Dr. StrangeGun, or how I learned to love the odd...

Phew.

2010-04-11T23:22:00.003-04:00

Exercise is definitely something I don't get enough of, but I surprise myself sometimes anyways.

Couple weekends ago, on a sunday afternoon, I was sitting at the computer aimlessly surfing when I heard a light rumble, like something had landed on and rolled off the roof. I almost ignored it... but something bugged me about the tone, so I went out to check. I didn's see anything... but then realized that something was off.

Where there was a tree on the corner of the far end of the yard, was now a dripping ball of mud with some shattered wood sticking out of it. Yeah, that affects the skyline a bit, and the fence next to it too.

What the 'oddness' was ended up being a very ill but somehow still ever-green southern yellow pine, of about 2 or 2.5' diameter and probably 50 or 60 feet tall, with a horrible case of root rot, termites, and carpenter ants. It had decided, on a calm sunny day, to simply lean over across the side street next to my property and completely block it.

Well, dealing with it was a mild ordeal... the city cleared the road, but left me a nice 8' long stump hanging through my back privacy fence. I hired a pro tree service... because it wasn't so much chopping up the stump (only $75) but in looking around I decided it was high time to take care of some of the other tree items that held risk. I had them cable the silver maple that's close to the house in the back, trim a branch off the hackberry in the front that was far too close to the roof, and take a good look at another southern yellow pine that was no more than 6 feet from the one that fell and had the same 'symptoms' (those three, $600).

Long and short, it's deathly ill too, and is going to fall eventually like the first. But... it's part of the fenceline, where the other was inside, and it's lean has it mostly over the property line. $3500 was the pro estimate, but I can find less expensive cutters... if its even my problem to pay for.

After all that, still had a big 2' block of rotten wood leaning against a fence panel and tentatively still attached to the ground on one side. That one took some ingenuity... and is the reason I'm damnably sore right now. 200' of rope, a pulley, giant lag bolt for an anchor, couple-three quick links, and a 4000lb come-along made for a 5 hour long party.

Results? I turned two 100' poly ropes into two 120' poly ropes, burnt my hands up nicely, ruined a fresh edge on my hatchet chopping roots, and actually managed to rip the damn stump in half in the end. And there's still work to do, have to smack around the loosened up bits with a sledge maul and make smaller bits of 'em, dig some of the dirt out and try and level up the displaced fence panel, patch the broken part (tree fell slowly enough that it slowly ripped the panel out by the nails and only crushed 2-3 planks), chop roots, yada yada yada.

It would have been so much easier had I not skimped on the equipment. Instead of a single pulley (2:1 advantage) I ought to have gotten a couple of 2-3 pulley blocks and more rope, which would have given me ~8:1 or so advantage and would have let me just pull on the rope rather than hooking the cable puller to one rope, tying the tightened rope off, unhooking and unrolling the cable, tying a loop in the other rope, hook up the cable, crank it in, rise repeat... every cycle getting another 4' in the rope and stretch giving it away. Next time, steel cable all the way. I wasn't over the rope's weight limit (I think) but it was just that stretchy and killed all my effort.

I finished at 10:30... way too late to dig out the fence panel and right it. So the saga continues... the majesties and tragedies of home ownership.

So you want to live on Mars...

2010-03-04T21:30:00.002-05:00

... or any other floating rock with low gravity and a thin atmosphere.

I put some thought into this, and throwing enough 'raw' materials at the problem can actually make it damn simple.

You will however need a large amount of refining/processing equipment and this involves heavy construction practices (granted, moving material is much easier, though the cost of the energy is... astronomical).

Show up. Dig two large, extremely deep pits (talking miles here).

Place your constructed digs deep within one, sealed nicely except for the bottom.

Connect the two pits with a tunnel at the bottom.

Place a lightweight membrane over the other tunnel.

Fill the other tunnel with a water (or other fluid/fluidized material) and slurry mixture to the top.

What you've just done is use gravity and hydraulics to automatically pressurize the air chamber in the second pit, where you live... and you've got a nice ready supply of raw materials from which to process out potable water, chemical energy, and other raw solid materials. Actually, depending on the choice of fluids available and other conditions you may even be able to get away without a membrane, the working fluid forming a skim of ice or solids on top preventing evaporation. A thick mud would actually work brilliantly so long as it stays in colloidal suspension without too much work... the extra density from the suspended material would mean shallower pits.

Now, raw materials... I'm wondering if sunlight is strong enough for a concentrator to heat plain old dirt beyond the dissociation point for some of the oxides... Set it up, collect the outgassing, you get a plug of raw metal and usable gasses to pump down, mabe even bubbling through the "living pit" slurry for innate "processing"... have additives in the slurry to soak up the more reactive gasses, or if you pre-process them and use a 'raw water' hydroplug (look ma, I made up a new Sci-Fi term!) you could aquaculture it... algae, plankton, maybe up to aquatic plants and fish (there's a culture of trout living in the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, rather happily) to supply food and help with waste removal.

Actually, processing of organic wastes is even built in here... just mix your solids in with the feed line for the solar concentrators. You're recapturing carbon and water, sterilizing the waste feed, and there will be plenty of plant nutrients in the "ash" from the process. Need "better" chemicals? Adjust a locked-off section of the aquaculture and collect the ammonia. Stage that though, sick fish on the moon doesn't sound like fun, especially when they're eventually going to be dinner.

Lighting? You've got solar concentrators on the surface, just run fiber optic light pipes. Breathing gas refinement? Send some exhaust through a surface line just shielded enough to freeze off the carbon dioxide, collect that, and use it in a chemical battery with some of the metals from refinement... plenty of metals will react in the right conditions to make carbonates, or heavens bless, carbides. Some metals can also release hydrogen if they were allowed to oxidize in the slurry... then you just filter out the oxides, send them through the solar plant, recollect your oxygen. You'll have metal oxides, carbonates, probably nitrides and nitrates, ammonia, acetylene can be produced from the carbides, I can't think of anything you wouldn't be able to eventually produce... other than space. Better build it big enough, 'cause you're going no larger... unless you built add-on pressure and habitation pits from *below*. Then the only real issue is enough fluid material for the hydroplugs.

Crawling out of the shadows...

2010-02-28T23:28:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I've been scarce. But, I bring forth neatness;

Proof of concept: pneumatic tabletop geyser. I had the idea as a way to make a water feature to raise the humidity in the house a little, without having a funky little water pump that would die screaming when my 30% humidity air sucked it's reservoir dry. It is, quite literally, a jar, some tube, and a cut up plastic cup held together with hot glue.

I did say it was a proof-of-concept after all. Those tend to be as fugly as pictured.

And then the photo post section! Star Ultrastar 9mm.

From an unassuming box...

Star Ultrastar 9x19, in like new condition. Quite unusual Spanish (Eibar) produced pistol.

Finish is... functional.

Slightly blurry profile (I was off-handing all these, btw)

A casualty of the AWB; instead of limiting mags, they assumed the AWB would be permanent and molded ribs into the polymer frame to hold a single stack mag. This obviates ever using a larger capacity magazine, but the single-stack should be a little more reliable.

An unusual safety/decocker, flip up for safe and further for decock...

...flip down to fire. It *is* the 'ordained motion' ala JMB, but not so much at the top rear of the slide.

One pin to rule them all, held by an internal tension spring.

Pin out, to reveal a CZ style "captive" cam system.

More CZ-ness appears in the layout of the fire control group. The ejector is hinged and must be pushed down to remount the slide.

Parts appear beefy, if machined a little too quickly.

The Star Ultrastar; A perfectly strange gun for someone with a perfectly strange array of tastes.

On a parting note: see Turbulent Black Tea: The Boisterous Tea of Liberty is Never Without a Wave.

A good friend of mine is starting up a website to try and arrange conversation amongst the left, right, center, and perhaps even the (thinking quarks here) strange.

The latest project, complete.

2009-12-14T00:00:00.003-05:00

Not bad for stuff I had laying around, and a lot of eyeballed measurements and hand-tooling.

What is it? A desk mic converter to use with a PA system. The particular microphone that was in mind has a switch, but it's inconvenient... mount it here, plug in and plug the stand into the amp, and the black pushbutton is a momentary on switch. Fully internally shielded but without caps, it may ping a little on active/release but that's ok, it's a PA mic after all.

This was made almost entirely "from whole cloth" btw. The only prefab items are half a walmart craft plaque, a cast-off mic clamp, and the lid to a canister of tea. Well, and the switchgear of course... but the neck started as a piece of aluminum angle trim, and the bottom cover was bent and trimmed by hand.

I like it, honestly. Looks a little unusual due to the brass 'muffin' but that was a necessity as the switch was too long to mount flush in the base, and that was a quick'n'dirty solution. Neck's not perfect either but looks very organic... I bent that up in the small vise and hammered/filed away until I was happy. It's only painted because the metal was soft enough to scar up a little.

Like Christmas in... some other season

2009-09-26T14:40:00.002-04:00

Last night I reviewed my bound book and opened up the safe to check on everything, make sure the oil hadn't evaporated, no spider infestation, etc.

It's been since January that I've bought anything. Shocking.

Also shocking; The things I pulled out of the safe that I'd forgotten about. Well, not so much shocking as "Oh yeah! Righteous!" that reminded me of opening presents.

ROFL. Did you know I bought two S&W M&P15 recievers in January, and own a sweet little H&R .22 revolver? 'Cause I sure as hell forgot...

I think I work too hard.

Rumors

2009-09-07T05:13:00.005-04:00

The (title) of my death are far exaggerated... I'm still here, just with different, perhaps skewed priorities.

I've been keeping so busy with job#1, house tasks, and projects that I've little time to write or even read. I keep up with Tam, SaysUncle, and Instapundit on a mostly regular basis though...

The bright side? I'm generally well rested, in better health mentally and physically (save for an aggravatingly severe bout with dermatitis brought about by formalin/linseed contaminated dust from sanding on pressboard re: projects), and fiscally... well, having only mondays at the gun shop hurt a little, but I can now and proudly say I have no rolling debts, period. A bit over a grand and a half remain on the truck... that, the mortgage, and the attached equity line are all that remains, and I'm laying plans to pay off the mortgage within a DECADE.

Projects? I have to reach back to july and think about this.... hrmm. What's not been mentioned...

- putting PA system in at the range (no links/photos yet)

- Finding new mad science tools on eBay like that handy-dandy counter and dual current-controlled var volt PS you see nestled next to the old freq gen in the Tek chassis

- Playing around with electrochemistry and building Hull cells like the one pictured in link, which will be used for de-rusting

- Fixing storage issues by adding a couple new shelves in the bathroom closet where once was just empty space. Note: that's the pressboard that fucked up my arms. Long sleeves or frequent cold-washing, folks, when cutting/sanding/mangling manufactured boards that use superfine fibers. Treat it like raw fiberglass.

- Fixing the undersink shelf in the kitchen, a jigsaw puzzle of wood squares...

- Taking my old liquor (ok, china) cabinet and doing a partial refurbishment, adding doors and reinforcing the legs, and installing knobs/handles

- Cleaning the spare microwave in the most detailed sense possible, to go out on loan (and yes, those are microwave parts soaking in the sink. Bzzzzt)

- Organizing my workshop. Seriously, you should have seen the before photos... and this is "during" anyhow, I'm not done since I keep interrupting myself with projects

- various odd little things like the speaker test stand and the miniature oil/naptha lamp that I figured out is real easy to make out of a .40 and 9mm spent cartridge (pop the 9mm's spent primer and drill the flash hole out to fit a wick. Done.)

Happy remaining Independence Day

2009-07-04T13:43:00.003-04:00

Wow... no posts since May? I'm slipping. Or not slipping, and just heinously busy.

I can confirm it's the latter, actually. I'm in holding pattern; next week starts a different schedule for me, because I've elected to take myself down to one afternoon a week at the gun shop, and that only to keep "updated" and to give the top brass a night when they can both go home early.

What happened? Job #1 increased in activity and difficulty by a couple factors of ten. And, I'm enjoying it... I'm always up for a challenge. But there were so many days when I was busy enough to not get out until 6, and then a mad rush to the gun shop to work all of 2 hours, and the extra activity meant that when I got home I was so wired I couldn't sleep... weeks where there was at most 15 hours of sleep total, it started affecting my health, as well as driving me back into nicotine for a short while (hence stopped again, I thank the power above that I don't have strong withdrawal symptoms and only get the urge to smoke when I'm severely sleep deprived).

Result? Save for those Mondays, I'll have at least a couple free hours to myself at home daily, and they won't be wasted... I have a clipboard (soon to be an excel file) full of the kind of little home projects that leave you satisfied after an hour's work. Prime example: after a short hunt, I came home with some plastic garden hose shutoff valves yesterday. They were for the tanks on my dehumidifiers, which have always been right bastards to empty without spilling water everywhere. A little time with a 1/2" drill to the molded-in "sprue" on the tanks (they cast in a threaded hose blank, and left the ends closed), tighten the valve on, viola... instead of walking over to the sump pit and turning the tank over to dump, getting water everywhere and upping the humidity in the garage, I can neatly walk the full tank upstairs, park it next to the kitchen sink, flip a valve and walk off to do something else. PERFECT afternoon project, and I've got at least 30 of those marked down.

Firearm acquisition will suffer, unfortunately. That's ok, I have plenty, and still need to work on several of them (re: 3 complete AK kits with full complements of parts for 922r compliance are sitting jumbled in a plastic bin waiting for me, as well as a perfectly good .45 1911 slide assembly that needs a frame parked under it, sighting in the .444, degreasing some of the war horses, etc.) I'll save some money though, with time means I can cook again, though it'll likely be a wash. I may have enough time to me to sit down and draw out some ideas I've had, the ones I haven't been busy blabbing all over thefirearmblog.blogspot.com.

I'm probably going to re-assume my old schedule when the holidays roll around... by then the primary job will have settled a bit, and I should be well rested and recovered and ready to bust my hump again.

