swamp_thing

Those that choose to blame Bush for everything seem to have short memories. American hating folks have been around a lot longer than Bush has. Of course, if inclined to blame the president to begin with, those things are put out to pasture. Does Bush do everything right? Of course not, but at least he has the gut to do something. That is more than we can say for some recent presidents, and certainly more than we can say for the last couple that ran against him. I have said this before but will resort to it again, those that think this country is so terrible can certainly take up residence in one of the other, more tolerable for them, countries. swamp_thing

Congratulations are in order here. I know it has to be a great feeling to be able to take sparky out and put it through it's paces. You should be very proud of your accomplishments here. Great job and wonderful results. swamp_thing

I do already have the 7x10 and have come to really love what can be done with it. I will be changing it to the longer bed in the future. There are many that have reamed the spindle hole out so they can get a bit bigger round stock through them. Of course, you wouldn't want to go bigger than the taper size. Just thought I would see if others here were using them and what you thought. Double, did you extend your feed screw as well? I have seen that done as well. swamp_thing

Anyone out there using one of these. I have one that is a nice little lathe and really is very versatile. There is now a compamy that sells a 7x14" bed replacement for these lathes. It actually gives you 6" more bed from the original 7x10. I have gone through mine and tightened things up and also moved the complete control box off the lathe itself. One problem they had was shavings getting into the control box and in some cases shorting out the board. Just wondered who else might be using one and what you think of them. swamp_thing

Jason, when I did my first sporter on one of these almost three years ago, seems everyone I knew thought I had lost my mind. Of course, it goes without saying you cannot lose what you don't have!! Now, almost three years later I am seeing more and more of them being done. I think it is like anything else, when you flood the market with specimans and give it some time, people will start to think of ways to change and improve on them. They may never be as commonly sportered as a mauser or even and enfield, but there is a certain amount of folks that will do so. As time goes on and more aftermarket parts begin to show up for them, it will be more common than it is now. They do make a dang fine rifle with the right work. When the finished product pictures appear on posts and others see what they can be, it will help them to take the plunge as well. swamp_thing

I see it is your birthday today, so I will be the first to say happy birthday sir. Hope it is a good one. swamp_thing

I agree with SOUTHPAW. There has been some discussion as of late as to people doing the valve grinding material method with tight barrel threads. If it works for that, I would think it would be fine with the shroud. I would not hesitate to do this on the shroud threads. If you think it is bottoming out you can mark the end of the thread area with inletting black, magic marker or dicom(sp) and find out real quick. I am figuring it is simply a varience in the threads. I have had bolts that some military shrouds would not screw into while others would. It seems the tolerance of these threads varied quiet a bit. swamp_thing

Thanks z1r for the info. It definately sounds like a good way to go with one. I will check out the reamer costs and go from there. swamp_thing

z1r, I guess you are saying that you would stick with the 7.62x54r cartridge necked down to the 308? That would certainly solve all the feeding problems while opening up a much larger field of bullet choices for these rifles. In fact, the lee dies come with a 308 expander so it would be ready for such loadings. What would you do for a reamer? Would you have one made to chamber for the 308 neck? swamp_thing

Exceedingly excellant job on the cougar. Will make the step mom a wonderful Christmas present. Hand made and with a lot of love put into it. You should be very proud of your work and talent. swamp_thing

For a long time it seemed that the consensus was that the yugo stocks were teak. I have no idea as to what they actually are but they certainly are very open grained. I don't think they are oak either. It would be nice if we could find out exactly what wood they did use. Any persons out there with first hand knowledge as to the answer to this? swamp_thing

Well, having had time to mull this all over and already being a fan of the 7.62x54r I have to say I agree that leaving them in the original caliber is the way to go. As for sportering them you all already know that I am a MN junkie. I do like them as they come from the factory and am even more fond of the sported versions. Something about that hump stock is hard to get used to. It does grow on a fellow with time though. There is also an advantage to sporterizing the Mosins that most don't consider. Since very few people are into them the market is overwhelmed with good specimans. Maybe I should quit trying to talk others into doing this!! swamp_thing

Thanks sonic1 for the reply. This confirms that they can be changed. Guess I will have to think a bit harder about getting a couple of donor receivers to play with. swamp_thing

