Attachment 9141
This build will be based on a MDT Oryx stock. Off my mill is the
new 3" wide fore end and railed.....
Printable View
Attachment 9141
This build will be based on a MDT Oryx stock. Off my mill is the
new 3" wide fore end and railed.....
Attachment 9142
Turning a 7 lb, block of 4061 into a new flat rider butt stock. It's milled and
configured to use the original cheek riser, and butt pad. lower section can be
filled with lead shot.
Attachment 9143
Dog and pony show mock up. I installed an aluminum block inside the magazine
well. The block is used to accommodate the center screw on a PTA action.
Parts coming in weekly. Blank barrel and tuner is in house, and waiting on scope
rings for the March scope.
Nice looking work, Fuj
Thanks, Charlie....
Rifle will be used more for the short course type of matches, more specific for
UBR and the Tack Driver match's. Going to chamber it my 284-ELF wild cat I've
been developing and tweaking for the past 2 years. I have been shooting in UBR
Unlimited, so rifle weight is not a problem. The Tack Driver match's require you
to be under 22 lbs, So I have some breathing room to use a heavier barrel and
optics. As for Optics, the MarchX with the new Super ED flourite glass is something
in it's own league. I own a Vortex GE and Night Force Comp. The NF Comp has been
my go to scope. The Vortex went back in the box, and will probably sell it.
Hey Gary, this is like that last one, when you sent me these pics to post, (below.) This Chassis extension arm & Stock you mill, is this like your “patented” work..I mean, like your “calling card” design for rifles? I like it… Looks great man! You ever thought of making these to sell? Or are you more like me, just like the doing of designing, machining & building but not interested in a monetary venture. Also, just curious… did you mean 6061 Billet? I ask because 4000 series, that I’ve ever been aware of, is typically used only as filler. The suppliers I deal with don’t supply it in Billet plate or bar style. I do use 6061 quite often for many, many projects, but when I’m building something of note, I always use either 7075 or 2024 for their strength & stiffness characteristics.
Again though, I do very much like your design.
https://i.ibb.co/VV77KXg/834403-FD-1...E068-F3-F2.jpg
Actually, I think we somewhat share some aspect of design in our mind’s eye, so to speak. This was a stock I made a couple years ago on my last Chassis. Although I will say your’s is quite a bit nicer. (Parts machined & added to the buffer tube) Your’s is a
https://i.ibb.co/DghrNLK/DC9-A240-D-...BE485111-C.jpg
Dave.....This new build is is #2. First one was torn down for more machining and
tweaking. The aluminum in question is called "Bar-rectangle". Since the day's of
online supply, I've used "Speedy Metals", "Metals Depot", and this butt stock piece
came from "Online Metals" only because they had the best price and shipping at the
time. I think they go up to 3.5" thick to 12" wide. I may look at having my finalized
parts going thru a 3D printer, but there would be no plans for resale. In the meantime,
I finished a make over of my Bald Eagle rest I've used for years, and depending on
the match, I'll be using my Rod Zilla joy stick rest. I still prefer a knob turner for close in.
Attachment 9146Attachment 9147
Yes I’ve used all those in past. “Bar-Rectangle” is just a shop name for easy classification to online buyers. Bar-rectangle, Bar-square, Bar-tube, etc. It’s very likely 6061 you have. It’s the most widely used structural Aluminum. Especially in small quantities to hobbyists. It’s also the 3rd strongest, right behind 7075 & 2024, in that order.
If you haven’t checked them out, try https://www.midweststeelsupply.com in the future, if you happen to need material. While I don’t use them exclusively, more often they’ve been best price. And they don’t charge a “special fee” for cuts of smaller size.
Fuj, I don't thing those are strong enough ;)
Nice machine work. Are those linear bearings in the vertical posts of the second one?
These kinds of threads make me wish I had kept my bigger lathe, milling machine and laser. But, then I'd just wish I had a CNC. :p
Yes, they are linear bearings. As for keeping machinery....When I closed the shop
and retired, I kept a mill and a small engine lathe, I wish I would have kept the Harig
6/12 surface grinder, but was paid a premium for it. We installed an 11 horse roto-
phase in my sons garage to keep everything 3 phase. It's now play time....
I had posted this a few years back but pics were lost in the shuffle. My wild catting the
past 5 years has been based on the 284 Winchester. The "ELF" I will chambering is my
BR version. Pic shows the standard 284 then my SA284, and the shortest is my ELF.
Attachment 9148
Pretty cool.