I just have to remember to not feel lazy because I've decided to not work a 60+ hour week for the first time in half a decade, you know?

Ruger's new offering....

2009-05-16T14:51:00.002-04:00

Ruger apparently just introduced a new rifle to the world:

The Ruger Phaeton.

Oops, I mean the VW SR-556. No, I mean...

I mean someone's going to get fired over this, mark my words. Introducing a new product in an over-represented market at a price point out of sorts with the reputation of the manufacturer, where the casual buyer is either price-focused towards a general item (in this case, the SR556 is undifferentiated form other offerings) or name-focused on differentiated items with particular features (ex: the piston-driven fans, who have bushmaster, LWRC, et. al. as established marks)...

... that's a sure recipe for success, right? Right?

Fractal Government.

2009-04-16T23:51:00.002-04:00

This was a long semi-researched ramble I made earlier tonight, somewhere else. I present it as a scratchpad, feel free to grab with attribution or present your own cases....

=======

Most of the issue that I see with our modern form of government is that the powers outlined to the congress in the later amendments, powers to "enforce by appropriate legislation", while not wholly wrong as borne out by a couple centuries worth of rulings, violates the spirit of the constitution. When there's a problem or a service to be rendered on a national scale, the traditional means of taking care of it was to have the federal government, by legislation or executive order, forms a department to create binding regulation that apply, if they so wish, universally.

A department formed in such a manner is staffed from the top... nominally by an elected representative, that top staffing is almost always an appointment, and while "vetted" by the house (an abuse of it's own by letter of law, it's supposed to be a confirmation), it's still an unrepresentative appointment. That appointment proceeds to fill out the department by hire; sub-appointments, internal committees... none of which are directly accountable to the people, except by the inbuilt "holes" in federal sovereignty, and legal fictions like the stripping doctrine.

The result of such top-down management is a concentration of power as far away from the citizenry as can be possible within the bounds of the constitution.

The solution: remove those departments from the control of the federal government which constitute regulating bodies controlling matters outside the constitutionally allotted jurisdiction therof. Amazingly, the mechanism for the alternative already exists within the bounds of the Constitution, though some improvements may be made later.

Firstly, satisfy Article 1, Section 10, Clause three... stating that no state may enter into a compact or agreement with another state without authorization by congress.

Let's make an example... the department of widgets. Created at the turn of the 20'th century, it's a classic federal department involved with the regulation of the numbers and types of productions of widgets and their authorized distribution overseas. It's a classic top-down run organization with an executive appointed Secretary.

To reform this organization without removing the benefits (should there be any) while removing the potential for abuse and heavy handedness, we need to move the control mechanism to rest upon a vehicle that's much more accountable and fast-moving. Congress would need to pass a bill that allows for each of the 50 states to form a compact, governing in parliamentary fashion, controlling the Department of Widgets. One or more representatives from each state would be assigned, by whatever mechanism the given state deems required but limited in number by the original compact agreement unless overruled by a parliamentary super-majority, a position in the management tower. Amongst them, they elect a "minister" to their parliament... the new Secretary of Widgets, who performs as an interface to the federal government.

If a state doesn't like the actions of the new Department of Widgets, it can act to change their representative vote by changing the representative to the department. If the citizens of the state don't like how the state is managing their interface with the department, the citizens can change the state government.... a much more responsive and granular control.

Look at the above. A citizen would have only TWO representative layers to a DIRECT change in the behavior of an organization. The federal government would have jurisdiction over the department only in the matters in which is has constitutional authority. States would have much better control over the environment in which they have to function. The capacity for overreach and abuse by the department is reduced by an incredible amount by this, because they're held, depending on the manner the state issues forth it's representation, either directly responsible or responsible through one or two layers of *state* government.

Now, we can take this a step further, perhaps into the twilight zone... taxation. It's a foregone conclusion that the federal government does perform duties and tasks essential to the health of the nation, and that takes money... and a direct taxation scheme in that manner would remain, as distasteful as it seems, appropriate. But if the IRS were broken down from a monolithic department into a state operated compact, the power of taxation for other matters shifts to the state, where it can be a much more fair and controlled method. In fact, the direct federal taxation of the people could be abolished altogether and replaced with a system by which individual states collect taxes to be collected and apportioned to the various other state compact departments and nonessential federal schemes by system of request and dispensation.

The shift of power to the citizenry would be near unprecedented, yet we haven't lost a single government service because of it. States could readily adapt their own taxation schemes to fit their own unique socioeconomic situations. Internal state departments of taxation would be much smaller and much easier to deal with than a single federal department. The level of efficiency could be outstanding, and while it sounds frightening, the effects of experimentation would be much reduced, only affecting the citizens of an individual state, who are more than welcome to vote up or down the new changes with ballots or even their own feet.

Now, this isn't a classic states rights argument... the 14'th amendment and incorporation are well ingrained into the national tort. But it is a re-imagining of the means of control of national government services. Some processes may move slower, this is true... but they move much more carefully, and after all the regulations and rules that come from these departments affect the everyday lives of the citizens.

=======

The improvements to the constitution mentioned above:

1 - an amendment nailing down the meaning of the commerce clause. That and that alone has been the source of more top-down, regimental abuse than anything short of prohibition (18'th amendment)

2 - Strike the 17'th amendment. Direct election of senators may *seem* to be in the interest of the people, but what it ends up doing is removing a check between the state governments and the federal government. At the moment, a state government has recourse against the federal via the judicial branch, which is a misuse; the state governments have no representation whatsoever against the federal government. This protocol could be demonstrated first in the above "fractal government" because in essence the senate itself would be one of the state driven departments, with the purpose to effect and affect federal legislation.

3 - Strike the second clause of the 21'st amendment. That's the one that reads "The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." and is a prime example of losing the plot... the only other place in the constitution where the PEOPLE are directly restrained is the 13'th, which should stand, prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude (of which a draft *during a time of war* is not, several rulings...)

4 - changes outside constitution: with the striking of the 17'h amendment, remove capacity of senate to amend spending bills. Senate vote should be up or down only.

4b - changes to house and senate rules: all congressional bills must remain within a scope of a particular subject or single issue, and must be read aloud with 80% of the voting caucus in attendance before a final vote.

Clarity is not optional in front of a frightened crowd.

2009-03-26T23:35:00.002-04:00

(This would have gone in a comment on the relevant page, but on said page the captcha system went insane, and locked me out. This is my recourse.)

(page in question: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/mccaffrey-on-mexico-23-march-2009.htm )

Now, I've very carefully reviewed both posts, and determined the problem here.

Mr. Yon, you are guilty of horrible timing. You see, today on the news we all heard Secretary Clinton invoke AmMex as a prime reason to reinstate the assault weapons ban. You turn this phrase;

"I have no plans to give up my hardware, but we must be honest here and help curb flows that are killing Mexicans and Americans. "

..without any corroboration or real explanation. In the mind of the reader, who has just had the world painted in terms of Mexico==AWB thanks to Hillary, you just said "Ain't gettin' rid of mine, but some's got to be rid of".

McCaffrey uses the same idea in his post, but a little clearer.

"We owe the Mexican people better protection of their security forces by effectively interdicting the huge US flow of automatic weapons and laundered drug money back south. (26,000 weapons seized last year.) "

Heuristically, exactly the same as your sentiment (I gather, as you are unclear). Interdiction of illegal arms trade does not equal AWB, and would likely be highly supported by the community of shooters.

There is nothing patently offensive to the "gun crowd" in McCaffrey's NJO writing. It's quite supportable. But the TIMING is AWFUL, particularly to bring it up in the midst of a vague and "buzzword" filled post, which paints the NJO article and colors it's tone by association. And yes, your post is rather vague and buzzy, given the "mood of the day".

And if that wasn't bad enough, Mr. Yon, I've seen your initial reply, even though it's off the site. It's offensive, both directly and indirectly to the intelligence of the reader.

"My work is misquoted around the world every day, but nowhere as often as on my own site. "

Fantastic. Unfortunately in this instance your work was misquoted because the definition and intent was not clear at all.

"If they invest only that minimal level of attention to the guns they are apparently packing, it's just a matter of time before they accidentally shoot themselves or someone else. Attention to detail is an important component of gun safety."

Oh, Mr. Yon. On the defensive, and antagonizing the audience. That's not a very wise move, particularly when the vast crowd who's disturbed by the original post consists of more than a few supporters... or ex-supporters. You shifted to a high-handed tone and patronized an angry mob of "hurt" people who thought you were "one of the guys".

It's a mistake, I'm telling you. And you'd best consider your next response to these people and make a clear, unequivocal statement on your stance and the intent of your post or they will, as they have already started, eat you alive in front of the altar of Zumbo.

I don't want to see that happen, you do good work.
Godspeed,
DrStrangegun

Suitably strange.

2009-03-10T10:26:00.002-04:00

I haven't had a truly "odd" thought stream in a while. And then, one struck.

.38 S&W. 9mm Makarov. Has anyone ever really looked at how close these are?

1 - With a .002" swaging, you should be able to load ~95gr Makarov bullets in .38 S&W cases, and probably get close to the listed 1000fps ballistics (if you can get 800fps from a 158gr, you ought to be well within pressures with a 200fps rise on a bullet less than 2/3 the weight). If I had a ballistics simulation program I could figure what .361"@95gr FMJ into 14Kpsi ends up being, but I don't.

2 - With relatively little work, one could modify a makarov-based platform into a .38 S&W single shot and possibly still get reasonable accuracy of it. The .38 case is only 0.060 longer roughly, and the rim could be accounted for by filing the end of the chamber down... you may have the bullet stuck into the rifling but you're 0.002" undersized soft lead.

3 - With even less work, and some crossed fingers, it seems to me that one could, given a suitably strong pistol, shoot 9mm Mak out of a .38 S&W revolver. I AM IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM ADVOCATING ANYONE ATTEMPT THIS. .38 S&W is 14,000psi, Mak is 23,000PSI, halfway between .38sp +P and .357 Magnum. I'm just looking at the numbers here... if you stuck a .015" thickness C-clip into the extractor rim of a mak cartridge, you have a reasonable, though .002" oversized, approximation of the size of the .38 S&W.

You will very probably damage the gun beyond repair, but that's handy to know if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere during zombie apocalypse, and you have everything and the kitchen sink with you as far as "common" calibers, but someone in your party has Grandad's old Enfield tanker and no ammo. One zombie, two zombie, three zombie, four, *ping* there goes the top latch, gun's thoroughly toast but you're +4 better in the odds bank, better some help than none right?

Ramble ramble ramble...

2009-03-08T22:05:00.000-04:00

I don't work at CCA for the guns or the money, no...

I work there for the incredibly stylish pens we get every year. I do seriously like this though :)

----

H&R handi-rifle SB2, in .357 magnum

LOOK at the beef around that chamber! I'm not particularly worried about *any* commercial load I can find ever wearing this sucker out.

And, I finally figured out how to take a photo of a reticle; this is a Tasco Pronghorn 2.5x with the diamond reticle. Works very well with this package.

The irony won't be lost on some folks... the pen photos were taken using the lovely robins-egg blue of the ATF's 2005 publication 5300.5, State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms.

Latelies

2009-02-22T22:45:00.003-05:00

We have entered one of those periods of time where real life takes over and the outgoing data feed thins.

What's happened lately?

- I'm wrangling to figure out how to get a free car home, a '92 Lincoln with a bad transmission.

- I'm in posession of a new 10 gallon air tank to assist with such retrieval

- Friday I come home to find water flowing down my driveway. 4 hours and $575 later, I've installed a new 40 gallon "energy smart" water heater, and have a brace of new plumbing tools.

- Friday, being handy was demonstrated to be a wonderful thing.

- I just finished hooking up one used intel Mac Mini to my big screen via HDMI. I cannot express just how absolutely freaking *gorgeous* the picture is, and it plays fullscreen 1080i video without a hitch, even streaming TV episodes from NBC.com and upscaled DVDs. Now I just have to figure out the audio portion.... and as much as I'd hate to not route through the TV for this, I may have to bypass. I like to use as few user steps as possible, and I've got it set up now that audio switches with the video source on the television, and the surround reciever stays on one source. I do this because my ancient surorund reciever's remote has *teeny* tiny buttons.

- I will probably very soon need to find myself a new cellphone. The buttons are beginnning to stick on my old standby. Damned thing's only 6 years old, can't imagine what's wrong...

That is all. I now resume my previous activity of watching Patton in HD.

Side note on the 1911

2009-02-07T18:17:00.002-05:00

I was informed recently (or not so recently, I've been busy) that I messed up a little on the 1911 breakdown.

Essentially; remove the thumb safety *first*. Alter your reassembly as required.

Finally; 1911 breakdown

2009-01-25T20:21:00.003-05:00

Ok; this is the long awaited 1911 detail strip post I've been promising for a long, long time. And to lead in, a little nongun.

The little clamp worklight had been bothering me a while because it's so hard to put it anywhere useful. today, I remembered one of the incomplete tripods I had in the basement. A little mod here and there, and I've got a portable 100W floodlight.

Here are some better photos of SpaceGun

For the uninitiated, that's a MechTech CCU on top of a RIA Hicap 1911 frame, set up to run 10mm, with an el-cheapo Chinese Docter sight replica on it.

As you can see, it's a little difficult to force my camera to focus infinite on command.

The interface:

You can see the base of the bolt here, and the disconnector notch. The safeties remain functional on these units.

Chamber interfaces fairly well with the frame's ramp.

It's all held together via rails and the factory slide pin.

And now to the feature presentation: detail stripping a 1911. Yes, I know it's a hi-cap, but it's close enough.

First thing to do (besides remove the grips) is to knock out the mainspring housing pin.

For this you'll need what I forgot at first: TOOLS. The block of wood is important, with the double stack 1911 frames you can easily warp it if you just lay it flat and start hammering.

Pin's out. Note the notch; there's a little extension piece under the mainspring that falls into that notch, even if the spring were loose in the housing it couldn't fall out.

