Doble Troble

Nice looking stock YT (except you put the cheek piece on the wrong side). It's going to have great tiger stripes when stained and finished. I really like maple and I think I'll use it for my next project. Its much easier to work with than the claro walnut I've used for other projects.

Z, Thanks for the tips. I think I can see a way to get things pretty close on the stock with an angle plate on the drill press and a level. Combined with the other suggestions (good glue) maybe I'll negotiate this without too much need for post-procedure-repair (which is my typical MO - but I really want this one to be nice).

hrc,

I get it!

Great jig idea! I think I can make one too. If I succeed I'll take a picture and you can tell me if I've interpreted correctly. This is particulary exciting because I've been scratching my head over a way to drill a hole for the magazine tube in a Winchester 94 forarm - your type of jig is just the ticket.

Thanks very much!

Very nice, Z.

How do you attach your forend tips? Specifically, 1) how do you square the end of the stock and the tip; 2) do you make the tip oversize and shape after attaching? 3) how do you attach (dowell?) if you use a dowel, how are you drilling both the tip and stock at 90* (I can handle the tip, but the stock is giving me fits)?

I'm right about ready to try to attach the ebony tip to my 30-06 stock and I just don't know how I'm going to do these things. If I don't get some advice I'm afraid I'll take my usual bubba approach and just do the way that occurs to me while I have the parts in hand. The damn stock is nice enough and the ebony was expensive enough that its slowing the bubba in me down.

I like A&B!

But Shaw does installation.

most likely red flagged for looking at site

If free Americans trying in good faith to educate themselves to do something worthwhile have to worry about government reprisals based on the source of their information then our country is lost. Our country's greatness came about because Americans tend NOT TO BE PEDESTRIAN. We can do anything, and if we can't we'll figure-out how to, and if you try to stop us, we'll kick your ass. We need to maintain this can-do attitude today more than any other time in our history.

Do what is right and follow your interests and don't let the perceptions of others dissuade you.

Regarding the home preparation of nitric acid, its a very doable thing, but it can be dangerous and I don't necessarily recommnend it unless you really need it to do something worthwhile, and then you pretty-much have no choice in this day and age. And you'll probably learn a lot by doing it - but be careful and not stupid.

I wish Congress would pass laws against stupidity, but this would probably negatively impact a large percentage of its members, so that ain't gonna happen.

There are lots of legitimate reasons why Americans should have access to nitric acid. Bombs have been around a long time, and they're easy to make - that cat is out of the bag. The solution isn't to make it impossible for free people to have access to resources to do interesting things. The logical outcome of that is that we should all stay home and never get out of bed unless absolutely necessary. If we don't do anything and don't interact and arrest those that do, then nothing will ever go wrong. This isn't the right course of action. The right course of action is to be social, know the others in your community, be active and alert to things that aren't right, and prepared to defend yourself, your family and friends. We should also support killing terrorists where they live and not where we live until there are no more left.

Sorry for another inappropriate rant, but I'm trying to do what's right, and I'm really pissed-off that it's impossible to obtain an aqua fortis stain in America in 2006.

It looks like the Dept of Homeland Security considers Aqua fortis a potential bomb-making chemical.

Track of the Wolf no longer carries it.

If you want to try some email me your address and I'll send you a bottle (you may have to be patient with me though, sometimes it takes me a while to get to the post office).

Alternatively you could prepare your own nitric acid.

After preparing the concentrated acid, dilute it in half with distilled water, add a few nails or some other source of iron, and you're in business.

When you apply aqua fortis to maple it will turn the wood a sort of yellow-green. I think this is probably iron, which is a component of aqua fortis in a particular oxidation state. Heating with the propane torch changes the yellow-green stain to a reddish-brown - probably through changing the iron to a different oxidation state - I think Jimro is up on this chemistry (I'm not) so maybe he can explain better.

So you want to heat the wood only until the color change occurs. This really isn't too hard, you just have to keep the torch moving and be patient. I did manage to scorch a patch on Sparky, but it wasn't too bad and its hard to tell. I can see how a little scortching will produce an interesting effect like Z is referring to, and there's probably some of that involved in the aqua fortis finish, but I think its mostly a chemical change in color of the iron in the stain.

