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Ditto That!

Outstanding! But for once, I agree with clark, you need a barrel!

That would maybe be useful if Jerry plans to have it caustic blued. If not, he needn't bother as any soft solder will work fine. That 96% tin 4% silver stuff from the hardware store works great. I think sweating it on is easier than the red hot method. I've used both. More than one big NAME gunmaker I know does use the loc-tite. I prefer the solder. Especialy since I slow rust blue everything. If I were doing a caustic blue, I'd use the red hot method. And if I were retro-fitting a band onto an already blued rifle I'd use the loc-tite. They all have their place.

But Clark, with all the welding up of receivers that you do you would recoup your costs even sooner than that. You can get a nice Miller rig for closer to $1500. Check craigslist and you might find em even cheaper. It is not water cooled but you don;t need one for welding on guns. this would be your perfect excuse to build that short action and/or long action.

That's one of the reasons I like the Forster fixture better if you are going to use one. It uses the barrel to align things so unless your barrel is bent or was cut very badly it will be on center. There is no need to worry about minor receiver variations. As Flaco pointed out yesterday, the mill is THE way to go. Too bad the are $5,000+ instead of the $50 the jig is!

The FN style has a notch cut into the shoud. Easy enough to do, They are usually sold as a pair. The notch is what retains the safety. I have a buddy that cuts the original & rewelds it to make an fn style. It uses the "hook" that the original and the GPC part us eto keep it on the shroud. To each his own, I like it better on the left side since I don't have to move my trigger finger. To be honest though, like when I'm sneaking up on something, I'll wait until I just about get there and then slip it off beforehand. Probably using my left hand. I have a wisner 3 position side swing and it is a very nice piece. The dakota is pretty nice also. I hate the new NECG version.

Horsefly, There are three ways to attch them that I know of. First, sweated on. Second, heat up the band to red hot and drive onto the barrel. Better have your alignment right though as once they are on, they are on! Lastly, loctite. I think it's the green one that most use. this would be useful when you are adding one to an already blued bbl. Be advised that if you sweat one on you cannot caustic blue it. That's an enterprising notion you have. Bets of luck. I look forward to seeing your product!

Stock finishing - by Bill Soverns..... This is by no means an all inclusive procedure. This method works for me and by no means is the only way to finish a gunstock. A list of supplies is first followed by stepped procedures. Supplies Wet/dry 320 grit paper Wet/dry 600 grit paper Wet/dry 1200 grit paper Wet/dry 1800 grit paper 1 pint of marine varnish(McCloskey’s) 1 quart of Daly’s BenMatte tung oil Mineral spirits. Rotten stone Several hard felt pads 0000 steel wool lots of clean rags or paper towels Lets assume that the stock has been thoroughly block sanded from 100 grit up to 320 grit. Never sand a stock with out a hard backing surface! The next step is whiskering. Wet the stock thoroughly and use a hair dryer or other no flame heat source to quickly dry the wood. This will raise the fine whiskers on the stock. Rub the stock cross grain with the 0000 steel wool to cut the whiskers off. Repeat this process until no more whiskers will stand up. Usually takes about 6 times. Sealing the wood Get your can of marine varnish and mix equal portions of the varnish and mineral spirits in glass jar. Take a rag or brush and slop this mixture over the entire stock. This includes the inletting, barrel channel, under the grip cap, recoil pad. Let stand for an hour and wipe off the excess if there is any. Let is dry good and hard for about 4 or 5 days. Repeat the procedure and this time let dry for at least a week. The wood should be thoroughly sealed at this point. Filling the pores Get your mix of varnish and mineral spirits out again and pour some onto a plate. Get a piece of that hard felt and some 320 grit wet/dry paper. Dip the paper in the mixture and block sand the surface with the grain. This process creates a mixture of wood dust and finish. It should look like mud. Be sure to change your paper every so often so you are cutting well. Once the stock has been completely wet sanded take your clean paper towel and very gently wipe the surface cross grain. Wipe as though you were dusting a fine piece of porcelain. This will push the mud you created into the pores. Let dry a couple of days. Repeat this procedure until all the pores have been filled. Different stocks will take require more wet sandings than others. It will depend on how porous the wood is. The stocks I work with usually take 6 wet sandings to fill the pores. The final time you do this wipe off the stock completely with the grain. Leave no mud on the stock. Let dry for at least a week. Building the finish Grab that can of Daly’s Ben Matte tung oil, your hard felt pads, and your 320 grit paper. Pour some tung oil on a plate and wet sand the entire stock. Wipe completely off with the grain. Repeat process with 320. Continue wet sanding and wiping off completely with 600, 1200, 1800 grit paper. Do each stage twice. The Rub Out This part can be difficult and frustrating so take your time. Get your rotten stone, the tung oil, and your hard felt pad. Pour some tung oil on a plate and dip the hard felt pad in the finish…pick up some rotten stone with the wet pad. Rub with the grain VERY gently. Work a small area then move on to another. Keep dipping in the tung oil and then the rotten stone. The more stone you have on the pad the faster it cuts so watch it. This usually takes me a couple of hours so don’t rush it. When the stock has been completed rubbed out take a clean paper towel and soak it with the tung oil. Wipe the stock down with the rag to remove all the stone. Then take a dry paper towel and wipe the stock dry. Let this sit around for 2 weeks. The Final Finish All of your hard work now comes down to this. This is the finish that everyone will see so take your time. Pour a little (like a teaspoon) of tung oil into a small dish( I use an ashtray). Pick up a single drop of tung oil with your finger and rub it in thoroughly. Work a small area and use only one drop at a time. You are applying very thin coats of finish here that will dry quickly and should not allow lint to collect on the surface. If your finish is very thin it should dry over night. Wait another day just to be sure. Apply another coat. You are done when the stock looks like you want it too. I usually do five hand rubbed coats but you may like the way it looks after just one or two. Its up to you. If you make a mistake, or have a run in the finish you can always rub the stock out again with your rotten stone and start the hand rubbed process over. I usually let the stock hang around for about a month before I checker it or subject it to any kind of weather. Well I hope this has been informative. Good luck and you know where to find me if you need help.

This is my favorite for scoped use: An FN style left side safety. Two position. Off, and on & locked. It is the one on the left, the one on right is the cheap GOC knockoff which should be avoided. Installed in the shroud.