I had my father-in-law's 12x36 and a small chinese end mill. He was Brown&Sharpe trained. A lot of his work was for Shakespeare and Bendix back in the 50's. I learned a tiny bit of what he knew. We did a lot of gun stuff before he passed. Eventually we moved to a place I couldn't keep them. Sad day for me. I used to make a lot of motorcycle parts too.
The 284 has always seemed like a nice case to work from. The little BR version is interesting.
I believe the 284 Winchester was the most highly advanced case ever made. It was released in 1963 and was so far ahead of its time. The shorter, wider case… the negligible body taper… a 35 degree shoulder! These characteristics were unheard of at the time. No wonder it wasn’t more popular. Makes me laugh when I first heard about this “revolutionary” NEW case design that Hornady developed… a shorter case, with no taper and a 30 degree shoulder! (I guess making it 35 would have been TOO obvious!:rolleyes:) What’s worse is when I see people regurgitating what they read… about this “not so new” cartridge case design that lends to better accuracy. Uhhhh… this case was made 60 years ago! 60 friggen years! Ain’t nothin’ new no mo folks…
Wild catting has been a huge hobby for me an for a good 40 years or more.
In my younger days, 6.5x55 and Schmidt and Reuben cases were the bulk
of my experimentation. I would buy model 600 Mohawk actions for $50 bucks
and start something new. My most infamous one was to go beyond an Ackley.
I took the Schmidt and Reuben case and blew it out to 45 degrees and necked
it down to .257. Even the .257 Bob could'nt keep up with it. Chucks were turned
inside out at over 300 yards when hit broadside.....Yeah, the 284 is one of those
cases that lends itself for projects. That center case in the pic is my SA284. Its
exactly the same length as the 308, 7-08, and 243 family of cartridges. With it's
35 degree shoulder and being wider, the SA284 simply dwarfs the 7-08. With the
now defunct Emron 4451, I could hit 2830 fps with the 190 gr A-tip topped out,
but acurracy node at 2805.....The ELF started out about 2 years ago. I used ruined
cases from the SA284 project. Just needed to shorten them below the damage. This
cartridge showed promise this past season, so it's getting a complete new set of
clothes.
UPS email shipping alert showed up. My rings and level should be here today or
tomorrow. Chambering is done, along with the shouldering and head spacing.
I'll spin it off so to get to work on the muzzle end. This will be a bit different for
the installation of the Ezell tuner. It's not a simple cut to shoulder and thread.
Fuj, do you make your own reamers too? Father-in-law did that once for me but I never got the urge to try it. We were working on a way to make bullet molds when he passed away.
Just wait for the “7mm Creedmoor”. It could be renamed the Creedmost! I bet it will have no problem getting those 190gr pills past 2900fps Fuj’. And do using less powder powder of course! At least that’s what many on-liners will claim.
I’m being facetious in case you’re wondering:rolleyes:
Seriously, I do like your SA284 Fuj’. If I was a Wildcatter, that’s one id look to. It’s about perfect. 308 size, but takes full advantage of its space due to the shoulder(like an Ackley). And just a tad wider than an Ackley case, but not Magnum. It’s the perfect blend of case capacity to bore diameter for long range targeting without any overbore. Bet the barrel lasts a long time vs the performance.
Not for chambers. Once I have what I'm looking for , I send out about 3 dummies and have
a reamer made. In the case of the shortened 284's, I use a .240 throat SAMMI reamer and
short step it. for the ELF though, I still have to hone in the base for a good fit. For the SA284
the SAMMI reamer is perfect. I have made reamers for pistol molds mainly .358 and heavy.
I think I still have one in one of my Kennedy's I never finished. I'll see if it's still there.
And Dave.....I have about 1400 rounds on my current Brux 30" heavy varmint. I'm pulling it'
though for an Lilja 3 groove I have an itch to test with those !90's. I like to start the season
with a fresh barrel and not have one fall off on me. For the round count, the Brux has minimal
fire cracking, and the throat is not as burned out as I have expected. I'll probably set it back,
redo the crown (every 500 rounds for me) and put it away in the safe.
The Mail man was good to me today. The 34mm Steiner target rings and Hollands
scope level are here.
