Space Cowboy Revolver: Rangefinder Mount Part I

With the rough cuts on the Kriss Handguard done, it was time to clean them up and begin work on the mount for the laser rangefinder.

A little sanding goes a long way.

Thanks to a combination of poor craftsmanship, masking tape as a reference line, and a freehand Dremel, the cuts on the handguard were pretty.... "custom." Some 120 grit sand paper on the random orbital sander cleaned up the cuts and helped level them out. The 120 grit should also provide some good texture for paint when it's time.

The rangefinder comes with a picatinny mount that can be attached on the bottom or either side. This provides a typical user plenty of options for mounting on top of or alongside an optic. The mount also holds the adjustment mechanisms to align the rangefinder with the gun's sights.

Space Cowboy is not a typical user.

If I use the mount on the side of the rangefinder it's too wide to fit inside the handguard. If I use it on the bottom of the rangefinder, it hangs below the bottom of the handguard. So, I needed to make our own mount.

This will be a mount eventually. I promise.

The mount has to perform two major functions: 1. hold the rangefinder securely to the handguard, and 2. allow for both vertical and horizontal adjustments. The second is much harder to design than the first. It'd be easy to simply bolt the range finder onto the Kriss handguard. Doing so in a way that allows for adjustments is a bit more challenging.

Once the holes that secure the rough-shaped mount were drilled and the mount secured to the rangefinder, I began to plan the final shape of the mount. The mount will be secured to the handguard by two large bolts in the top MLOK slot on the handguard fed through holes that I'll drill in the mount. These holes will extend straight down toward the rangefinder, allowing for vertical adjustments.

Horizontal adjustments will be done by two M4 set screws in the bottom set of tapped holes in handguard (set screws not shown in these images). Screwing these small set screws in or out will put pressure on the front or rear of the mount adjusting the rangefinder's point of aim left and right.

How the mount will fit inside the handguard.

This style of horizontal adjustment will require that the mount be more flexible than the handguard. The set screws are going to increase or decrease pressure between the mount and the handguard. I need the mount to flex, not the handguard.