Aqua fortis is the old-fashioned stain for maple. It really "pops" the tiger stripes. I mix my own, but there's got to be some outfit selling the stuff.

It's a little tricky to use as you have to heat the wood before it darkens. I use a propane torch and it takes a bit of experimentation to figure out what the right amount of cooking is.

I used this approach for Sparky: link to pix of Sparky.

whether the voters deserve what they'd get...

1) State-run health care ala the UK and Canada.

2) Shameful withdrawal from Iraq and capitulation to terrorists in the Middle East.

3) Increased domestic terror ala Isreal.

4) Higher taxes.

5) Delayed economic slow-down (about six years following the tax increases).

6) Less-effective public education at an increased cost.

7) Increased support for "under-represented" groups (including those like La Raza) at the expense of the majority.

8) The potential of embarrassing irresponsible behavior on the part of the leadership.

9) Billary.

10) Additional support for further infringement of our Second Ammendment rights.

11) Federal sympathy to those who would like to California-/New England-ize the rest of the country.

Guys, anti-Republican doesn't equal pro-Democrat. I can understand some of the disappointment with the current administration, but do you really think this nation will be better led by liberals? It was Ross Perot that brought us Clinton. Voting isn't necessarily "for" a party or philosophy. Sometimes it comes-down to choosing a lesser evil. Don't be re-electing Billary by voting against the current administration. Hopefully a strong alternative candidate will emerge.

I think the stock MN cartridge is underappreciated. Its got 30-06 ballistics in a well-designed, short, fat cartridge that everyone thinks is important for accuracy potential. Its a package that's hard to improve on.

Maybe a 6.5x54R wildcat would be something to think about. It seems like the Xx54R has been overlooked by the wildcatters. It seems like you could easily get 6.5x284 ballistics out of it, if not more. Damn, you got wheels turning, just when I thought they were under control, and I've got a beat-up, semi-accurate 91/30 with a hand drill counter bore that's tauting me from the shop corner...

What's the shank and thread specs on these things. Is there any extra machining around the chamber for the extractor, etc?

Dammit, tinker!

swamp_thing's efforts prompted me to send the following email to my President, Congressmen and Representative (I hope someone will read it):

Dear President Bush, Senators Dole and Roberts, and Representative Butterfield.

I am a law abiding American and given the difficulties and violence associated with our world today believe that it is my obligation to be armed and prepared at all times to defend the life and liberty of my family and our friends within the community in which we live.

This is clearly the definition of milita intended by our founding fathers.

Because of this conviction I have lawfully obtained a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Unfortunately this permit is considered a privilige by my state (rather than a constitutional right) and is subject to many special conditions which renders it only marginally useful in-terms of self-, family- and community-defense.

I believe that as a law-abiding American that I should be able to remained armed wherever I feel that I may be needed to defend my life and liberty, and that of my family and community.

I am not currently able to remain lawfully armed (and I believe these restrictions are unconstitutional, but despite this remain law-abiding) are: restaurants that serve alcohol and educational institutions (including attendance of college sporting events). My family enjoys eating at several restaurants in the community that serve alcohol, and also enjoy attending sporting events held by the local university. Of the activities that my family wishes to participate in, these are usually the most threatening to me as head-of-household in-terms of a threat of violence. I do have a choice to not participate in these activities, and have considered this, but have concluded that such anti-social approaches are fundamentally anti-American.

I believe that limiting my freedom to remain armed when visiting these places is also fundamentally anti-American and unconstitutional.

I encourage all of you to support legislation to reverse the unconstitutional restriction of Americans to bear arms where and when they feel that they should.

Sincerely,

Ken Soderstrom

Who the hell's in charge here?

The Postmaster General

A fine day for a good cause!

200,000 is a lot of anything.

Worry about the well educated liberals that are poised to take over the reins of this government because the present conservatives have sold us out as a country.

Could this be point #3 (with overtones of #6)?

