Slot Measurement
Those of you that have purchased or are considering picking up one of
have noted that many come without sights. The rear receiver tang is
for installation of your preferred front sight. Most sight suppliers are
more recent Winchester BPCRs are identical to the Browning’s including
dovetail dimensions go to Brownells.com web site and search for
dovetails on rifles, which is something I know a little about. In general
dovetail slot: the opening and end widths, shoulder angle and depth of
axis of the barrel at the bottom of the slot, the widest fore and aft
muzzle pointing forward, is slightly wider than the left end. The
the slot is not tapered it was likely cut with a standard dovetail
and the shoulder angle. The depth of cut is determined by the
shoulders is 3/8” (0.375”) wide at the base and the angle from the
most common dovetail angle used in modern firearms.
If you check with Browning or Winchester, they will likely inform you
to a depth of 0.090”; all of which are accepted as an industry standard
some factory barrel female dovetails slots are slightly oversized on one
dovetail. In my book on the Browning BPCRs I measured several rifles
measure 0.375”, but the right opening of the Miroku/Browning
dovetails on several Miroku/Winchester BPCRs and confirmed
the width to range from 0.373” to 0.377”, confirming a slight taper.
an existing sight by drifting it out from left to right and installing it
not just measure the width of the base of the old sight with a
dovetail bases are slightly rounded on the edges, if for no other reason
narrower dimension than the female dovetail slot. A recent example is
opening width was 0.385”, but the width of the male dovetail base of
use the rear or inside measuring jaws of a caliper on the female slot.
measurement is almost impossible. So what’s the answer? I’m no
one solution is to order a wire gauge dovetail measuring tool from
006-101-000WB ) is $54.00 plus shipping. But the vast majority of
dovetails is not a common occurrence.
Another method is to make a cast of the female dovetail slot using
width of the male dovetail cast is simple. I have not used this method
proper time prior to enlarging and locking itself into the slot. If an
the dovetail is sufficiently coated with a release agent such as paste
sights in dovetails. A brass punch will work but will likely leave a thin
if the sight utilizes a setscrew to lock it into place. I use a short
that I could not remove or install.
One quick technique that works that works for me is to utilize a slightly
gauge width should taper from a dimension narrower than the slot to
a file or sandpaper. The gauge is pushed in by hand and 'wedged' into
start of the dovetail, pull it out and “gently” measure the width at the
technique will result in an adequate measurement. And don’t forget to
slot taper if any exists.
The most accurate technique is to use a couple of precision steel pins
figure below). The distance between the pins is measured with a
the pins are small enough to contact the side of the dovetails below
simplified the formula so you don’t have to figure out the cotangent of
THERE ARE NO INDUSTRY STANDARDS OR SIZES IN MAIL SLOTS. YOU MUST MEASURE ACCURATELY!
Successful purchases and installations depend entirely on accurate measurements.
One manufacturer’s “magazine” size may be another manufacturer’s “letter” size. Even our “Elite” magazine size is a different size from our “Classic Surface Mount” magazine size.
If you care about the dimension to 1 mil, there is a good chance that these errors may be significant. Then there is smoothness. Measure at the ends, middle, and quadrant points. Mar 12, 2018 Slot Cars and slot car tracks come in many sizes. The 4 most common sizes are 1/64 (Small), 1/43 (Medium), 1/32 (Large), and 1/24 (XL). The slot race takes place on a long straight length of track often scaled to a quarter-mile. How fast can slot cars go? The speed of slot cars are again based usually on a scale and this is known as “Scale MPH” so a 1:32 scale car would be measured over a distance of 1:32 of a mile. The first slot dimensioning method (a) provides the width and the distance between the end radii center points.
There is a high likelihood of dissatisfaction with inaccurate measurements.
Remove your existing mail slot and measure the width and height of the actual hole cut through your door or wall.
Only the size of the hole cut through your door or wall determines if one of our mail slots will fit.
NB. Although it is always easier to increase the size of an existing hole than decrease it …
Click here to read ways of decreasing the size of a pre-existing hole or watch the tutorials.
How To Measure
Step 1. Remove interior AND exterior face plates of existing mail slot from your door or wall
Step 2. Measure the width and height of the “actual hole cut through your door or wall” from both the interior AND the exterior sides of your door or wall and write measurements down
Step 3. Repeat measuring process to make sure your measurements are accurate as in the adage “Measure twice, cut once”
Step 4. You now have your “Cut Out Size” measurements
Slot Width Measurement
Step 5. Proceed to our “Products” page to select the appropriate mail slot for your needs
Mill T-slot Measurements
Step 6. Compare your “Cut Out Size” measurements to the “Cut Out Size” measurements of one of our products
Step 7. For optimal installation your measurements must be smaller than our product’s “Overall Frame Size“
NB. If one or both of your height or width measurements of the “actual hole cut through your door or wall” are larger than the measurements of our “Overall Frame Size”, click here for information on advanced installations.
T Slot Measurements
Click here to watch the tutorials