montea6b

Actually, I would love to make something like this: real "mini" Mauser

Good stuff, thanks for all the inputs. I'd love to have the time to tackle making a receiver from scratch like that! One more thing, center drills. I don't quite get the purpose of these stubby little things... should I spring for a few assorted sizes anyhow?

Thanks guys. I can see the wisdom in having a few of both types. Regarding the QCTP, this is spoken of often as a prefered upgrade, but it seems to me that with a 4 way turret you could change tools even quicker. (as long as you use 4 most of the time...) Will I quickly see the light once I discover that I use a lot more tools than 4? It's not that much extra work to loosen up the allen bolts and put a new holder in unless it needs a lot of shimming. On another note, what is a good source of stock material to use to make a spider? I picked up a short piece of 1" steel pipe yesterday, but the fit is a little sloppy and the walls are kind of thin. The protrusion of the spindle bore is quite short and I would like a snug fit. They had some bronze bushings that were pretty thick walled, but they weren't large enough. Will I have to make this from solid bar stock, or can anybody think of a source for heavy walled tube that I can use as a starting point? (ID of spindle bore approx .8", OD approx 1.02") Addendum: just picked up a piece of 1.25" aluminum bar stock from a shop up the street. I think I will bore that out for my spider unless somebody has a better idea.

Well, after months of flip-flopping and hawking Craigslist, I finally sprung for a lathe. It is a Jet 9x20, brand new with dinged paint that I got for half off new at a local surplus machinery dealer. Not big enough for serious gunsmithing, but good enough for the tinkering I have planned. Actually, the two barrels I had planned to doing a little work on slide through the headstock quite nicely. Spent a couple hours Saturday cleaning off all the cosmoline and playing around with the settings. Now I need some tooling to cut stuff... I have a couple catalogs, and my mind is swimming with what I need to start with. Here is what I have come up with so far as a basic starter set: 1. Dial indicator with magnetic base 2. Boring bar(s) 3. Tailstock drill chuck 4. Live center 5. Parting tool(s) and holder 6. Cutting/threading tools. As far as the last one, I see that there are the "traditional" tool bits that I remember grinding in high school machine shop almost 30 years ago, but they also have lots of holders with replacable triangular carbide inserts. Is this the way to go? What are some thoughts from the machinists out there. Any essentials I missed on my list above?

If this is a milsurp stock I don't think Murphy's oils soap will be enough to prepare it for a new finish. They are usually oilsoaked pretty deep. This could be the reason for some of your challenges with stain and new finish.

For some reason I wasn't able to post last night so I sent a PM. I've been bitten by the lathe bug too, but have determined that the minis are too small. You'll need an absolute minimum 3/4 spindle bore if you want to run any sporter barrel through to face off the breech. I think a 9x20 is about the minimum practical size for the kinds of things you're thinking about doing. This link is a pretty good one for more information on the minis, as well as generic lathe nomenclature and operation: http://www.mini-lathe.com/ I was googling 9x20 Jet lathes because I was going to include a link the model that I have been interested in, and in the process linked back to the mini-lathe pages that included a discussion on the 9x20s that I don't recall reading. Interesting read, albiet some of the info is a few years old... Check it out: 9x20s Still not sure what I will end up with. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

How do you get to your personal messages?

That's funny! Small world isn't it... Yeah, it does look pretty specialized. The videos of it in action were intriguing, but I think it would be limited. I thought of the lug raceway use myself. I've often thought it would be fun to make an action from scratch. Bolt action or falling block. Love to build a 3/4 scale Sharps in 30-30. Maybe one day...

OK guys, one more: Shaper on Craigslist This just popped up on a search for lathes and mills. In reading up on home built falling block actions on another forum I saw one poster state he could have cut the inside channels of the receiver if he had a shaper, so I take it they are capable of cutting inside square corners that an end mill wouldn't be able to do. Besides this, what does a shaper do, and how does it work? Looks a bit like a mill in the photo, but appears to have a stationary cutting tool in the head. What can one do with such a machine, are they any substitute for a mill, and is this a good buy? ADDENDUM: OK, I did a quick search and saw some video of them on action on You Tube. Interesting machine. Doesn't look like any kind of substitute for a mill, but could be very useful for some things.