The mainspring housing is on it's own set of rails, and slides out effortlessly.

Note the notch at the top, and that now the grip safety is beyond it's normal travel. The top of the mainspring housing retains the base of the grip safety.

Everything stretched out for viewing. At this point the sear spring has shifted and must be fiddled with to put the gun back together.

Sear spring. Three fingers for three different purposes, on one spring. Nifty.

The sear spring is located in the frame by a slot and notch. Remember this.

With the sear spring out, put the hammer and grip safety in a position that allows you to move the safety lever to where the "point" is on the plunger, and push upwards on if from behind (or pull). It should begin to lift out of the frame.

And removed. You can now see the part that blocks the hammer and sear from moving when placed in the safe position.

Where the safety interfaces with the hammer and grip safety.

The safety lever also holds in the grip safety, which may now be removed to the rear.

The hammer pin is a loose fit, retained by the safety lever, and will simply lift out of the frame.

Hammer removed, and hammer pin. The hammer strut remains attached (no good reason to take it off, really)

Half cock notch and hammer hooks

Better view of hooks, sear interfaces here to hold hammer in cocked position.

Here we see the sear and disconnector relation. Remember this, you'll need it. The pin is another loose fit pin, retained in this case by the grips. You'll need to remove the grips if you haven't already.

Pin lifted free, and sear with disconnector still in relation to each other as they were in the frame.

Alternate view. The "polished" surfaces towards the right are where the trigger bar pushes against them.

Parts separated

Another view of disconnector (l) and sear (r)

Sear surface. This surface interfaces with the hammer's hooks. And boy, that's an ugly surface. This gun has a surprisingly good trigger for such sloppy stoning.

Mag release. This is not a screw, but a toggle cam.

Push the mag release button, and give the slot a quarter turn or so counterclockwise. This releases the tab from the slot in the frame that holds in the mag release button

Push a little harder on the button and the assembly will come free.

Magazine release assembly. This was removed because...

... it holds in the trigger bar assembly. JMB was a clever designer.

Push the trigger into the frame and note that the trigger bar is now protruding.

Trigger bar removed out of the back of the frame. Note the shiny surface on top; this is where I had to do cleanup work with a file to solve the mystery malfunction I was having. The trigger bar was binding in the frame.

REASSEMBLY. Hold the sear and disconnector in the position they'll hold in the frame.

Insert the top of the disconnector through the hole in the frame; the disconnector will stop the sear from falling though. The holes will *not* be lined up, use something small to manipulate the sear until the sear pin drops into place.

Note the placement of the sear spring fingers; this must be held in place while putting the grip safety back into position. It's very easy to let the spring flip sideways or out of position.

Heh, skipped some steps. Assembly is pretty much just the reverse of disassembly though.

The RIA Hi-cap is *rough*. It reflects it's price for sure, but it is definitely functional. I will slowly be doing some cleanup work on it and parts replacement where possible, but none of it is required, as I said, it works fine.

And so ends the story. Now I need to come up with some ideas for what to do for the next big picture post...

Sometimes it just happens...

2009-01-08T23:03:00.002-05:00

...whether you want it to or not. See, I've called a halt to my firearms purchasing for a while, but...

When something that gorgeous rolls along for $150, you TAKE IT.

Traditions .44 caliber model 1860 Army. No, I don't quite understand the naval battle rolled into the cylinder on an Army model, but hey, it's beautiful anyways.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2009-01-04T00:33:00.000-05:00

...or actually today, since it's after midnight, I've got a shift at the gun shop. if I can gather the time, I'm going to zero in the holographic sight on Spacegun.

If I get that done, I'll bring it home... and three things should happen. One, I find space in this clutter-beriddled home to set up a decent lighting and background setup. Two, I'll clean and take proper photos of the completed setup. Three...

Three is kind of important to the blog, and may even be exciting.

Remember when I started this blog, after a few months I did a long, detailed photo expose on detail stripping a CZ75? I'll do the same with the RIA frame. If I can describe it accurately, I'll even profile what I did to get the gun running.

Now, I'm a professional procrastinator when my plans get skewed, but as long as I get some range time then within a few days you'll get your post.

======

ADDITIONAL FLUFF

I've been busy growing the new list of guns to purchase... gotta have goals, right?

These are in no particular order.

1 - one more AR15, 16" flattop with a flat block, to build as a superlight model
2 - Marlin 981T
3 - rebuildable .22 suppressor
4 - a .44 revolver (make/model undetermined)
5 - black powder revolver (likewise, leaning towards Starr)
6 - Astra 400
7 - wishful thinking, a Mauser C96
8 - a Savage bolt rifle to build into a long-range shooter (pricey)
9 - CZ550 American, in something suitably huge (I've wanted a .416 Rigby since I read an article in some gun mag ~20 years ago, when I was in grade school)
10 - CZ-453
11 - CZ-38, CZ DUO, and CZ-97 to complete the collection
12 - Armalite AR24 fullsize

I think twelve is enough. Except for #1 there, which I may double, I don't think I'll have issues regardless of what laws come down, if any... so obviously #1 there is first, and if they come available I may buy lowers and build that too.

Superlight? This is the project for which a DPMS sportical would be a stellar start. What I'm thinking of is bare minimum AR, no shell deflector, no forward assist... flat top upper, "sightless" gas block and not just a lopro, an expanded metal tubular handguard, lightweight grip, perhaps even lightening cuts in the lower, and a semi-fixed wire stock hung off a carbine tube. Top that with a lightweight holosight and you have the lightest possible non-NFA AR15.

My third line project AR would just be a practical shooter, possibly in 6.8mm. This would be something I'd feel comfortable using for just about anything I can think of, tactical shooting, 200-300 yard, maybe even hunting. Now, "comfortable" does not mean "perfect", but an M4-kinda with a free float quad, good flip irons and a quick-detach magnifying optic as well as a decent set of aftermarket stocks would go very, very far towards being a jack of all targets.

====
EDIT: 11:31PM

Couldn't get two spare seconds to rub together at the shop todsy, plus it rained and the rifle case has to go in the bed of the truck. I need a bigger truck, one with a back seat.

Actually I've been working on that, but it'll be a while :)

Woohoo!

2008-12-30T22:28:00.001-05:00

Spacegun runs like a top! It was the RIA frame causing the problem the whole time.

After a short chat with one of our resident gunsmiths, I took advantage of a slow moment and detail stripped the frame. What I was after was the disconnector; the advice was that if the disconnect made contact with the magazine, it could be enough to hang it up. So, I carefully and slowly used a fine file to whittle away the surface that sticks out into the mag well until it was relieved and smooth as silk.

And yet it still showed the malfunction. I took it back apart again, looked over everything carefully... and determined the trigger bar was riding the magazine pretty hard, it was warped a bit. Bent it square, filed some burrs off, slid it back in... hesitation. Hrmm. Repeatably. So I removed a little bit more material at a time until it fit smoothly, no drag yet no play. Reassembled the frame, tried to replicate the problem again... and couldn't. Success!

The acid test came on the range, and the mechtech CCU performed flawlessly. Case closed. Soon though I want to re-disassemble the frame and put some manner of coating on the bits I filed to avoid rust later on.

Now, getting the thing working wasn't the big success. The big success was, I'd never detail stripped a 1911 before, and had only glanced at instructions how to about 6 hours before. What a beautiful design :) The only catch is, you can't expect a $399 version of it to run perfectly without *some* work... and now, I feel comfortable enough to venture building a new frame for the slide and barrel I have, without assistance. I will need to email Mechtech back soon, and let them know it's not their upper with the issue.

New blood....

2008-12-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

Since it's payday and everything else is sorted out, I went on the hunt and have two scopes coming in the mail, eventually. I found a Tasco Pronghorn 2.5x32 for the NEF rifle, and I've got a Bushnell 3x9-32 on the way for the Marlin .22.

Not even $60 in 'em. Nice. So we've gone from cheap no-name scopes to cheap "name" scopes, and I hope these stick, otherwise I'm reaching right for the Nikon Prostaff and Leupolds.

Troubles

2008-12-30T08:42:00.000-05:00

My MechTech CCU is giving me a headache. I have two major issues going on;

1 - It has failure to fire malfunctions with anything more than 7-8 rounds in the magazine. I'm still diagnosing the why but the what is pretty clear, the disconnector is somehow hanging up... first round fires, the bolt cycles, strips the next cartridge and gets it into the chamber no problem, hammer is cocked, safeties in fire position, ease finger forward for reset.... nothing. I have to run the bolt, ejecting a perfectly fine cartridge, to get it to fire again, and then it FTFs again. I get every other shot until there's 7-8 left and it runs like a top.

This is more likely an issue with the frame than it is the CCU though; I need to do two things for "proper" troubleshooting... I need to borrow another frame for a bit, either another double stack or a single with an extra strong spring, and I need to remember to dig the original slide and magazine for the RIA frame and shoot it as a pistol.

2 - the base level stock is downright damned uncomfortable for me. By all means, spring for either the extending stock or the AR collapsible stock adapter, I'll be getting one of either shortly, or making something custom for myself. It looks easy enough to do...

Hey!

2008-12-25T10:49:00.001-05:00

Ho ho ho. :)

====

Side note: I was just looking at my bound book. I bought my first gun on February 16, 2004.

Before that, I had little interest or real knowledge.

Amazing what can be done in 4 years, yes? 4 more firearms and I'll pass the 50 mark.

Provenance.

2008-12-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

After some inspection and a short internet search, I know what I've got as far as the M16A1 upper goes.

It's a late '71 to 1974 production Colt, 1/12 twist chrome bore. This is from the marking "C MP B" on the barrel.

That's about all I've got for tonight, I'm pooped.

Failure is success.

2008-12-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

The NCStar experiment comes to a close in failure. The initially good-looking 4x30 scope shot on the paper right out of the box, elevation dead on and windage 2" right at 25 yards. I go to adjust... nothing moved. I didn't overtorque the rings either, it's just flat busted. The NEF itself performed flawlessly, interlocking shots at 25 yards with some cast-off Rem 125 JSP .357mag I found.

Haven't tried the .22 scope yet, but my spirits toward it have darkened. I did notice that the BSA scope I had on there is *exactly the same*, just better dressed and with a longer tube for the magnification feature.

The mech-tech is a partial success; cranking on the red dot a bit got it where I can see the hit on the paper while aiming, but I stopped there with other issues to deal with... with the mag loaded more than 7-8 rounds it doesn't disconnect the trigger properly. Odd. Less than that though, and it runs like a scalded dog, very little recoil and incredibly controllable. That stock, however, will have to go... even with very little shock I've got a red patchwork on the front of my shoulder where it rubbed around. I need to find something that lowers the cheek weld/raises the body of the carbine, it's very hard to aim comfortably and I don't want to elevate the sight.

Win some, lose some... and I can say with certainty that the Chinese scopes are indeed junk after all; I just wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, and for $19 I got my answer. If I ever feel like it, I'll get a warranty replacement and see if it was just a bad unit or if recoil killed it by trying it out with light .38 specials instead of warm-hot .357mag.

SILVER LINING:

Asides from the busted scope, on top of the NEF rifle is a nice set of Warne 1" high-profile quick-detach rings. I'm already set up for whatever else I put on, provided it's a 1" tube. Pricey, but very sturdy.

The Marlin 444 got your usual $20 set of Weaver scope-scratcher single side clamp rings. Again, carefully tightened with finger and thumb only on a regular screwdriver, no tube-crushing here.

I also took the opportunity to toss a few rounds through my freshly-repaired 50's M&P, and lead the bejeesus out of my Ruger SP101 by shooting 18 rounds of old .32S&W. Looked like there were two steps in each chamber afterwards, just horrible. Fun though :) I would have stepped out with Frankengun but it was here and I was there...

Scopes are here.

2008-12-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

I'm actually rather impressed. I bought a couple NCStar scopes on OpticsPlanet.com for super-cheap, expecting something to play with for a while until I figured out exactly what scopes to go looking for what gun. I may actually be stuck with these.

First is a 4x20 .22 rifle scope with rings. It feels fairly solid, but the adjusting mechanism is in a block that's screwed to the tube from the outside. Doesn't look bad, but I can foresee some possible issues. It still "feels" better than the cheap BSA that's on the Marlin 60 now, which came from walmart and cost twice this did. The tube and optics are good and solid, picture's clear, only beef I have quality-wise is finding some flash around the inside of the hole where the adjusting wheels are. Cost: $8.

Second is a compact 4x30 for the NEF. This is solid... appears to be nitrogen filled, again nice and bright with clear reticle, no quibbles over the level of detail. The lenses are coated, which I didn't expect. Adjusters are 1/4MOA per click, reticle is a P4 "sniper", all in all I'm pleased. Cost: $19. $19!

If they survive and perform, I'm stuck with 'em, and that may not be a bad thing. Even if they don't last I may still be stuck with 'em, they both have a lifetime warranty.

Not a Leupold or even a Nikon by any means, but for low-recoil, 50-100 yard plinking, I think they'll do.

Fast answers to fast questions

2008-12-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

Some Q&A that's occurred on the blog over the last few months:

1 - Why .32 Magnum in a snub for a carry gun?

Several reasons. First, I wanted a little extra capacity. Second, I'd studied up on the round itself and was rather impressed with it's capabilities (as far as a .312 bullet goes). The load I carry should be capable of pushing a 100gr hollowpoint to 1000fps, even with the tiny littel barrel. Third, followup shots are faster, since the recoil is less. When I first started carrying it, I proved this to myself by unloading the revolver full of Federal's 85gr load into a 4" circle at 7 yards in about 15 seconds. Could have been faster, but the accuracy would have suffered... but a human target at 7 yards would have accepted a lot of suffering and still been suffering. Fourthly... it's a little odd, perfect for Doc Strangegun :)

2 - "Now for a question that ties this and an earlier post together. Any recommendations on a scope for a Marlin 1894 in .357?" Well, if I'd had my druthers I'd have a 2x20 or 2x30 fixed power with the same ballistics marked reticle on the .444. I'm not big into optics, yet... but from what I gather, a 2x or 3x fixed is just about perfect for hundred yard shooting, and that's what most .357 is going to be. Any more power, and the field of view is going to suffer, as well as light levels. That said, there's a compact 4x30 coming in the mail which will live on top os my NEF .357. That's slightly overkill; but what I wanted foremost was a nice big aperture for light collection, and the fact that the scope was well reviewed and only $25 helped it along.

