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Allright guys, here's what I propose: We all heard Jim's wonderful story of the large black trucks pulling up at his place and truck loads of menonites piling out to help. We'll, almost any one of us on the board would do the same if we were not geographically challenged. True, the internet brings us all closer but the reality is that great distances still seperate us. I can appreciate Jim's reluctance to accept contributions but let me put this spin on it; he would not reject our physical help. Well, in light of the vast distances that seperate us, let me suggest that Jim look upon contributions not as monetary gifts or handouts but rather as a substitute for our manual labor. Jim we can send straight to you or maybe you can set up a paypal account and we can send it there? I'll start off with $100. I've been real lucky lately and it's time I pass that forward.

Very Nice Jerry and a very nice thing to do, truely! They say the difference between professionals and amatuers is that the pros learn how to cover up their mistakes.

Swamp, we wish you all the best. For what it's worth, my step father has survied for over thirty years after he was diagnosed with Prostate cancer. Technology has come a long way since then so odds are even better.

Lube on cases does not increase pressure, it simply increases back thrust. A thin chamber splitting has nothing at all to do with lugs & setback.

Thanks Tony, but I wasn't able to find all the pieces. I think some fell out onto the floor under the counter. I found the end most piece of the plastic buttplate but not the middle section. Some may be in the gun case still. Kinda bums me out because it was very nice in the pics. Oh well, despite being original it wasn't the best stock design I ever saw. Thanks for the offer though!

So, I went to the ffl today to start the paperwork on two Swedish mausers I traded bolt work for. One was a Husky M46 in 9.3x57. It is built off of the M96 action. It had been Drilled & tapped so I plan to cut the barrel to 20" and restock it mannlicher style. The other is also a Husky, but a commercial variant with no thumb cut. the problem is the guy sent hem in a big box with each gun in a seperate sopft case. The 9.3x57 made it without a hitch. However, the rarer 8x57 Commercial had the toe busted out of the stock. Not a nice clean break either. More likes in pieces. If it had been the 9.3x57 I wouldn't have cared but I wanted to keep this one intact and original. Well, I have more 8x57's than I can shake a stick at so maybe it will be rebarrelled into a 6.5x55 with a light 22" bbl and restocked. Nothing to do now but make lemonade. I'll post up pics in two weeks.

Proportion is relative. Todays's stocks tend to have fore ends that are 11"-13" long while stocks of yesteryear had 8" to 10" fore ends. Most mannlichers had 19.5" barrels. To borrow from what Vlad said, custom gun building is blending aesthics with practical real world considerations like function, which includes balance, handling, pointability, accuracy, ETC.

Steve gave good advice. get a brass or aluminum funnel. I made a reloading stand like brownells sells for about three bucks just like you mention.

I'd stick with 20" as the rifle will tend to balance better and muzzle blast will be lessened.

On the receiver I have the rim of the boltface protrudes beyond the "C" ring as does the weird looking extractor. I never saw what the barrel looked like but on my receiver it looks as if the breech never touched the inner ring.

The one near me doesn't but they do have some cheap chinese stones about 6"x2"x1" which are perfect for messing up your receiver. Good stones are not cheap. Cheap stones wear quickly but more importantly, they aren't straight to begin with.

My understanding, probably outdated, was that it was handguns they frowned upon. Seems rifles were ok. Lots of pig hunting. I think even goat or was it sheep? Fishing is great.

Bill, thanks again. I'll be using the same style handle I did for you. Good news on teh FFL front. I heard today that I will be getting an offer for that job in CO. The day after I get there I'll start the FFL paperwork. The funny thing, this job will be working on sewing & scrapbooking magazines, lol. Sounds like a good solid job and a great crew. Wish me luck. -Mike

Stoning can only keep things as straight as the ring or other surface is to begin with. That's why I surface grind, so I know they are true. Refer to the topic of a few days ago for stoning how-to's. Pics have the bad habit of often presenting a distorted view of reality, especially when you aren't a professional photographer and also when you have but five minutes to snap photos. Case in point the receiver below. When you look at the rear bridge it looks rounded where the 30 degree flats blen in with the rounded crest. But it is staright as can be. Look at the same receiver in one of the other pics to see. The ring on the receiver with the charger hump is straight, otherwise, I wouldn't have posted it nor would I use it.

Here's the stock & barrel for the one that will become the .308. The stock will need much work. It will have the fore end shortened, the entire thing thinned, the grip opened & shortened, and lastly, I'll most likely add an ebony tip. I'll shape the grip like the stock shown above it. The other stock I just got, I'll use that on one of my other 1903's, not sure which yet. I just got a real nice husky takeoff barrel in 8x57 that might just need to be rechambered to 8x60 or, rebored to 9.3x57. Not sure yet.

Yup, not until the angle got pretty severe (around 45+ degrees) did the affects show. After this point, the angle of departure was quite pronounced. Can you say, "shoot around corners?"

Ok, here are some pics now that the remaining drill & tap has been done. Final polishing is also done. I will likely bead blast the ones that are drilled & tapped so they will have a nice matte finish. The one with Charger hump will get a nice rust bluing. Notice on the receiver in the front how the rear bridge where it meets the side of the receiver if defined by a sharp line not a wavey or rounded edge. Here is the same receiver from the side. The shadow makes the rear bridge edge look rounded. This one will be the target 6.5x55, hence the one piece scope base. Considering what a rust bucket it was it cleaned up very nicely.

Norton is a manufacturer, one of the best. India is a type of stone, generally hard. Cheap stone have their use, even that Norton cheapie that wore out. You can use them for rapid removal of material then switch to the good ones. Here is tutorial by Jack Belk, the guy that taught me. http://community.webshots.com/album/31674165jITCPUJoFZ/0 Here's a little how to I did. http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=1019 Get EDM stones like the one pictured in Jack's tutorial for the rear bridge. Get 180, 220, and 320. 120 would be fine too. Same grits in the India stones that you will use on the front ring. Soft stones for interior polishing like Don said, because they will quickly conform to the shape.

www.mscdirect.com Look to their india stones. As to starter sets, cheap stones wear really, and I mean, really fast. I bought what I thought was a nice Norton stone 8"x2"x1" at the local OSH (Hardware store). Coarse on one side, finer on the other. It wore out after only one and a half receivers. Whereas, the stone I paid a bit over twice as much for has done well over a dozen and is still staright.

The Yugo intermediates are all safety breeched. They were the only ones except for a few FN's. That should tell you something. It's very easy to do the conversion but requires you to remove the cartridge guide nibs on either side of the extractor slot in the lug. Feeding may suffer.

looks good so far. Sometimes doing it yourself is more important than things being perfect. I'll be sending a batch off to the heat treater in the next month maybe. If you want to send that bolt off with it let me know. If it is any consolation, unless I get laid off tomorrow, my 2006 .30-06 ain't gonna get finished this year either.

550 and it needs to be turned at least once. Don't baste it though, it will get tough & chewy.

Not something you do at home.

By my estimation, this may work well. Not as nice but priced right and still pretty good looking. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...leitemid=914611

The pig hunting is great. All those Bikinis could be dangerous though. Be sure to get sunglasses, lol.