Attachment 9156
I'm officially jealous :)
Roflamo
Back on track and getting a little rushed since my first match is in less than
2 weeks !! My lathe is down for a few bearing replacements, so I had good
friend, fellow shooter and gunsmith do some threading for me. On the Douglas
4 groove barrel is an Ezell PDT tuner. With this done, I'll be clearing off the bench
for the final dedicated build. Weather has been bad, so I hope to at least get my
load work done and play with the tuner at a latter date. Stay tuned. (Pun intended)
Attachment 9492
I have always wondered how well a tuner works and how you use it.
I would assume you work up a load to the vel you want and then adjust the tuner to get the node correct. True?
So, from before adjusting to tuner to getting it 'in the groove', what is the change in group size that you see?
Good luck at the range!!
Quite a few guy's and gals I shoot with have been using tuners the past few years. It's new to me, but I made
the jump. Seems pretty straight forward since you are basically changing the length of the barrel .001" at a time.
I spoke to Mike Ezell in depth which he prefers all customers do. In a nut shell, your work up your load before
adjusting the tuner. Once you find your accuracy node, you then adjust the tuner to take it out of the node then
adjust further to bring it back in. He showed me a target where the groups opened up and the vertical went low,
ans further adjustment showed a steady increase of the node coming back in with the shots being higher on the
target. He just says that the barrel timing is best to have the shots high on the target then low.....I'll be out to
the range this morning to get sighted in and the first batch of work ups. Tuner will stay screwed in until I find a
load for this barrel. No matter what you still have to do powder and seating tests the old fashion way.
Thanks Fuj.
I wonder why it changes high and low, not left or right. Might go back to the theory about the nodes enlarging the barrel, changing the vel of the bullets?
Sometimes being an engineer sucks. I ask myself too many questions that have no way to get answers :)
Good luck with it Fuj’. Hope you get the results you’re looking for.:tea:
Barrel tuners aren’t appealing to me. Much like those who chase Action Screw torque values, barrel tuners also try to play with harmonics.
Drawing from Mike kind of explains what I mean. It's a sine wave formed. Depending on the muzzle position
when the bullet exits do to harmonics. He just recommends or prefers the high setting. This also helps the
distance shooters from extra elevation on the scopes.
Test went well. I'll try to get a few pics up later. Of the four groups during powder tests, One was a .131" and
one at .210". The barrel will shoot. On the the ugly side.....one at .420" and one at a nasty vertical of .700".
Another round of high winds and rain for the next few days will have me doing other things.Attachment 9496
Fuj, in 2 dimensions I understand that. But, the barrel is also vibrating horizontally. So, maybe there is something else here. I 'need' someone with a couple of high speed cameras to do some work here :) So, does the velocity curve look the same?
I still kinda laugh when seeing groups from really good rifles/shooters. I am a bit jealous and then I go and see where can I up my game to get better.
Glad yours is doing well. Always nice to see a new piece of equipment prove itself.
And thanks for answering all my irritating questions. :)
DP
A bit lacking in updates and our first UBR style match was about 2 weeks ago !!
Either way, I did get the Ezell tuner mounted up but no time for testing prior to
the match so I just grab known loads and went at it. Of a possible 264 for 4 targets,
I managed a 249 and a mid pack. Everything that kept the points lower were just me
and a rifle that needs tuned. No complaints on conditions. At the end of 4 relays, it
was switching but not above 4mph....One pic is my rig just going on the bench for
morning sighters. I need to shoot another pic of one of the targets. I'm on bench 7.
Attachment 9526
Awesome shooting Gary! Are you the only competitor using a Savage? What are you seeing other competitors using?
Nice work with a untuned system.
What do your targets look like? I don't recall a 66 point target before. Or, do you count the X as 11 points and shoot 6 rounds per target?
Makes sense. I was also happy to see the caliber targets. That makes a lot of sense in this area as well.
Target second relay......Attachment 9528
Nice!
Changing things up a bit....With the evolution of my LEGO rifles, rests are included.
I'm converting to a 4" wide fore arm, and had to do the same with my T-Rex rest.
The Rodzilla T-Rex is not 4" capable.....With machining a new aluminum plate and
adding my extra set of Bald Eagle side bag tensioners, It is now !! I made a 4" rider
plate to bolt on to my 3" front. It's removable just in case a certain event has a rule.
I mainly shoot unlimited. It is what it is....Tensioners are maxed out just to hold the
new piece in place.....
Attachment 9769Attachment 9770
4”… WOW! Pretty neat. I could see that being helpful for me, being I can’t use my left arm/hand to hold the rig in any way. But I’ve always just been a simple bipod shooter. Since I’m 18 that’s all I’ve used. Almost seems mandatory to me know, LOL!