I don't know if this is in fact true, but I have heard from everyone that has talked about it that the barrels are nearly impossible if not totally impossible to remove from these guns. Now I am not saying it cannot be done, because obviously many hundreds of thousands were done by the arsenols. If it is doable, I myself would like to know because with the cheap rifles and the possibilities they offer I would sure get set up to do so. They would be great for most rimmed cartridges. If there are those that have rebarreled them please tell us what you know about it. swamp_thing

Sorry about that, the above post with the targets and rifle is mine, I forgot to log in. swamp_thing

I have asked this question of others before and gotten two negative answers consistantly. The first answer being that oak although extemely strong and heavy has a tendency to split and splinter when subjected to a blow such as recoil. That seems reasonable when I consider that a simple hammer blow will split an oak board rather effeciently. The second response has been that oak wood contains a high amount of tanic acid, which has a corrosive property to metal. Not being a wood man so to speak, I cannot verify the tanic acid part of these answers, but I can state that I have split many a oak board for kindling with a light to moderate hit from a hammer. For me, it would not be worth the effort involved in making and finishing a stock to risk using oak for the wood. Others opinions may vary, but this is where my thoughts have ended up on oak stocks. swamp_thing

That would be great with me. I haven't had a chance to get out at all with everything going on. I would like to try out the Mark X 6.5 and see what it will do. swamp_thing

You did good Jason and will undoubtably enjoy this one for a long time to come. Of course, you are now hooked and can never turn back. More projects will continue to pile up all around you until you can't see the projects for the other projects. So it is for those of us bitten by the bug. Enjoy and I look forward to pictures of your future endeavers as well. Keep up the good work. swamp_thing

I can certainly say that it does not always go as planned when cold bluing. As MorgansBoss stated, it is definately a learning experience. I have had some parts that simply would not blue but rather came out a real pretty grayed color. Most of the time things go well. As for the heating with the torch, it would be somewhat tough to get an even heat applied. Actually, nice and warm is probably more what a person is shooting for here. I use a small piece of soft cotton cloth to apply the blue with, and use it liberally. What I use is a cleaning patch. Hang in there, it will all come out and in the end you will be suprised at how well things work. swamp_thing

I guess I am a bit dense here on this one. Are you saying that by following the cold bluing tips posted here that you ended up with rust and not blue? It sounds as though you are saying that the parts rusted badly as you were trying to blue them. Might I ask what bluing solution you used, as well as how you followed posted suggestions. I am not trying to suggest it is something you did or did not do here. I am simply trying to figure out what might have caused such a reaction. What did you degrease with? As a last question, what parts were you attempting to blue? If the suggestions Emul8 and myself have posted about cold bluing on this site led to unwanted results, then it would be good to know what took place and how it came about. Sorry to hear that things did not go well with you on this endeaver. Please follow up with additional info so that others will have the information at their disposal as well. swamp_thing

Man, it seems like a long time since you left and I have missed seeing your posts here. I for one am very glad you had a great trip and hunt. It is times like that which make the rest of each year easier to get through. You will have many good memories to think back on from time to time knowing each time will bring a special smile. Anyway, glad your back with us. Enjoyed the story. swamp_thing

Fine looking collection there Spiris. The figure in the stock on the first rifle is really nice. Got a fine truck gun there too, but you lost the pig sticker. swamp_thing

Another great job and good looking rifle. Hope your back again soon. swamp_thing

I have no answer for the B on the receiver. Could the small tree be an eagle? The IIk is the russia/ussr (probaya Komissiya) [Proof Commission] acceptance mark. SA in a box (soumen Armeija) = Finnish army, a property mark. T in a triangle inside a circle is the Finland Tikkakoski Oy, post 1936 logo. The numbers on the right side of the rear sight are in fact meters, stamped by the Finns. I would say the triangle on the bolt safety is a Finnish Tikka marking. I am guessing you mean there are metal sling swivels on the stock like those seen on the stock I posted. A few questions, is it a two piece stock with finger joints? Is it a hex receiver? Lastly, if it is a hex receiver, once you get it out of the stock, look on the bottom of the tang for the manufacture date code. It may well be an antique receiver. swamp_thing Here is a link that might be of some assistance as well http://www.mosinnagant.net/USSR/mosin_nagant_markings.asp http://p090.ezboard.com/fcollectorguns35625frm2

Sorry double posted, see below