Thanks guys. Bremerton is close enough to go for a killer deal if that was the consensus, but a little far to go for a casual browser like me. I think I will pass for now. I'm just dipping my toe in the "thinking about a lathe" pool and trying to decide what's good and what isn't. (needs versus wants, and budget too!) There seems to be an ongoing battle of opinions between the newer Chinese imports versus older used South Bend machines. Just wanted a little feedback to further my education. Couple quick questions from Z's post: 1. What is a "half nut" for threading? I thought if you had powerfeed you could adjust the settings in order to cut threads. 2. In a "change gear model" is manually swapping out gears the method for changing spindle speed? (This particular machine appears to be belt driven with three potential speeds based on the pulleys selected. That doesn't seem like enough range to me.) Speaking of gears, I have recently read that some of the smaller Chinese made lathes use plastic gears! That sounds to me like something to avoid at all costs. Is there a size or horsepower level at which metal gears are standard? FYI, my machining experience is based on HS machine shop class 30 years ago so I know what a head stock and tailstock are, but not a whole lot else!

looking for opinions from the peanut gallery on this unit: Used South Bend 9" lathe on Craigslist Looks a bit like a relic from the industrial revolution to my untrained eye, but then they turned out some beautiful Mausers on cruder equipment back in the day. I don't want to let the lack of modern appearance, digital readouts and electronic controls cloud my judgement if this is indeed a fine old machine. Just wondering if there might be tangible limitations in terms of capability. (i.e. speed control, etc.) Also, kind of hard to judge the size. Think a couple average guys could hoist it into a pickup truck?

I'm all for whimsical things, and doing what you want without regards to affecting resale value, but really, a silver inlayed bunny rabbit on a 30-06? What the hell was this guy thinking?!

Ditto for me. It is difficult enough at twice the scale on relatively soft material like wood, I can't imagine how it's done on a bolt handle. Any "how-to" guides I have seen are lacking in the specific details of how to checker right up to a recessed edge without making overruns or coming up short. Tear drop or not... it looks daunting to me. So, what it the answer? Is it merely painstaking attention to detail and lots of time, effort and practice? By the way, nice work Mike!

Reminds me of the super polite chipmunk cartoons... "no, I insist" Good people on this forum...

That's funny, you had me fooled! Any reason you put a tip on a pattern stock?

Looking good! What kind of wood is that? I like the streaking in the butt. Looks a little wet around the bolt handle notch.

Any machinist/smiths out there that could thread the barrel to fit the derringer breechplug, and turn down the steps on the Mauser barrel for me?

Texas Rancher A man owned a small ranch near San Antonio. The Texas Dept of Labor claimed he was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to interview him. "I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them," demanded the agent. "Well," replied the farmer, "there's my farm hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board. The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her $150 per week plus free room and board. Then there's the half-wit. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally." "That's the guy I want to talk to...the half-wit," says the agent. "That would be me," replied the Rancher.

Running back for the Cleveland Browns.

Yep. Can't really complain when you're asking for help and get in a way that you might not have exactly wanted. The team that led them into this mess aint the ones to lead it out. I've got no problems with this from what little I know. "Shareholders can read the handwriting on the wall -- this isn't their company anymore." I think every taxpayer ought to be issued an appropriate amount of GM stock.

Dr Hess, I posted a response to your last weeks ago, but for some reason I guess it didn't stick... Anyhow, I have that book! Good stuff. In response to another PM question on my progress, here is a quick update. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the photo below do most of the talking. As you can see, not a lot of real work done yet. Of course I would love to have the machinery and expertise to craft a functioning replica, but unfortunately this will be a "faux" 2/3 scale Sharps replica cartridge rifle. I intend to make it a functional percussion muzzle loader, but the rest will be a stylistic interpretation of the Sharps as opposed to an actual falling block action. There is some work ahead of me in crafting a new lockplate, as well as other sideplates to replicate the appearance of the Sharps. Lots of headscratching, and I'm sure a few mistakes before it's all over. Be patient, I have a job, kids, and lots of other stuff pulling on my time, but I'll be sure to post updates as I go...

Now that was funny!

Thanks Jason.

Don't know much about them myself, just what I found on a quick Google serach. I think they were made by a company named Golden State in the 1970's. Definitely not WWII vintage.

FYI I went back to check them out again and they are Santa Fe receivers. Not real historical... I have looked into the CMP rifles, and will probably eventually go this way. Kind of seems like my civic duty as a veteran to assume caretaker responsibilities for one of these old warhorses. I've wanted to do it for a while, just a little hard to justify with all my other priorities and projects. One day...