3 - "Please do as much testing as you can with your new .357 handi-rifle and publish the results." Ok, not really a question, but the rifle is in the shop, and I've already shot it... and it has impressively negligible recoil and an alright trigger for a cheap out-of-the-box smokepole.

4 - "What's the provenance on that upper? It's got a lot of...character." (In reference to November, AR15 assembled with A1 upper) Well, I'm not sure how to check, but it's supposed to be a vintage original A1 upper. If someone could clue me in on how to check, I'd be grateful.

5 - "What's the PPSh kit for? Building a semi conversion somehow?" Yes. Unfortunately, "somehow" is operative, as apparently I'm ahead of the curve on this one and may be sitting on it for a while until an "easy" receiver and barrel kit roll along.

Christ, I went back to May, and that's it? You people need to ask more questions :)

Did I mention...

2008-12-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that alongside the scope that arrived wednesday was my Tennessee handgun carry permit?

Finally. Yes, I waited a long, long time to get one... mostly because it wouldn't be that useful.

See, I'm drowning in work. I have been for years... I wake up in the morning and head for federal property, no guns allowed. As well, for years I've left that property and headed for the gun shop, private property, with the owners explicit permission to grab my S&W 432 in it's paddle holster and arm myself. And then I put that in the locker so it's available the next day, and I go home. Two, may three hours a week I'm puttering around in a grocery store in the "good" part of town. And when home, well, you've seen the collection, and at least two of those are ready condition 1 at any given time, on me or not. I don't go "out" . I don't wander around the city on foot. I don't drive a particularly valuable or even theft-attractive vehicle.

But the possibility always remained, so there's the permit. Coverage where lawful can now be at 100%.

The usual new permit-holders anxieties? I don't think they apply. I'm not particularly worried about "being made" and I've always wandered around with my eyes open (most of the time). What I am worried about? Forgetting... that one day getting almost all the way to work and remembering, to turn around and go home and empty the truck before heading in, drastically late since it's 50 minutes one-way. I like my job, for the most part, as well as liking my freedom and not having a felony charge leveled on me for an innocent mistake. But, that's an anxiety, not a truth; just one more sliver of responsibility tossed my way that I'll keep up with just as well as the rest of them.

In reality though, all this really means to me is when I go to the grocery store on the weekends I can toss one more piece of kit in my pocket and be truly prepared for the worst, instead of mostly prepared and lacking.

sigh.

2008-12-04T15:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, firstly, Cabelas rocks... I found one of their Pine Ridge scopes set up specifically for .444 Marlin, and it was on sale.

And not only that, they shipped ASAP without a hitch. All I need now are rings and time to zero it in.

Yes, I know that's a lot of scope for a .444, but the aperture is huge, the reticle is set up with ballistic marks, and field of view should be outstanding since I'm leaving it in 3x permanently. Did I mention it was $50?

Now, the dejected sighing part. Yesterday I called the company responsible for sending me the ITM AK74 receiver, since it has been squarely a month. This time, I got someone reasonable, who said it left on the tenth. Wha? So I scour the boxes at the range, and find one from the initials of the company, with nothing close to my name on it. Pop it open; there it is... one receiver, stamped, pre-finished, looks to be well hardened, says 7.62 on the side.

*blink*.

Yeah, they sent me the wrong one, and thanks to some jerkoff telling me it'd be weeks before it arrived, it's now well past the point of no replacements available for months. I'll be keeping it anyways... a $60 AK receiver is still no poor deal, even if it's not what I wanted. But dammit, no receiver for the '74! My options are to either make a plate or guides for the 74 mag in the 47 receiver, wait until 74s show up again, or bend a 74 flat up and make my own. None are terribly attractive options.

At least I got word that the RIA pistol is only a week or two off, and I should have an NEF rifle very, very soon. The only thing left to wait for will be the two el-cheapo NcStar scopes that are on backorder. Oh, and the PPsh41 kit arrived yesterday too.

New toys keep rolling in. Or not.

2008-11-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

So, in the pantheon of CZ there's now:

CZ-27
CZ-52
CZ-70
CZ-75B compact
CZ-75B .40S&W compact
CZ-82
Tanfoglio TZ-75 Compact
EAA Witness .45 Compact

And yet, there are still holes... 38, 85, 97, some of the more exotic pre-war variants like the 24, 26, a Duo, maybe even some of the funkier pocket guns with folding triggers... I don't have a full-size 75 at all either, though the 85 would fill the niche.

CZ's making polymer frame 75s now too, which complicates matters. And the RAMI. Oh, and the CZ40. And the 50. And the rifles.

I have planning to do. Oh, and the "Holy Grail"? CZ made a copy of a Colt revolver in the 50's for security police work. I heavily doubt any came this way, but that's why it's a Holy Grail gun.

====

Updates on the other incoming items: The receiver on order for the AK74 along with the papasha parts kit are delayed, with no reason other than "we're busy". I'll be calling them next week. The RIA Hi-cap was not even in stock when I ordered it, and will be a week or more. That company was honest about it when I called, and it's enough of a deal that I'm not going to bitch too loudly, but come on... have something in hand when you advertise it or at least say it's not on-hand, ok?

Oh, and I stumbled upon an acceptable deal on an NEF .357 handi, new for $228. I got word it shipped UPS ground wednesday... so I went ahead and ordered three scopes, two cheap NCstars and a Cabela's .444Marlin scope. The former two, one is for the Marlin to replace the supercheap BSA I have on it (this one's a nicer fixed 4x20) and the other was a compact 4x30 for the NEF, since that doesn't have sights at all.

Unfortunately immediately after my order, the company I got the NCstars from sent me a "Oh, sorry, both backordered" email. Dammit! I'm not one to say "there oughtta be a law" but jeez, this is so widespread there's no chance of social pressure fixing it, and if there's one PEEP of "oh, price went up" on ANY of my orders I'm finding a lawyer, because the orders were taken and my money accepted. None of the companies I used have a history of that though, so really all I'm in for is a wait.

A wait, and a stretch of time my long-awaited NEF .357 will be useless. *grumble*. I may toss the red dot from the MechTech on there so I can use it while I wait for everything else.

StrangeGun moment of the day

2008-11-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

1. Get a front-stuffer of .58 caliber or larger
2. Get a teeny camera with a radio transmitter
3. design a sabot'ed finned "dart"
4. Kiss it goodbye with a much-reduced load, watch the insanity

Problems: needs a HUGE range, or a parachute. Spring loaded fin carriers to stay closed around the recovery device under aero pressure until it slows enough to release it? Maybe.

Could do this with a little air cannon as well.

Just something to ponder.

==================

You know, the only real thing left on the "solid" wish list is a .357 single shot rifle.

Don't know where to go with that, though. NEF apparently disco'd theirs, and everything else is a fortune. Maybe it's time to sit and watch the auctions for a while...

What is, and what will never be...

2008-11-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

It's not happening. Here's a copy of the last email I sent to the MechTech guy;
========

---,

I’ve measured up and a shim .045” wide and .145” tall, attached so as to leave a .125” gap from the side of the inside rib of the bolt would do it, radiused down flush from .300” behind the bolt face and staying at full height .600”, radiused down to flush towards the rear with what figures out to be probably a 55mm diameter slitting saw (1.55” secant, .325” chord height, maybe… never was too good at math)

That shim could be wider but those measurements leave room for the attachment safety spring to be left alone with enough room to work properly. It’d have been a lot easier to measure too if the central rib (I don’t know the right nomenclature, sorry) were the same height, the two are different depths as measured from the center of the firing pin channel.

As thin as that shim is, I don’t think it’ll just be a simple addition, I see tab slots and silver solder in it’s future. I’m probably not going to do it, but there’s the numbers if you all decide to do something with it on the machining end.

Photos for reference:
http://www.posterboard.tv/firearm_misc/para-ccu

=====

The added bit won't be strong enough without drastic measures, and I don't want to modify the CCU that deeply (tab/slot fits, silver solder).

But, the RIA frame is identical to that one, but in single action that I *KNOW* will function, so all will be well in StrangeGunLand :-D

Oh, one more thing...

2008-11-20T06:05:00.000-05:00

The tactimarlin paid a trip to the gunsmiths a few days ago as well. And I got it back doing the same things it was doing...

See, it eats any old .22LR just fine, but it EATS CCI stingers, literally... slams the bolt into the side of the cartridge so hard it bunches two square holes.

Well, I'm just figuring now that it's just not compatible, and that's fine. So in reality, I put it in the shop because *all* I'd tried were stingers. Whoops :) Seeing now as I'm in possession of 500+ rounds of Fed Premium, it won't be an issue again for a long time.

Ammo day... was a bust. I spent ~13 hours in bed yesterday with murderous sinuses. 30-40% humidity here, 25% at job#1, not cool for the old noggin.

====

Ah, one more one more thing. The CCU and the LDA may have a chance or reconciliation. I've been in conversations with a Para guy on M1911.org and the MechTech engineers via email, and I *might* be able to fashion a little metal chunk to behave like the trigger reset cut in the Para slide. If not (or I decide to take the easy, money-throwing route), I can either get a Para "gunsmith kit" which is a ~$400 dressed frame, OR I can drop $400 on an RIA 1911 hi-cap, which is fashioned after the Para frame and will take my mags. Oh, and will leave me with a brand-new .45 slide and barrel assembly, which I will obviously later on throw a standard 1911 frame at and end up with (queue dramatic music) my first REAL 1911, matching my intentions of BUILDING MY OWN. Hee :)

Yeah, I know the RIA frames are cast, but I note that this frame will be permanently assigned to the CCU, and it's only task is to hold the magazine, my hand, and the triggery bits in the right position to repeatedly go "bang". Hell, I could do that with a chunk of wood (and I haven't forgotten the idea of trying that with an AR upper, either).

=====

Damn.... just talked myself into it. I'm still going to see what I can do with the LDA, but that RIA hi-cap is on it's way to the armory.

And my credit card, it *bleeeds*. I ought to be back to normal (zero debt) by May though, earlier if I push hard.

Contention.

2008-11-18T22:14:00.000-05:00

Frankengun and Mr. MechTech aren't on speaking terms.

I'm doing something I'm reasonably sure, after searches and even asking the MechTech guy (who said he's the one who'd be building the unit) about the compatability between the CCU and the Para LDA system.

And, there's a problem. Seems the CCU isn't hitting the disconnector properly, or that's my best guess. You get one hammer fall, then it's all caterwumpus, and becomes a bear to take apart.

I will confer with better smiths than I tomorrow. This could be something as simple as putting in a shim to hit the disconnector, or something as difficult (financially) as just finding a Para double stack frame or equivalent, with the regular 1911 single action parts.

I know the CCU itself works... I stripped the range Kimber .45 1911 and installed it, and put 10mm in the .45 magazine and let it rip. 4 for 4 fired, and then I was out of ammo since I forgot to bring any of my stash.

Watch this space. Something will be figured out. Pics when it's running.

Hello, Mr. Wildey.

2008-11-18T08:23:00.001-05:00

No no, as nice as it would be to lay hands on a Wildey, I haven't. That's a tribute.

What *has* arrived though... Hello, Mr. Mech-Tech :)

I'll be sliding the Frankengun frame into it, being a 16" 10mm model with the fixed stock. Looks like a space gun, probably shoots like a space gun with the ammo I have, and.... Dammit all, it's just frickin' neat.

The ammo? it arrived yesterday too... 500 rounds of Georgia Arms 10mm 180gr FMJ and 200 rounds of 155gr HP bookin' along at 1375 fps, likely much faster from a long barrel. Who ever thought I'd see the day when 10mm becomes economical. See, My grand sum total for that and 100 rounds of .32mag LRN, shipped, was $301. $0.38 a round, averaged. Still not the cheapest, but not bad at all.

A little el-cheapo Chinese Docter sight knockoff arrived too, and actually looks pretty solid. We'll see how long it lasts, because for some reason I expect the recoil from this rig to be brisk. I'll start sighting it in tonight, I need to find a ballistics chart for 180gr@~1100fps so I can calc what the hold over is for 25 yards to get a rough 100 yard zero.

Future plans: This may spin off as a complete set. All I would need to do so is a Para frame with fire control parts, I already have several extended mags. Single action versus LDA, the verdict is out on that...

With a carbine, the idea of playing a bit with the 10mm load pops up. I need to find the limits of what it'll feed as far as OAL, but odd thoughts of 250+ grain subsonic loads through a suppressor are coming to mind, as well as what I could do if I find .400" diameter sabots... hell, or develop some of my own. I had a book on the way, "How to cast small metal and plastic parts" but it either didn't get delivered or someone snagged it off my doorstep, I'll have to order it again. I'm thinking a sabot that adapts a .308 projectile but covers the nose so the overall profile is like a round nose FMJ might work well, 3 or 4 interlocking pieces that stay together until they get out of the barrel and then fling apart sideways from the centripetal forces...

... anyone ever do something like that with, say, balsa/basswood?

That's something to play with in the next toy though, if I can find one... a single shot .38spl carbine (.357 mag would work too). NEF is supposed to have something like that but it's apparently rare as hen's teeth.

Breaking radio silence

2008-11-11T14:38:00.001-05:00

I'd intended to stay silent today in rememberence of all the veterans who gave the best part of themselves in the service of their nation.

Well, instead here I'll say, thank you all.

Day.... something. Gun done!

2008-11-10T13:49:00.001-05:00

Saturday I got a note in the mailbox that I had a package. Nifty.