Liberal thought process:

1) Personal responsibility doesn't exist, and the concept is bad and must be stamped-out (unless a member of the Republican Party is responsible, see #3).

2) Productivity is almost always bad unless it doesn't benefit any individual while increasing tax revenues.

3) Everything bad is a Republican's fault (see #1).

4) Nothing good usually comes from discipline and determination (see #2).

5) Trying hard is not nice, should never be expected, and must be discouraged.

6) Liberals are always smarter and nicer than Conservatives.

7) There is a finite amount of wealth that will never increase despite the efforts of mean people, and because I'm smarter and nicer I deserve a larger serving than mean people who try harder and are selfishly productive (but don't create wealth because wealth is finite).

8) Poor people are alway nice (if they don't appear to be it's because they've been taken advatage of by mean people), and although not as smart as me (and therefore less deserving), should be entitled to a large portion of what mean people who try hard produce (which can't be wealth).

Not all liberals get all the way down the list. Most of them get stuck in an unresolvable loop within poiints 1-4. The smarterer ones get farther.

Schweet!

I tend to buy and hold companies I really believe in. Sometimes I wish I didn't believe in Microsoft so much.

I bet you could expoxy in a piece to fit (but I'm a bubba and so think like one).

20 lb payload, 100 mi range out of NZ, so we're safe for now. It'll take the ragheads a few more decades to run-out of car bomb drivers, and probably another couple more to figure-out how to make a jet engine (even with instructions freely available on the internet) and so I think we have several more years of safety ahead.

I really think that we should use this time wisely by developing garage star wars defenses. We could link them together to form a national grid of well-defended garages. It might help cut down on burlaries too.

Maybe backyard fallout shelters weren't such a wacky idea after all. What kind of damage could a 20 lb payload do?

Maybe us Americans should start working on a garage version of Reagan's missile defense system.

One of the first rifles I built was a Tweede with a 29" surplus barrel. It's my most accurate rifle. I did my best to follow Steve Wagner's excellent advice. But I built it as a light weight hunting rifle and not a F-Class, so I cut the barrel at 22" and turned it down pencil thin on the lathe - I know sacrilidge. It shoots ragged holes at 100 yds. Them Swedes built a good barrel.

I've used some other new old surplus Mauser barrels and have been pleasantly surprized with the accuracy of all of them, so maybe there's something to Thor's aging idea. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new large ring barrel in 6.5 x 55. With some barrel fitting and chambering care I bet you'll find you're competitive. The 6.5 x 55 IS an accurate cartridge - I'd put it right there with the 308s and derivatives (like the 260).

When I was in grad school I was head over for a gal who lived in Portland, I was in Corvallis. She dumped me for some lamer who had just finished a novel from a female's perspective. I don't know how that panned-out for her, I hope well, but I'm pretty-sure not. I shoulda known right then that I had dodged a howitzer, but at the time I took it really hard.

I bellyached to my uncle who had just retired and was having fun with my aunt driving his RV around visiting everyone. He was a large animal vet in Eastern Oregon, and a hellraiser when young, but settled down to be productive and wise. He was out visiting my aunt on the Oregon coast after my dumpage, and since I didn't have anything better to do and was depressed, I went out to visit the geezers. We made crab traps out of 2L soda bottles, baited with chicken guts, and cast them off the beach (it actually worked pretty well). I told him all about my troubles and he told me that I shouldn't worry because the right one would come along when I least expected it. He told me I was wasting time worrying about it and that I just had to get busy with other things until the time was right.

About a year later I met my wife and I'll be dammed if I didn't know immediately that it was "right".

The 260 may feed great without modification, or may require some work.

Why not a 6.5 x 55. It's an accurate cartridge that will do everything if not more than the 260 will - and it will most likely feed like it was made for it.

Regarding the sight, it's straight-forward to install Weaver bases, and it seems like I've seen some nice target sights that mount on the Weaver bases.

Thanks, Tony. These videos are clear evidence that these people can't be reasoned with and need killing.

If it isn't done over there, it'll have to be over here.