Oh… and I could never even think of putting out that kind of money for a gun rest. I understand they are involved, but at like $2,000 for those, in my mind it would be like a bolt knob costing several hundred $$, LOL!
Dave....A big chunk of change for that rest was courtesy of the Pa. property tax rebate program
for us Seniors. Once your over 65, own property and pay all the taxes on it, Your entitled to
a fat rebate. So every July, It's Christmas for my shooting habit. I was looking at a Lenzi but
almost a years wait. The T-Rex was 6 months or sooner. I lucked out and had it in a month.
This years check went for a CZ-457 AT-One rimfire for the grandson.
Attachment 9782
That’s one Fortunate Grandson! :cool:
Nice on all counts.
Sometimes I wish I could justify a really good rest. I had thought about making one. I had designed one I could make with just a drill press, but just the price of the metal is daunting. I don't even have those drawings anymore. I miss my 12x36 lathe and milling machine :)
A good place to start charlie is with a small Car Scissor Jack. There are examples on youtube.
Yep, that was a source I had looked at. I've used them before making jigs for metal work. One I was trying to get the slop out of it and ended up replacing all the 'flats' with bar stock. Used a lot of similar mechanisms when working with optics benches. They use a similar geometry, but, prices on those can be really high as well for the larger versions.
I've also considered an x-y machinist vise as a base to start with but it ends up being bulky and the geometry isn't quite right.
For years, a decent Bald Eagle rest was all I needed. When I decided to try a joy stick,
I grabbed one of Butch Lamberts "Shade Tree" tops that fits the Bald Eagle, They were
just a couple of hundred bucks at the time. I liked it, and used it for a couple years as
is. Like anything, we all want to upgrade when possible. If you look again at my grand-
sons pic, He's shooting off my Bald Eagle. I made a new top plate to fit Butch's mechanics,
but went withe the original Bald Eagle bag side tensioners. The width of the plate will let
you use up to a six inch bag, and I installed a four inch bag. This way, I always have a
back up rig and one for the grandson.....Oh, I did a add a longer stick to the Shade Tree
top for easier reach and movement. If anyone is on a real tight budget, Caldwell has one
similar to the Bald Eagle.
I do long for a lathe myself. Just don’t have the floor space. However, I could never be without a Mill. A rest is pretty simple concept. Definitely something I could had I motivation for one. While yes, the material costs a bit, we are taking a small FRACTION of the price to buy one of those!
Last year I had decided I wanted to make a nice bench rest bipod. I sourced 2024 Billet Aluminum(stronger than 6061), Carbon Fiber & Titanium rod. Including all Titanium hardware. Cost a few bucks, sure. Maybe as much as a Harris Bipod. About 1/4 the Price, or LESS, of the higher end Bipods.
https://i.ibb.co/kX88Q6Q/9-EACE087-E...-F2-F5-BF7.jpg
Don’t get me wrong, my thumbs up to those with the means to purchase these highest toys we all love. Unfortunately, that’s never been me, LOL! However, The Lord gave blessed me with the gift to design in my head & make the parts. Not to mention the love of machining, fabricating. I’ve always felt, if I can make something that looks like it was made in a factory & perform at least 90% as well, I’m happy. (Sometimes things we do even perform better.)
Sorry Fuj’.. not trying to hijack, LOL! Was just adding as encouragement to Charlie & maybe others like me. And I do know you are one of the more skillful builders, machinists, fabricators here. ;)
I agree about fabrication and I've done more than a few bipods. I am a bit shocked at how much some can get for a bipod.
And, yeah, having a mill is really nice. I used to make a lot of parts for my motorcycle back then. I am kinda sorry I didn't go for long range shooting when I was younger and I might have found a way to keep those tools.
Fuj, thanks. I guess I had not researched enough on the joystick mounts. That top section looks like a bargain even if I had the tools to engineer and build one.
PS where are you on your rifle build? Any competition with it yet?
Go ahead and make fun of my homemade bipod.
Attachment 9803
Nope. Reminds me of one my FIL made. He chose to use mesquite for the cross piece (never to that again :) ). It was gorgeous.
A little procrastinating going on. and waiting on a Lilja barrel for the SA284.
One of Cortina's V-2 tuners came in for that. And sweating bullets....LOL
i have a limited supply for testing to get it ready for the "Tack Driver" I have
put away 200 for the match only leaving me 113 for break in / work ups. I
don't like calling it this close but if it does not go my way, my 284_ELF will be
my backup.....