Extended my lunch to pick it up today, took it home, took some hurry-up photos and came back to work.

I've got some decisions to make as to the color, and that upper needs some finish lovin'... but aside from the colors and the grip, I'm already pretty close to what I'm after.

Click to enlarge. I'm quite happy :)

See, I'm useful after all.

2008-11-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

Don't ever say I don't have mad skillz.

A while back I brushed past my little office filing cabinet and broke the key off in the lock. Now, that's not usually a big deal, it's a little sheetmetal thing I keep old papers in, but I like being able to lock it so I can pick it up and move it safely.

It just now got on my nerves enough to do something. So, I disassembled the lock so I could pop out the little stub of key left in it, and retired to the MAD SCIENTISTS LAIR (the basement).

Judicious use of propane torch and tin/silver solder, some delicate cutting and filing, viola... functioning key. It works too; I don't really trust it enough to use daily but it's good enough to have a copy made. heh, $5 key for a $20 filing cabinet... I might just keep using it. It's not exactly straight, since the metal stretched when I bent it over and snapped it, but like I said... it works now.

Beginnings

2008-11-07T19:01:00.001-05:00

AKparts.com, gigantic two thumbs up.

They were the next to last thing I ordered, the big complicated parts order... and it was on my doorstep today. Incredible.

We'll call this "Day One" of the chronicle of the 2008 project.

Momentum.

2008-11-06T13:29:00.001-05:00

Friday, I decided to buy some basic things on credit, because I had it and it wasn't any big deal.
By monday, I'd decided that I was going to take a risk and "stock up" per se, in case any legislation started rolling downhill.

So, a short list of what new toys are on their way/have arrived;
1 M16A1 upper
2 Romy AK parts kits
1 Bulgi '74 kit
1 ITM 5.45 AK reciever
3 sets of US compliance parts (trigger group, grips, gas pistons) and rivet sets
2 AR mags
2 hungarian steel AK mags (already have a stack of AK mags at home, have a Nork SKS)
100 rounds of .223
100 rounds of 7.62
1 box each of .45, .40, 8mm mauser, 6.5x55 swede, .22lr bulk pack, .308
1 CZ75 compact magazine
1 C&R CZ82 pistol
1 Polish PPsh41 parts kit
1 AK stock with rear trunnion (going to build the '74 as a fixed stock)
1 DPMS bolt group and charging handle

And, I'll be buying magazines, ammo, bits and pieces, and possibly machines tools, as we go along and test the waters.

I think I've got a good coverage of bare-minimum here. The only rifle I don't have any ammunition for now is the type 38 arisaka, and the only one I don't have at least a full box for is the type 99 arisaka.... I think I've done well. I could use some more pistol ammo though, particularly 7.62x25, but I don't see as much a threat there as with the rifle ammo. I already have a setup suitable for reloading pretty much any pistol cartridge, provided I have the dies.

The pain comes when I start paying *back*. Maybe the magic O will dissolve or absolve everyone's credit debt :-D

As far as the AK builds go, I'm just planning the basics here, nothing special. The Bulgi '74 will be a "regular" build, one Romy will get nice wood stocks and stock everything else, and the other Romy is going to have some svelte polymer stocks, a modest top rail and red dot sight, and no front sight or flash hider. The rail there is likely to be one I've seen that clips/clamps into the read sight base, I want it as low and as solid as possible. The PPsh41 I'll probably leave alone for a while, maybe make my own receiver, though I'll be finding mags soon. I don't think it's very bright on gun-grabber's radar, except for the capacity.

So.... about that credit thing...

2008-10-31T22:32:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm within 3 weeks of having no credit debt whatsoever.

Or, I was. Knocked some co-pays over to a credit card... and while I was at it, I found a deal.

Sometime in the near future, something will be arriving on my doorstep (or at the range, haven't decided).

That something... is a Colt A1 upper assembly, chrome-lined, small pin, with the teardrop forward assist and no deflector, and a squirrel-cage flash hider, for less than four bills.

I'll still need a bolt and charging handle, but this pretty much means the first AR project will be complete, and I can focus on getting AK parts kits, soon, real soon, while they still exist.

EDIT: Soon, I suppose, means now... I have got to stay off gunbroker. $400 Bulgarian AK74 kit. God, the prices really have skyrocketed on those.

Next, later, will be a plain-jane WASR kit or a barrel-less AMD65, likely the latter since they're cheap and frankly different.

EDIT AGAIN: Umm, I'm going to end up with 3 AKs then. I'll need a different receiver for the '74... no big deal, that's cheap stuff.

A little more practice.

2008-10-14T08:49:00.000-04:00

I finally got the time to take a pistol onto the range yesterday... two, in fact, since I was asked to function check one used PA63.

If I ever have one of those pistols, it's going to have the nickname "Sonofabitch". That little bastard *hurts*, messed me up for a bit with the gun I was intending to practice with :) Good news? The PA63 in question first shot two side by side about 1" up and 1/2" off right of bullseye, then a connected 3" long vertical string about an inch to the left and at the bullseye level, at 7 yards.

I also shot one handed, since that just works better for me with smaller guns.

And then, I stepped up with *my* practice, my Tanfoglio TZ75 compact and 50 of the GA Arms 115gr 9mm.

Results? All hits on target at 7 yards, but the first magazine I fought a wicked push so there were a scattering of 4-5 rounds down from bullseye up to 5" or so, and then I fought with the POA a little, and aiming an inch and a half up and left for the rest of the rounds obliterated the bullseye and most of the "10 ring", in quotes because I was using a cast-off sighting target.

Not bad. I know some do much better, but when I practice during work hours typically I'm taking the next shot as soon as I'm back on target, rapid-fire. That serves two purposes; one, I'm not killing too much time on the range when I could be on the floor, and two, I figure if I ever REALLY REALLY need to start shooting, a fast followup on target is a bit more useful than taking 10-15 seconds to put a bullet through the same hole as last time.

I do wonder why the TZ is so far off POA though, I'll have to bench it and/or have someone else try it and see if it's me or the sights. Could be the ammo too, a lot of Euro guns get regulated for 124gr. I tried to buy 124 when I was in Villa Rica, but they were out...

Ah look, product placement.

2008-10-05T19:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm endorsing a non-gun product.

Pretty good tea, inexpensive too. I find it at Food City. Here's a closer look at the label.

Why the endorsement on the gun blog?

Nothing like a little "gunpowder tea". The tin, pretty much air/water tight, holds 100 rounds of 9mm neatly.

The lid dents a bit, but I've turned it upside down while full, shaken it a bit, it stays closed.

Oh, and on another note, I've been tumbling like a madman;

All squeaky-clean (well, mostly) .38spl brass, with 50 rounds of .32 magnum for good measure. Once I get a powder measure I'll start loading again; eventually I want another pistol (or get the M&P repaired, needs a new firing pin bushing) and a .357 magnum carbine, something lighweight like a single.

The library.

2008-09-28T20:59:00.000-04:00

I have a keen interest in history. As such, when I wanted to start making real sense of how the middle east and central asia came to be what they are today, I started doing my own research. I didn't read them in this order, but this is a start;

"Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" by Jack Weatherford. Covers up to the 1500s, and will blow your mind about the true working of the Khanate and what influences they had even into modern times.

"The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" by Peter Hopkirk

This one covers the neo-european influences in the area from the Napoleonic era towards the end of Imperial Russia. A great long book (524 pages) but worth the read, every page of it.

Now, I need something to fill in the gap. Weatherford's book stays on scope and doesn't cover what happened to the smaller nations that sprung up amongst tribes from the 1500's onwards, and Hopkirk's has a little forwards that covers it a bit but then starts with Napoleon's conquest of Europe. So I've got about 200 years worth of central asia missing, which may be the most important of all. Unfortunately I get the feeling that scholarly work on the matter is going to be very limited in focus... I'm not going to find a single book that'll describe the rise of the Ottomans, Persia, the Moghul period, etc.

But, that's all OK for now. I usually change subjects after finishing a book and I think I'm going to dive into some "medical" thriller nonfiction for a change. After that I think I'm going to find a good horror writer, maybe grab another Turtledove book, read some engineering texts, etc.

Mission accomplished.

2008-09-28T01:12:00.001-04:00

I was unhappy with the media separator lid that RCBS supplies. A quick trip to walmart for office supplies, and...

Viola, quick and dirty media separator. And I even got to use the forstner bits and jig saw :)

The only problem it has is the static that the styrene carried from the factory. A good waxing and that should go away.

Being in the "build me!" mood, I then proceeeded to turn a solid #2 rubber stopper and a 1/4"-20 bolt into an expanding collet, chucked an aluminum Mountain Dew bottle into the drill press, and produced a cowbell.. er.. bell. All *it* needs now is a handle and/or clapper. if I had a lathe I could turn the base into a cup with a little metal spinning...

Presented for review.

2008-09-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

One Vltor CASV-ELG mounted to a DPMS Sportical. Yeah, the sights are a bit of a mismatch but it's what we had and is really works well, Matech BUIS and a Troy flip front.

I'd gladly accept this rifle with a lighter stock and a small holographic sight with no irons... an ATNc Ultra might be fragile but it's the profile I'm after. Maybe an Ace Ultra Lite stock would do it well... ugly, but as light as can be.

Gasp politics!

2008-09-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

And here's Charles Gibson/ABC's take on the Kennedy inaugural address:

In the long history of the world, only a few...have been granted the role of defending freedom. [...] I welcome it. I do not believe...any other people or any other generation. [...] The glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: [...] what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: [...] here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

====

Of course, you can't hear editing marks and creative video shooting can mask cuts, and a little pitch bending will solve any incongruencies with the speech.

Oh, oh look... our theoretical ABC broadcast just made JFK into a hawkish, "neo-con" egotist. Go figure.

Whoever is responsible for the Palin interview editing needs to be shitcanned in a damned hurry.

Cartridges.

2008-09-13T20:55:00.000-04:00

Also titled: Mike gets to stretch out his macro photography skills a little. It's been a while.

We'll pick on this guy first.

Headstamp of F A 9 11 indicates production at Frankford Arsenal, PA in September 1911. This one is just turning 97 years old.

This guy is next;

F A 10 14 says Frankford again, October 1914. Ninety-four years old next month; When this cartridge was made the army had only been using the 1911 for three years.

This one is last; It's not in as good a shape as the others since the case is steel.

ECS43 is Evansville Chrysler/Sunbeam Refrigerator plant Indiana, 1943. Refrigerators? Yes, during WWII the Sunbeam plant tooled up to make ammo from 1942-1944. They went from knowing absolutely nothing to making, if my source is right, 90-95% of all the ammunition shipped overseas during the latter half of WWII, upwards of three billion cartridges.

This is one of those. And they were apparently best quality stuff.

I won't try any, given the conditions they were kept in, but all indication say that most of these old cartridges should still fire.

Proof I need to work in the gun industry.

2008-09-13T12:08:00.001-04:00

September 2005 : I wrote the post below:

http://drstrangegun.blogspot.com/2005/09/ok-cats-been-out-of-bag-on-this-one.html

September 2008:

I can now buy guns chambered in .327 Federal Magnum. 100gr, 1200fps out of a snub, right?

It just gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling, that's all.

BIG PROJECT, DONE!

2008-09-12T23:07:00.001-04:00

And it's picture intensive.

That's all of it; over a year ago an elderly lady dropped off her late husbands guns and a box of ammo that, even politely, was rank and filthy. Nobody wanted to touch it... but they held it aside, figuring I'd want to pick through it since I like odd stuff. Well, I did... and decided to take the whole box home, where it sat until I got a tumbler to clean it all. And I did. And oh, there are some sweet unusual finds in there.

A great big pile of .45 colt, about half which might headstamp out to 1911-1914 production or so

Damaged, but still cool: .375 H&H Magnum. Those are mid-high level safari hunting cartridges

A .41 Short Single Action. Pretty much dedicated to one pistol that started production in 1874

A big pack of strange; That's .30 Short Rimfire, for Sharps single shot rifles. Cannot physically be any newer than early 1920's.

One lonely .455 Colt, aka .455 Enfield revolver. I'm beginning to think the owner was a veteran.

.41 Swiss Rimfire for the Vetterli rifle, 1870's.

Some extras; two original Garand clips

This is what everything looked like before cleaning. I kept one .45 Colt aside in original condition just to show.

And here's the little ebast that made it all possible; It's happily buzzing away right now cleaning the first batch of .38 special brass.

The total haul:

There are also three of something I can't determine. I first thought they were .32 rimfire, but they're far too small. .300 bullet diameter, ~0.55 case length, 0.94" OAL, 0.356" rim, 0.305 neck and base diameters. Completely copper washed with an elongated diamond headstamp. I don't have a clue, it fits NOTHING in the books or online. Hell, considering everything else they may be an ancient european metric cartridge. All I know is, I'm stoked :)

Bullet: bitten.

2008-09-02T12:57:00.000-04:00

After reviewing my finances and staring at a blank wall for several minutes, I once again perused some online sites and huzzah!

3-6 business days from now, an RCBS vibratory tumbler will arrive on my doorstep, alongside 4 pounds of dry polish corncob media.

Oh, and a 20rd box of Hornady 7.5 Swiss. The K31 is hungry.

This is excellent news for... for... someone (I need to go look again) on TFL who asked nicely for a couple rounds of some of the odd ammo I've got in a box awaiting a tumblin' cleanup. I think it's the .32 rimfire...

Oh, and prepare yourselves for an ammofest photoshoot once that's done as well. There's some *seriously* rare and unusual stuff in that box.

Small updates.

2008-08-30T22:10:00.001-04:00

- I've shot up all the Georgia Arms .32 magnum ammo, with reasonable results. The SP101 leaded like hell too, so the 432 isn't having any problems. When I reload these cases, i have a box of 100gr FMJ projectiles so the leading issue is moot.

