/4' ball mill and touched off.

Set the Z-axis to zero. 

Brought the base of the ring to zero with the ball mill.  

This gave me a radius--rather than a sharp 90 degree corner at the transition

Repeated with the flat bottomed milling cutter.  Touched off on the same gage block stack.

And re-zeroed the Z-axis.

Looks OK

Deburred and gave it a quick hit with some sand paper and a scotchbrite pad.

Ready to retouch the color on the milled surface.

And it's ready to install.

Cap-Less

 

Cap-Ped.  Good clearance and fit.

And I don't think it looks like I messed with it.  So, that's a win, right?

I have some brief thoughts about the scope I'd like to share next time around.  It won't be a product review.