z1r

Re-orienting the sights is the easy part. They are only soft soldered on so you heat em and re-align them in minutes. Like riceone askedd, how much excess do you have?

Sailormilan, I sent you an email. Thanks!

Since some of you use A&B barrels I was hoping you could answer a question for me. I have a fajen stock on hand that was cut for the f14 contour. A buddy wants to buy it from me to use with an f34 barrel. He doesn't have the barrel yet so we can't get any real dimensions to compare to. Any of you have both that you can compare? I know the A&B barrel conours are very unlike any others so the stock will usually have a big gap just ahead of or at the chamber. I'm wondering if the f34 is roughly the same as or slightly bigger than the f14 for anout the first three to four inches. If so, I can sell him the stock for use with an f34 barrel. Thanks, Z

DT, Our mutual friend was quite impressed with the inclusion of Selsun Blue in the formula. The old master said we were both to be commended for thinking outside the box. He seemed quite impressed with your persistance. I wonder if you've tried substituting CuSO4 for the chrome Alum as you previously indicated? If not, do you still think it might be worthwhile? He indicated that Browning only added the selenium to the process during the final couple of coats. He seemed to like the idea however of using it throughout the process. His thoughts were that it would produce a much nicer finish and more durable to boot. You may want to market this and closely guard your "secret" formula! I spent about two hours with him on the phone last night and 15 minutes was easily devoted to this topic of bluing. I learned an amazing amount. -Z

Please elaborate on what you mean by "turn them down?" Are the barrels going to be recontoured or just threaded?

cuts crooked, Forget all that fancy H2O stuff, plain old water has been used from day one.

Rat, Glad that you were accepted into the drug program. I heard something that made me want to scream yesterday. They were talking about elderly prisoners. Seems when they these lifers get real old they have to put them into special units. The cost is $70, 000 per prisoner per year. Twice the cost of your average prisoner. What pisses me off is that in 2002 the average household income for those aged 65+ was $23,000. That means quite a friggin few off them earned less than half of that. Amazing that those who manage to stay out of prison have to suffer, decide whether to eat or buy meds, stuggle to pay the upkeep & taxes on their homes, and generally get by on their own without much if any assistance either monitary or physical whilst those that are in prison get healthcare, medicines, shelter, attendants, etc. Something stinks here!

You are off to a great start! Very nice indeed!

DT, That would be one of the greatest contributions to the art in years; The possibility of rust bluing without compete preoccupation with oil avoidance. Then again, if everyone could do it, it wouldn't be so appealing would it? I've lost your formula but I'm sure you've improved nyway. I'd sure like a copy of your improved formula if it wouldn't be much trouble.

I'm not sure i understand your painting the joint with laquer? Most of the discolorization is due to inability to properly card. I guess I cannot understand the desire to blue both parts assembled when it is easier to do them seperately. Especially since there is no risk of marring the finish if you use the proper tools.

Emul8, Do it while you are still in CA. The JC courses are rediculously cheap here. Take a basic machine shop class or two and a welding class. Most of the JC's offer these as weekend & night classes too and sometimes for free as extended ed classes. You may want to consider a class at Lassen too. Two weeks of their basic machine & barrelling classes would be damn near free.

Yes, very good ones if you are rust bluing. Bluing the parts before assembly assures a clean action free of contaminents. You cannot guarantee that if you've lubed the threads then assembled. Also, joints will tend to show a ring of discolorization. Now, if you caustic blue, you can assemble first then blue but, the better smiths wil still blue the parts seperately.

Well, Ah'll be ding danged! This here picture seems a bit more apropos:

SB, Just cuz they come off hard doesn't mean they need to be installed that way, unless you are Clark of course. If you like yours torqued real tight then go right ahead. Meanwhile me and my under tightened Mausers will be shooting the bulls out of targets & harvesting game without problems.

I have a brass shim I always use in the action wrench for removing & installing barrels. In the barrel vise, I use the aluminum bushings with rosin. You may get a small transfer of aluminum to the barrel but it will come right off with #0000 steel wool and oil. If you've done a good SLOW rust blue job you will not hurt it with AL bushings.

Spec4, I can't really answer the D&T jig question since I don;t use one. But, as for front ring placement, the rear hole should be .500" in front of the rear edge of the receiver ring. That will put the hole in the midle of the lug recess. The drills I use on one or two receivers but the Tap, while I've used them on as many as six receivers, I replace them now after each receiver. They are too cheap to risk breaking one in a receiver. Most important thang is to keep the tap straight up and down and clear the chips frequently they will last this way. And, even if you replace them after each receiver they will be less likely to break if you follow those rules. By the way, great wife! You are a rich man!

The P14 bolt is favored for two reasons, first, since it was set up for a rimmed cartridge it is correct as-is for a belted magnum rim. Second, it has more meat on it for use on the really large cases like the rigby and others. If you just want a belted mag like the .375 H&H and its offspring then there is no real advantage. You could just as easily use the P17. If you want a huge cartridge, then there is some benefit to using a P14.

Easy, it is against the law. I don't know about you but I am sick to death of gov't & gov't officials ignoring & breaking the law just because they are in a position of power! It is these officials more than any that need to lead by example. How in the hell can you convict a civillian of breaking the law when the gov't gets away with it everyday. What kind of message does that send? I don't think fritz has an issue with using the prisoners for this type of work. Sounds to me like his issue is the Sheriff's insisting on using felons, which the law specifically prhoibits. I agree with him 100%. Surprise, surprise! I think fritz should run for sheriff!

Get some anti sieze from the auto parts store and smear it on the threads & breech to prevent galling. I snug it up then BUMP it. Unless you are CLARK you don't need more than 30-40 ft bs. Clark likes 300.

For a varmint gun I'd pick the .22-250 mostly because factory ammo is cheap especially compared to the .25-06. These days I like varmint rounds that I can buy cheap factory loads for. More shooting time, less bench time! My own varmint rig is a Ruger 77 standard weight sporter in .223. Cheap Winchester white box ammo shoots 3/8" groups all day. The.22-250 ammo isn't much more.

The cocking cam was most likely annealed. It likely needs to be rehardened. The polishing compound will only eat through any hardened surface and make things worse. Any time you weld a bolt handle on it is a good idea to smear some 30 weight motor oil on the cam and cycle the bolt a hundred or so times to smooth out the crust that forms from welding. Avoid the temptation to hurry things up by using abrasives. I posted the insrtuctions for rehardening a while back. I'm not at home so I can't post them now.

IMHO, Altering it is ok as long as you keep it. It is upon disposition of the firearm that the issue has any real bearing. I read his reply as saying once modified it can no longer be treated as a CR for transfer purposes. But then I think we all knew that already.

I don't see what the big deal is. It simply changes their classification. Makes sense to me since the idea is that these are collectibles if in original condition. Once you start modifying them they loose that collectibility. It also makes sense to me that you could not scope one for example then sell it as a C&R. It would be circumventing the requirement for an 01 ffl.

Like Rod says, each person has their own favorite. Some like the same handle only angled differently. But like rod, I believe welding on a new handle is the only way to go. I've seen too many get a forged handle only to regret it later. The difference in price is minimal.

Don't, they are skinny & ugly, and in my experience don't weld as nicely as the talley handles do. Get the real thing, they are worth the extra $2.