- I'm also 100 rounds into the GA 115gr FMJ 9mm. It's very good ammo, quite consistent... the last 50 rounds disappeared into a 2.5" ragged hole on a 7 yard target as fast as I could reacquire the sight picture.

- I just finished buying http://www.drstrangegun.com . What I'll do with it is obvious; the how and where isn't. I think I'll be "going big time" and doing the google ad thing, and to further that I may expand my presence here... for a long time I've avoided politics and other subjects under the DrStrangegun persona, and that may change. Then you all get to see what a real lunatic I am...

- firearmwiki.com is pretty much dead on the vine, and if anyone else wants the site to administrate, let me know.

So I tried it...

2008-08-20T11:13:00.000-04:00

S&W 432, .32H&R Mag 100gr "Cowboy Load" Georgia Arms, 7 yards

Not bad at all. Really, really fouled the gun though, I need to find out if it's moly lube or graphite filler or if I've coated the front of my cylinder with metallic lead, but it's shiny now, and that's bad on a black gun.

I need to get my SP101 to the range and see if I do better, and if it fouls as badly.

I should have snagged a scoopful of the 9mm and run it through the Tanfoglio, but I forgot.

Staples.

2008-08-12T07:03:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I walked into Georgia Arms, plopped down the magic plastic, and walked out with a half a box (500rd) 115gr 9mm, and the rest of the box filled with 100gr .32 Mag Cowboy loads and 20 .444 Marlin.

Nice.

Boredom strikes!

2008-07-12T23:14:00.000-04:00

And when it strikes, it strikes hard, at the very heart of science! BWAHAHAHAHA

Ok, not really. But I did finally figure something out for an eddy current heater thingamabobber I've had on my mind.

I took something from a previous boredom session, a wooden disk with a spindle, and I centered and drilled four holes in one of the hard drive platters. That, and a clamp for the magnet, and I had my demonstrator.

And, with the drill press on it's highest speed setting, gets too hot to touch. Myth confirmed. Wait, wrong show...

Improvements?
1 - I'm not sure what the drive platter is made of, and it may not be as conductive as an aluminum or copper disk.
2 - The magnets could be closer together, and since magnetic fields run on the inverse square of distance, that will increase the eddy and the heating.
3 - I'm limited here by speed, but a bigger disk would have higher rotational speed at the edge. With the original wind powered idea, I'll either need a big disk or a gearbox, with the latter being more likely.
4 - There are stronger magnets out there, and multipolar setups work much, much better than what I have.

Still, too much stronger and I'll either overstress the drill press, or actually heat the disk to a failure point... which I really kinda wanted to see... at least a dull red. I figure I got around 250-300 degrees F running, but it falls off fast because of surface area and heat conductivity when it's stopped.

The "end game" of this idea was a little wind-powered unit for arctic climes... basically, cheap free heat with no maintenance. If you make heat with friction, you eventually wear it out; make heat with electrical generation and resistance, and you drive the unit price up. Make heat with a cheap aluminum disk in an oil bath running between a series of rare earth magnets, and you've got something simple, inexpensive, and it'll run forever.

I mean, it's not like there's a shortage of wind above the arctic circle...

Haw.

2008-06-17T08:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/2008/06/17/#a004683

That's today's Day By Day cartoon, relevancy check to follow.

I've always been somewhat of an "absent-minded professor" type, though not nearly so much now since my sleep problems are being treated (apnea, for a long long time).

Today's cartoon reminded me of the 5-6 times I'd get up in the morning, oh so groggy, hop in the car and start it, settle in to start driving, pat my pants pocket and go "Aw, dammit... what did I do with my keys?"

Warning.

2008-06-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

Ok. This Special AR Upper is on sale at Gunbroker.

I would not recommend anyone purchasing it, even though it's the strongest, lightest one you can find.

See, it's made of Beryllium, the machining and processing of which liberates Beryllium Oxide, which in turn causes chemical pneumonitis and Berylliosis, as well as being very carcinogenic. Frankly, I think it's safer to work with pure cadmium.

I'll be sending an email to that seller shortly.

New toy.

2008-05-13T09:33:00.000-04:00

http://www.scangauge.com

Frankly, it's AWESOME. That is, if I can avoid killing myself playing with it while driving.

Maybe more later, I'm having a busy day.

Also...

2008-05-05T09:27:00.001-04:00

Did a microbatch last night, just to get back into the swing of things. I'd just cleared off the bench and organized everything that was stacked high, and also gotten some "accessories" like the stainless measuring cups and the plastic trays.

Load's .38 special, 148gr Hornady HBWC, 4.0gr Trail Boss, and I do mean point zero, every charge was hand measured with a mid-batch verification. Yeah, takes me forever to load but dammit, they're going to be consistent :)

What I tell people?

2008-05-05T09:12:00.001-04:00

Ok, look... I only work at the gunshop ~three hours a day, four days a week, and sundays which I despise doing. But, I still have plenty of opportunities to talk to new shooters and steer them, right or wrong, down some path to carrydom.

Reading over ColtCCO's post, I had to think about what I was doing. No, I wasn't the co-worker in question, but I do recall the guy and his tenacity to a flawed model.

What do I tell people?

1. Try them out. See what you can shoot. Practice makes better (nobody's perfect).
2. A carry gun is a compromise amongst a slew of variables. Nobody's the same as anybody else, you'll just have to find what works.
3. Within reason, shoot the largest caliber that's comfortable to you. If you can put 50 rounds through a Clickenbanger .50 bulldog derringer and keep hitting the target, even though it leaves you bruised, consider yourself comfortable with it. That doesn't mean carrying a .22 short is acceptable, you need to train to get up to something larger*.
4. Stopping power is a myth. There, I said it. If the situation arises, you shoot, make it count, keep shooting till they stop doing whatever it was that got them shot. Running away can also be the difference between going home later or someone's bud clocking you in the back of the head and making you a statistic.

I try to keep it simple and common sense. I don't dive into the caliber comparison BS until someone's had some experience and can follow along with memories of what they *feel* like. Some people "get it" once they've been told the basics of how and why projectiles work. Some never get it. Doesn't matter. Have gun, will travel.

*Personally, I consider .32acp to be an utter minimum, and only with hot loads. .380 is eminently preferable and comes in a large enough variety of weapons that there's little need to go below unless there's recoil mitigation or package size to consider, and Keltec nullified the latter argument. That little number is also almost meaningless... I carry a .32 Magnum every day and to use a tired phrase, I trust it with my life. 100gr at 1000fps should be just fine.

Should be, meaning NEVER TRUST A PISTOL TO BE THE FINAL WORD. There are steps to take after shots are fired, if you trap yourself into thinking that "Ok, he's down, it's over" you may be sorry.

And that's about that. Warning: thoughts may have been muddied since it's monday and I'm operating below minimum levels of sleep and caffeine.

So I got tagged.

2008-04-28T13:54:00.000-04:00

The rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Find page 123.
3. Find the first five sentences.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

"Visualize seating a bullet 1/16" deeper in the 45 acp and 270 Winchester. The useable volume of a 270 in 4.238cc and the 45 acp is 1.14cc. Seating bullets 1/16" deeper in the 270 reduces the volume 0.06cc and 0.16cc for the 45 acp."

From "Modern Reloading: Second Edition", Richard Lee. No, there was no cheating, this book lives on my computer desk.

I am cheating, however, because I'm breaking rule 5. Salut!

Mug Shot.

2008-04-23T11:59:00.000-04:00

There it be. And there be it like all the others; 11oz shiny black ceramic of which I bought almost a dozen of for $0.75 a piece a few years back. Mold-made, so the surface is like a mirror, perfectly smooth.

Tam, Breda, and Uncle were doing it, I figured hey why not :)

I did get called "the most relentlessly pragmatic person I know" or something close to that, I suppose it shows in places...

=====

In other news, a decision was made in how to make the "strange" AK. There will be some experimentation first, to see if I can devise a magazine that will fit through an unmodified AK magwell that will be "easy" to make and feed .357 magnum/.38 special; if such can be done, then I'll be making a pump-action .38/.357 AK.

Why?

Because!

Things.

2008-04-11T10:40:00.000-04:00

Thing 1: A couple of boxes of .416 Barrett found their way to the store the other night. Wicked looking cartridge; of course, I took photos, which I don't have here to post.

Thing 2: I'm now the proud owner of two CD Industries NODAK SPUD AK lowers.

What will I do with such beasts?

Reciever one, which I picked from the case due to it's serial number (451... thank you Mr. Bradbury) will be a standard 7.62x39 AK, with some exceptions; I want to find good looking metal furniture, and it will be coated in various shades of ash grey.

Reciever two, I'll either make a "stock" rifle, or do something completely wierd with it. Various ideas I've pondered; pistol caliber conversions, wildcat cartridges, "bolt action" conversions for use with "whisperized" 7.62 and a suppressor. I ran across a manufacturer supplying cut-and-weld kits for using Suomi drums. I've heard whisperings of using Ppsh43 magazines (and a 7.62x25 lightweight AK would completely kick ass). I do believe that if I block the mag well and use a single stack 5.45 magazine, I could persuade the action to feed something like .32 magnum. 9mm, .357 magnum, .45acp, ".400 Russian", .30 carbine, 6.8SPC... nothing's completely out of the question.

Or it could end up with a WASR-10 parts kit on it, sanded and filled with red shellac and polished bluing. I won't know for a while... I have to sit on these recievers till august when I'm done with my financial wrangling and honestly, I shouldn't have bought these under my own rules. But, it would have been completely stupid of me to pass up the deal I got; I'm not even in these for 2 bills yet.

A fragment of underdone potato...

2008-04-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

Have I shrugged? Am I being content with living a merely comfortable life instead of an exceptional one because I've decided it's not worth the hassle or the effort?

I was reading comments to an article on Digg and actually felt despondent that the people showing their dire ignorance and shortsightedness *are The People*.

I get into funks like this and make it worse by feeling guilty because I've always been trained to consider this line of thought arrogant and conceited. I suppose I have Bergeron syndrome... an inadvertent conscript to Jante law.

I *hate* it. And it's even compounded because I have a legitimate handicap on my skills; for the most part, I cannot grok higher maths. It's just not there; autodidaction never worked for that, and classical training was an utter failure.

So I think I stop trying. And then I do stop trying. And that's not laziness; it's total, pyrrhic defeat. When the soul sleeps and the brain dies, a dibrach full of fail.

1000 words.

2008-03-26T08:28:00.001-04:00

I'll just let the photos do the speaking. This is at CCA.

Clean!

2008-03-22T23:14:00.000-04:00

So, it was then gun cleaning time, and everything was brought forth from behind lock and key and laid out to be molested with an oily rag.

And, with such a complete family reunion in place (only missing four pistols), of course I had to take photos.

One
Two
Three
Four

There's over a hundred years of history sitting there, artifacts of times past... they were actually *there*, the only closer ties I can imagine would be to speak with the owners. And every - single - one still functions, most of them almost like brand new.

Well there's your problem...

2008-03-21T17:37:00.000-04:00

Yup, that'll do it... "it" being a rough idle, long start, and bucking.

Maybe the mileage will improve... hell, it's already a hair above 30mpg.

adVenture

2008-03-17T23:09:00.001-04:00

This... this clip is *precisely* why I love the Venture Brothers.

Just some news.

2008-03-17T13:53:00.001-04:00

Not much to say here, just some updates.

- I'm now a member of VRPC. http://www.vrpc.info

I now have some place to try out the rifles, which of course means my collecting will invariably shift towards pistols...

- I have what I think is an excellent lead on standard and extended magazines for Frankengun. They're Para .45acp magazines, but the feedlips are close enough together to feed 10mm just fine; I know because I tried one. I may soon be coming home with 5 16 round mags and 2 19 round mags...

- the VRPC membership is also the last key towards unlocking the CMP's door. Unfortunately by the time my little accelerated loan payoff scheme is done, they may not have much left but ragged M1 carbines and parts.

That is all; resume your normal workday activities.

Foodie.

2008-03-14T22:16:00.000-04:00

Now, I'm being lazy... below is a copy and paste from my other, more private blog and there's a back story to it; I've taken to cooking for two week's worth of lunches at a time, and I've come home from the grocery today with 16 pounds of meat for the stellar price of $20.

This is the first, possibly last post from the seconday mad scientists lab... the kitchen of doom.

=============

Ok... the three pound roast got cut in half, one half was cut through the thickness to make two steaks, which I tenderized... cooked and ate. *ohhh full*. The other pound and a half I cubed and sauteed in a little tenderizer, garlic powder, and chili powder. That will go in the chili.

Also going in the chili is the pound of ground beef I have in the fridge now, the middle of a three pound roll... the ends are in bags in the freezer. The beef for the moment is sitting in the refrigerator with a little pepper sauce and worcestershire on the end, trickling down through.

The chicken... Since i can't exactly trust chicken at $0.59 a pound, I washed everything in cold water right out of the bag. Four legs got skinned and set aside, the rest is in individual bags in the fridge. My god, what a deal... just a little extra work to process. The four skinned went into the pressure cooker with garlic powder and water, and when they finished I stripped them and right now the meat's in the fridge and the bones and stock are in the pressure cooker, pressin'.

When that's done and I set it aside to cool, I can brown the ground beef and then I'll stick that in the fridge for tomorrow... I'll run out of time tonight to make the chili.

Once the stock cools, I'll filter it and put it in my big pot... toss in ingredients and start simmering the soup.

In another pot, there's a pound of kidney beans and a pound of small reds soaking overnight. Tomorrow, half of those will go into the chili with all the meat (lot of meat, wow) after a short stint in the pressure cooker, and half will go into the pressure cooker with onion and the smoked pork neck I picked up today... that's gonna be yummy, yessirree.

And that, all told, should be more than enough to have 11 days of lunches with some left over to feed me this weekend. Phew. And, for next weekend I have split peas for soup; a can o' potatoes and a can o' carrots round that out.

Why... why do I get the feeling I should own a restaurant? I mean, if it weren't for the dry beans I'd only be making... uhm... *figures in head* about 3-4 gallons of food tonight...

Whee.

2008-03-13T23:06:00.001-04:00

I took the range's Kimber .22 target 1911 conversion out tonight with some leftover mini-mags.

Not bad for no warmup, one-hand shooting at 25 yards.

I also spotted something in the sales case and just had to arrange and photo-ize:

1918 -- 2008 , and damn near identical. The only things I could find on the new Colt reproduction that are off are the prancing horse, the tilt of the slide serrations, and the magazine is fully blued rather than half-dipped like an original.

I want one, badly... It'd probably never get shot either, I'd put it in a nice presentation case with some period memorabilia and leave it at that. Alas, that's impractical *and* impracticable.

I *MUST* stick to the fiscal plan...

One man's trash...

2008-03-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

There I was, Knoxville, 2008...

Ok, enough of that. I was at the shop yesterday and I noticed there was a box full of old, patinaed ammunition sitting in the back. A cursory glance showed some odd stuff, though I didn't go rooting, till I asked about it.

It turns out an older lady dropped it off earlier; she'd said it was all corroded, that it had been her husband's and she didn't want it any more. Did I want it? Hell yes.

And with that, I immediately started rooting and getting my hands covered in white lead oxide (which is why the gods invented soap, and I don't chew my fingernails).

A snippet of what was in the box, in quantities of at least one and generally a handful:

.22 rimfire, heeled, extra long, unidentified
.32 rimfire
.32 WCF
.32 S&W long (LONG long, as in I'm puzzled it's that long and still called "S&W Long" long)
.38 ACP
.41 long colt, and a LOT of it
8mm Mannlicher-Schonauer
.41 swiss rimfire (VETTERLI!)
.375 H&H
A rimfire cartridge in the low .38 caliber range
.45 S&W short (maybe, may be a "bulldog" caliber, there's no headstamp and I haven't measured it, is heeled)
One fresh rifle cartridge, unidentified, with a deep inverted rim, around 11mm, with headstamp to investigate later

And there may be more, but we were leaving by then and the stuff is filthy. I'll be looking into perhaps what lightweight media I could use in a vibe tumbler to clear all the crap off of these, maybe I could get some good headstamps after that.

Resourcefulness and logic.

2008-03-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

The day before yesterday, I was presented with a gentleman's Norinco AK of some variety. The gun wasn't the point of interest; it was the recoil spring. It had come apart and no effort so far had gotten it back together, and the owner was convinced that the spring retainer was broken.

Ah, not so. I looked at the retainer (a twisted metal wire oval about 1/8" wide and 6" long or so) and noted that the open end was cut, not broken. "Ok, so I have all the parts here, how does this work..."

I tried looking at the other AKs in the store but the only one left was an Arsenal and it uses a solid metal retainer. No go.

Poking around, I noticed that when the two sides of the open end butted together, it was too wide to go through the spring. Aha! The little metal clip held the two ends together and nestled in the end of the spring... That's how it goes!

But, getting the retainer through the spring was fruitless, it snagged. How to avoid snags?

I overlapped the ends and wrapped it with scotch tape. Much less snagless now, but it still binds. So, I tied a string to it. But how to get the string to drop through the spring? Another strip of scotch tape, this time wrapped around the end of the string as a weight. Viola! It comes through!

At that point I bundled as much spring up on the main part of the spring guide and had a third hand pull the string till the end of the loose part of the guide was out. Then I simply stripped the tape off, put the clip on the end and gently let the spring out to it. Success!

Guy left happy, I was ecstatic (it was like solving a puzzle or playing a game to me, and I won), and there's another functional weapon "on the streets".

*That* is why I like guns.

Points and pondering.

2008-03-06T10:32:00.001-05:00

Just a few little point updates.

-the doc is behaving like a good small-government type and emulating a decent economics package; I'm trimming and moving programs in order to reduce fiduciary outlay, in order to reduce debtload for a planned movement in purchasing power.

Essentially, I'm buying next to nothing (including a workable (!) scheme to eat healthily for $100 a month) and trimming what I normally overpay into my various loans and bills, in order to knock out one particular loan by August. Asides from the mortgage (which, like the national debt, is large enough to make a severe cost reduction program unfeasible due to long term effects), this loan is my largest and frankly my most embarrasing... I asked the bank if they would offer me a loan to pay off every-single-one of the credit cards that had been used to get me through college and a bit beyond, and they agreed.

Once the program is complete, I'll perform a similar but less severe trick on my vehicle loan (since it has collateral behind it, it's not as bad a risk as the unsecured loan), and then the same with the mortgage.

The benefits: greater spending power. I'm tired of watching guns pass through the shop or looking up something odd on gunbroker and *finding* it and not having the free funds to pick it up.

-How to eat on $100 a month, reasonably healthily, and lose weight doing so: Well, I'm halfway through the first month of the experiment and it's going beautifully so far. Twice a month I'll make a big pot of chili, soup, beans, whatever. When it's done, I immediately ladle it into 9oz containers and toss them in the freezer. The last haul was 11 of those, split between chili and chicken soup made with turkey stock from thanksgiving last.

Breakfast is one egg, done however I like, with a dabbling of leftovers from weekend food and some raw vegetables (mostly broccoli/carrots, it keeps long enough). Lunch is the container meal. Dinner is a sandwich, due to cash concerns this run it's bologna and cheese on whole wheat (real cheese too, it's not tha tmuch more expensive and far better for you).

On the weekends I make some off meals... pasta, lentils, stuff that doesn't freeze well but can cook up in a 2-3 day batch, and have that instead of the soups. There's two cans of "light" canned fruit in the pantry as well, which will augment.

This beats the pants off ramen or even canned soups... I get to control how much salt and how much spice goes in (little salt, much spice), and it just tastes better overall. I figure a big pot of chili like I made runs me something less than $10, for what's proving to be about a week's worth of food.

-Yesterday I went down to the John Sevier range and became a member of the Volunteer rifle and pistol club... looks like it may be worthwhile. I still have to go back on the 16'th for orientation and live fire demo, which I hope will actually happen because I'm scheduled at the shop that day.

View into my mindset: upon learning that there's a live fire demo required, thought #1 wasn't about my capabilities or accuracy... first thought, heck, current thought was "Wow, what will I bring? I could bring the Arisaka but ammo's pricey, could bring a Mosin but my ammo's corrosive... hate to waste a trip to the range with a pistol... the Marlin is still somewhat broken... "

I think I'll just bring the CZ75 compact. First gun's still the one I shoot best with :)

-The white shadow: Project's actually complete, and I ran the numbers and it may behoove me to go ahead and start driving it now instead of waiting for the insurance policy rollover. At today's prices, if I can manage the expected 32mpg then I'll be saving $30 a month in gas... my daily trip takes me 55 to 57 miles depending on which way I go, and the truck's mileage is suffering from old age. Trouble is, the plates haven't arrived yet, but I expect it soon. If they haven't arrived by monday I'll go raise hell at the dealer.

A whiff of grapeshot smells like victory

2008-02-28T07:41:00.000-05:00

Gleaned from NRAhab, check out the link below...

SnowflakesInHell - holy canister shot, Batman!

What beautiful shots! That had to cost a small fortune. Watch the tracking shot in the middle, you can see the mach waves, and if you're *really* astute you could measure the angle and calculate the speed of the shot...

w00t.

2008-02-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Had Boothroyd's, and Ezell's book just came in today.

W00t :)

Cover your eyes.

2008-02-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

I know the political world is all hot and bothered by the primary season, but this blog has been and will remain empty of any news, opinion, or information about the latest grand race.

Why?

My reminder is that I need to stay out of the comment sections of dedicated political blogs. They are cesspools; nothing more than a gaggle of chickens pecking at each other... tit-for-tat amongst barely literate assholes who think they're clever and vacuous shills who's favorite party candidates' words ring round empty skulls like a hawk's shriek in a canyon.

They make me ashamed for my country. I see some posts and come nearly to tears that these people have the gall to call themselves free Americans.

It's enough to make someone descend from a position of finely meted libertarianism to blistering anarchy. Screw'em all and let the gods sort it out.

Nobody '08, for the good of the independent citizen.

Interesting, but not new.

2008-02-20T08:25:00.001-05:00

The Boberg XR-9. I saw the videos and cutaways (see here from NRAhab) and thought "wow, that's incredibly neat".

Well, if I thought in English that's what I would have thought... my thoughts tend to run in images as far as engineering things is concerned, but DIGRESS! DIGRESS!

Anyhow, I was impressed, but something tickled the back of my skull about this gun. Last night, I whipped out my handy (10lb) copy of Boothroyd's "Handguns" and:

Check this out

That's the Gabbett-Fairfax Mars. The book has a cutaway drawing that I can't find in internetland; but essentially you can see what goes on if you note that the end of the chamber on that pistol is well behind the grip. Yes, the GB Mars draws the cartridge rearward from the magazine in a lifter assembly and stuffs it in the barrel.

Now, the Boberg is a USEABLE pistol where the Mars wasn't so much since it's ejector design was severely lacking, tending to toss brass directly rearward. But, it's a culmination of a design tried first over a hundred years ago.

Every time I close my eyes...

2008-02-19T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not that. But, every time I manage to start setting asides a little nest egg, some "non-earmarked" cash, a deal comes along that I can't refuse.

I would have been *dumb* not to buy this gun at the offered $200.

And I shot a quick 2" at 15 yards (20 rounds) with it, too.

I ain't just happy, I'm pleased as punch :)

New! EXTREMELY RARE!

2008-02-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

It's... a political post! Even though I have nothing to say about the presidential farce, this still falls under the realm of politics and it's rather hot-button, at least for us.

Georgia. Tennessee. Disputed land accompanying Nickajack reservoir.

See, Georgia claims that an 1818 land survey screwed up by placing the border south of the 35'th parallel, and apparently had no problems with that border in the ensuing 189 years. Is there a statute of limitations on border disputes?

Anyways, I wanted to point out one problem with Georgia's logic on this matter, and I may be incorrect on how this was actually handled, but I'm pretty sure the Federal state of Georgia ceased to exist on January 19, 1861.

In my opinion, and until I get proven otherwise, the border accepted on readmission, June 18, 1870 is the final answer and Georgia's legislature can go suck mud.

Now, if they wish to *request* a little juice from Nickajack, I'm sure we'd bend over backwards to help. Try to seize it, and we'll make the Battle of Athens look like a paintball game.

And... and... and...

2008-02-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

Dr. Strangegun's blog... guns, electronics... and now cars.

Well, car anyways. I picked up a new project a few days ago, and sparing you *all* the photos I leave you with this one:

This is the car being called, for now, the white shadow. And not Ken, either (yes, in theory I'm too young to know about that show, but I know about a lot of things I "shouldn't").

Anyhow, it's a '93, 2.2 TBI with a 5 speed stick, and was an AC and radio delete car that I think was a service car for some governmental entity around Oliver Springs. 111K on the clock and it cost me $1400... not bad. Runs like a top but has some issues, and I'll be fixing them shortly since parts are on the way. What's coming?

-polyurethane shift linkage bushings
-instrument cluster with tachometer (right now, just has base model bare minimum guages)
-front and rear speakers
-2 yards of foam backed headliner fabric
-a decent scrubbing for the motor and everything else underhood

I figure I'll work on this a couple months and then add it to my insurance when it rolls out of the 2007 cycle so I won't have to give out make-up payments for the remaining premium. No AC isn't an issue for me here since it's a white car so it won't get unbearable with the windows down, but I can always just drive the truck for a month or two during the hottest times of the year. A head unit, antenna, and floor mats are on the books for later on once these initial fixes are done.

Plans for modification? None, really. I might stiffen the suspension but not harshly... I wanted this as a cheaper commuter than the truck. Considering I drive 50 miles a day and should get ~32mpg out of the shadow, I ought to make up the purchase price (at $3/gallon) in... a little over four years. See, that's never a good reason. What is a good reason, however, is now I'll have a sprightly little runabout that costs pennies to insure, is fun to drive, comfortable, and eminently more practical as a people/grocery mover than the Sonoma is. I keep a tray in the passenger seat of the truck so essentially it's a one seater, and I have to tie my grocery bags shut to keep them from fluttering away after they've dumped their contents out in the bed.

So basically, the truck gets me during hot days, when I need to carry the big stuff, and when the shadow's out of commission. All other trips are shadow territory.

And now, I get to figure out what to do with the stripped-down, brutal, ex-rallycross car, the blue shadow.

Nattering.

2008-01-30T09:52:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems the gun blog has become the gun and electronics blog... and that's ok.

MSL is now completely in the basement though I still need to arrange everything and hook up all the equipment. There's a fair bit more storage space there but there's also a lot more junk and I've got the feeling I need to sit down, bite the bullet, and fill up a 40 gallon trash bag or two. I've always had a touch of the packrat gene...

There's new stuff on the way, in both camps. There's another box of tubes coming, a 29-count lot. I *wanted* one tube, a 1S4, but for $30 I got a whole box of 1-5v low voltage tubes that are going to be much easier to play with than the six to forty some odd volt stuff from the other lots. A D cell for A supply and ten or twelve cheap rechargable nine volts (8.4v X 12 series = 100.8v) for a B supply and I'm good to go there. I have in my hot little hands a schematic for the 1S4 that makes a nifty single ended ~150mW audio amp; it's partially transistor based since it uses a hex schott trigger and a 2n2222 as a "tickler" for an inductive circuit that raises 3V to ~100 for the high tension section, essentially a crude "switching" power supply. Schematic calls for AA cells but I'll use C or D cells for time, and it also says Hammond 1650P... no way am I shoving a $75 transformer onto what's basically an overwarmed headphone amp. I'll find some cheapo little ~7K/8ohm transformer to use instead.

I have a feeling that the "chassis" I'm going to use will be improvised, and that main input will be a 1/4" mono jack... a little nifty practice amp for guitar, which I still want to learn how to play eventually. If I can make the cells fit it might get built into an upside-down aluminum backpacker's mess kit.

I did mention there's stuff coming as far as gun items... I found a cheap copy of Datig's Cartridges for Collectors, Vol I on Amazon yesterday.

To close with a strange gun, the shop has a stainless Bauer .25acp. I have an Italian pocket mouse gun, I have a French pocket mouse gun. Shall I have an American pocket mouse gun? I await pricing. I'll also have to get rid of the shnazzy second-cousin-of-pearl grips, if I can. The gun is basically a stainless Vest Pocket copy, pretty well made at that.

By the way...

2008-01-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

... I haven't given up on the radio project. I was sick for nearly the entire first half of January, and now I'm of a mindset where I'm moving the entire MSL to the basement so I can use this room as a bedroom again.

Ah well.

Walther P5

2008-01-26T16:28:00.000-05:00

(I do not own this gun. This is at the gun shop, price not yet set.Photos taken with the ancient 1.3MP Olympus, click for larger image)

This is quite an unusual weapon; designed in the late 70's, this was Walther's first foray away from the P38 style of handgun as duty weapon. It's full of strange design features and still has a little bit of P38 lineage in it. Click on each image to enlarge.

First, just a side shot.

Upon opening the slide, you can immediately tell that this isn't a browning-style lockup, the barrel stays linear to it's axis. I'll get to this.

The pistol has the classic European style magazine release on the butt behind the mag well.

One of the most unique features here is the articulated firing pin. Instead of a blocking style firing pin safety like you'd find on everything else, with the trigger at rest the firing pin is in a low position where the end finds a blind hole in the hammer and would not be struck if the hammer fell. When the trigger is pulled, the firing pin is pushed up where the hammer can strike it.

The takedown lever is at the front and simply unblocks the barrel assembly.

Here you see a little of the P38; the barrel is locked with a block, actuated by a pin that presses against the frame during recoil.

Barrel removed (inverted), locking block in the "unlock" position

And the last of the oddities, here are the dual small diameter recoil springs. This was probably done in the interests of keeping the pistol compact, avoiding the placement of the spring underneath the barrel of behind the grips (Beretta tip-up style).

The pistol has a very nice trigger and is probably very accurate, though I can't verify since it's not mine as its' for sale at the shop (price as yet unknown). Another little odd feature of the pistol is that the lever on the side is dual purpose (see photo #1). With the slide locked back, the first downward sweep on the lever will drop the slide forward. A second sweep will decock the pistol. If you need to lock the slide back with a loaded or removed magazine, you have to press upward on the upwardly-curved piece of metal on the frame ahead of the main operating lever.

So there you have it; the Walther P5 in a nutshell. Very strange gun :)

Mythbusters....

2008-01-19T15:29:00.001-05:00

This is regarding the "Bond 1" show and the magnetic watch experiments, towards the end where they were attempting to duplicate the effects at any cost.

Point of error:

- The vast preponderance of .45acp ammo is made of copper jacketed lead. No magnet is going to attract or repel that on a linear basis.

They did however get a deviance from flight path using extremely strong rare earth magnets... but not for the reasons they proposed.

-Bullets spin for stabilization, 1 turn in 16". That doesn't seem a lot, but it's enough over a couple feet of magnets to induce a circular eddy current in the bullet, stopping the spin and introducing a gyroscopic instability because of the higher angular velocity of the rear surface of the bullet.
-Linear eddy currents can have some effect but the bullet does not fly close enough to the magnets for this to be a serious effect. See foucault braking.
-The material of the bullet would not have been directly affected by the magnet at all, it's non-ferromagnetic.

The only reason their bullet was affected at all was because it was moving, and sheathed in a conductive material. I'm inclined to hypothesize that a pure lead bullet, lead being a very poor conductor, would not be affected to a discernable degree.

I could also theorize that if you shot a light weight solid silver bullet in a fast-twist barrel through a strong enough magnetic field that joule heating would cause it to explode, but that's taking things a bit far :)

Rare meme

2008-01-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

Go play. :)

EDIT:

Here's another, just because :) I'd forgotten what fun it is to screw around in photoshop...

Sonata in two parts

2008-01-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

Part one: Strange guns

Apologies for the image quality, that's the 1.3mp camera with me using a piece of paper as a background in the back office of the store. That, from the best I can tell or find, is a Driesen or other Liege, Belgium manufacturer's offering in .30 Belgian BP centerfire. Quite neat. It's missing some important parts though, and it's doubtful it could ever be made safe to fire (much less finding an ancient heeled .30 caliber to fire in it). The shop has it "for parts", meaning it's liable to be a curiosity that sits around forever, particularly since it's not a firearm (pre-1900).

Part two: Strange compulsions

With the much appreciated assistance of Roberta X I've been tweaking and fiddling with the old radio and finding that this is an incredibly steep learning curve. So, I'm just going to sit back and remind myself what the plans of attack are:

Plan A: restore full function with new parts (current)
Plan B: restore AM function with vintage layout
Plan C: restore AM function with new layout, i.e. total rewiring
Plan D: restore preamp/amp function, use external audio source
Plan 9 from outer space: Convert dial to clock, hide head unit with amp in cabinet somewhere, shame myself and wear cirice and hairshirt for a couple decades for failing.

Now, before anyone freaks out about the big alphabet plans, I remind you that I do have two chassis for the one cabinet... if I screw up too badly with the first one there's a reprieve. The second chassis is in worse physical shape but seems to be a little less unfocused as to the wiring.

It's rapidly becoming clear that the physical restoration is the EASY part. At least I haven't electrocuted myself again. (that does imply that there was a once...)

This is the radio post...

2008-01-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

I'm making a placeholder and opening up comments without moderation for talk about the radio. Status as of today:

- I've re-verified that the transformer is hooked up correctly and I was just having a massive brain fart as far as how a full-wave rectifier is hooked up.

- there is a circuit in place to replace a 1K ohm field coil, that is two 500 ohm wirewounds sandwiching a 47mfd electrolytic, which is polar, and oriented correctly.

- I replaced a big ole' classic 16 mfd reservoir cap with a less big modern 16mfd cap I got from antique tube and radio. This is the cap that seems to "lose" about 436 volts across it. I can't verify that it's what it's supposed to be in the schematic either, Fairbanks morse didn't see fit to actually put specs on, well, ANYTHING.

- HT voltage out of the power supply circuit is currently running 465 volts DC. Spec, as looking at the sheets' refence for the plate voltages around the unit, is supposed to be 245v. I think I may have an open component yet, as there's still some vintage left, and that may be allowing the power supply to drift high. Way high.

Pictures forthcoming if they help.

Breathtaking.

2008-01-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

The glimmer of the rainbow cast in the sky was nearly as exhilarating as ducking under the spray to reach my water main shutoff valve.

Insulate those bibs, folks, especially the galvanized ones that are sitting lonely in the front yard right next to the water valve. If I ever find out who was responsible for even half the lousy jobs done around this house in the last 55 years...

Consideration, further...

2008-01-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

I'm looking at the photos I took yesterday on a different screen... and something is obvious.

100W doesn't cut it.

I'll soon be investing in a couple of high-wattage halogen work lamps (the cheapest option) with something to use as a sheet diffuser.

See, I *know* my lighting sucks, but I've been ill-prepared to actually do anything about it :)

Happy new year!

2008-01-01T19:39:00.001-05:00

Gun Photos!

Click here for photo page.

Teaser:

S&W 66
Para Ordnance 16-40 (10mm conversion)
Nagant revolver
...and one "restored" dagger, stainless/zinc. It had a really lousy plastic coating when I got it years ago...

I had to share...

2007-12-29T14:57:00.001-05:00

You, YES YOU! No longer have to go to revolutionaries in South American or African countries for your local coups, no SIR! We here at Tennessee Valley Direct will be more than glad to assist you with the overthrows of your local governments at BARGAIN PRICES! BEST PRICES AVAILABLE! Happy 2008!

A new tack...

2007-12-24T16:56:00.000-05:00

Since I spend so much time either at work#1, or the gunshop, or maintaining my humble home, or simply resting... there's been a dearth of content to write about here.

So, I'm changing things a bit. I dragged out my old Olympus D100 (I'll let someone else write about what that means) 1.3mp camera and put a fresh CRV3 in it.

1.3MP doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, but I used this camera a long time before i replaced it. There's no zoom and the color map is kind of funky, but it'll work for what I'm planning:

I'm taking it to the gunshop. When something unusual comes along, by god, I'm taking photos with something better than the FuzzMaster (phonecam).

A sample, although hastily composed with the first gun I could reach in the safe.

That took a bit of processing, but it's passable, and much better than I'd get out of the cellphone.

Why gun posts have been scarce...

2007-12-21T22:31:00.001-05:00

Too many days like... I'll let the photo speak for itself.

And if anyone with a vested interest is watching, I carefully reviewed that to ensure that there's no useful data whatsoever.

At least it's finally *the* holidays and I have several days off. I will however be at the gun shop... for one of the things I truly do hate about retail, zero opportunities for leading and trailing days off around a holiday.

Oh look, a gun post :)

2007-12-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, it's along the lines of "Oh God, why!"

Apologies for the horrible phone-cam pictures, but then... do you really want more detail?

(Honestly, the pistol I can kind of respect... the color and name, not so much.)

More distractions...

2007-12-10T10:20:00.001-05:00

I only did this here because I'm seeing all the blogspot folk do it and I'm sure nobody there sees my other blogs...

Free-IQTest.net - Free Online IQ Test

By the way, the damn thing will ask you 50 million times to do surveys and other spammables after the test. Be sure you feed it false info, but it apparently checks to make sure that street names exist in cities.

As far as the test goes, not bad for 4 hours of sleep.

Distractions...

2007-12-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, this is not a gun post. Fortunately, it's just a photo-dump of what I've been working on for the last several weeks that's been keeping me off blogspot.

I'm not going to bother describing each and every photo, you can figure out what's going on. The chassis is marked 1936, a Fairbanks-Morse model 8A four band radio.

I'm trying to make this post collapsible, bear with me while I figure it out.

EDIT: Screw it, you'll just have to deal.

Wow.

2007-11-13T09:42:00.000-05:00

I walked into the gun shop yesterday to start my shift, and a golden light flowed from above and angels started singing...

Ma's home.

(Semiauto conversion M2HB, Ace Sparkplug mfg, 2500 rounds included, with the standing mount and a little tripod, $24,000)

I'm phoning it in.

2007-11-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of heart and soul in these photos, to be sure... but here you go.

It's November already?

2007-11-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

November. My gods, this year went quickly.

I don't have anything earth-shattering to report, just a few things.

1. I came home with a like-new H&R 929 the other day. Neat little pistol, and it shoots as well.

2. I've been doing a little work on thisdamncomputer.com . The only thing that ever really bothered me about using blogger was that it's so damn hard to find old content, and when you chronicle things like I do that's a problem.

So, I asked the IT guru at Warped to go ahead and load up an instance of phpBB2 to my personal wiki site. It's a personal forum... I don't know how I'm going to handle users, messaging, or responses but it'll be much easier to find the actual *content*.

http://www.thisdamncomputer.com

Expect it to change drastically over the next few months, particularly as I haven't really figured out how to change the look and feel yet, I'll be reading the documentation on it today.

Lax postera...

2007-10-22T10:29:00.000-04:00

... is faux-Latin for "I ain't writin'". I've been horribly busy, alternating with semi-futile attempts at recovery via relaxation.

In actual *gun* news though, there's a new arrival; I picked up a pristine H&R 929 a few days ago.

The Chrony F1 arrived as well, and then I realized I forgot to get a light kit for it. Whoops.

To close out this meager post, sitting in the truck waiting for tonight's shooting are 12 .38 special rounds, loaded each with a 148gr HBWC over 4.0 or so grains of Trail Boss, measured from a custom-made scoop that I got all over-engineery with. It's a modern grey Wolf 9mm case, whcih happens to meter 4 grains of Trail Boss repeatably and accurately (or as accurately as you can get with a scoop)... I took a 3/16" wooden dowel and drilled a hole in one end slightly diagonally so it'd emerge from the side 1/2" or so up the line, looped some copper wire and stuck the ends through the hole, and lasso'd the 9mm case by the extractor rim. Then I just tightened it down and slathered it with glue... works great. Could have been neater but hey, it works.

That's all I've got, for now...

Proof of concept.

2007-10-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

I had an idea yesterday and just had to try it out

And, I made a youtube video.

Now, it's already been said that the action shown isn't enough to actually clean the brass. I know; I had it turned down just far enough to keep moving the brass around. As said, what's in the video is 5v p-p sine wave at 50hz; I can crank it up to around 11 or 12v p-p before I run out of power at the 12v supply (amp gets cranky, clip protection kicks in and it quits), and I've also got a working range from 0.1hz to somewhere around 2Mhz, though that's pointless :)

For best results, I run around 6-7 volts and manipulate the frequency till there's a resonance event... at that point I've got to watch for a bit to make sure the can doesn't get bounced off the speaker.

I titled this post proof of concept.. that's what it is. Speakers are fragile. As it's set up I could probably run for a few weeks before I burnt a cone out. What I *can* do though, is take the idea and custom make an oscillator and an amplifier that'll push a heavier coil with a steel "striker" bolted to the bottom of a plastic tub... essentially a linear motor. This will probably happen after I make a motor-driven tumbler though, 'cause I already know the issues involved with those.

Possibilities? Three coils per tub could allow me to phase the frequencies for a stirring action. That the action runs off an oscillator/amp set means that not only is it power adjustable, it's frequency adjustable... one could tune it to the resonance of the active mass for wahtever load you've got and use a lot less power for a lot more motion. And if you get really jiggy, run it empty as a big ole' tranducer and get some good bass for your Skynard :D

A fixed freq unit could even just be a coil plugged straight to the mains with a traic for power control... or maybe not even that much. That's be pretty powerful though, I'd hate to run it for a couple hours and find all my brass beaten flat...