littlecanoe

I was at an auction yesterday and didn't pass up the chance to buy Mark II. I've always wanted one and went for it. Not sure when it was built but it hadn't been used at all. I put about 100 rounds through it yesterday and really like this little pistol. The trigger isn't too heavy but does have some creep. I'll try to work that out eventually but until then? I think I'll plink a lot! Anybody else have one of these little gems?

z1r Thanks for taking the time to answer some basic stuff. I've gone the quick route up to now but am thinking about finer finishes etc. At heart, I'm a bit cheap! THe price of some of the things that make a project finer put me off a bit. But then I argue on the other side, " the coyote or deer ain't gonna know how nice the rifle was". I probably should have bought savages and been done with it.

My education continues. I was under the impression that the exterior was important in that it took some of the load. So if the lug area is intact and hasn't been tampered with getting the cosmetics "right" on the exterior won't affect the intrensic strength of the action. The exterior would likely be much softer as the amount of material removed to clean up a stamped crest would go through the thickness of the hardened portion?

I have never "really cleaned" up an action yet. I've been a bit afraid to, not wanting to take away from the strength of the metal. If one stones an action and cleans up all the old markings does the action automatically need to be heat treated? If not, how do you tell when heat treating is needed?

I was born in '66. I remember a little about rallies that took place but was just a dumb kid and didn't know what was going on. For you guys that saw this in the '60's and '70's as adults, how do the peace rallies and our nations/politicians responses look now compared to back then?

I was having a local welder do some bolt work today and of course the conversation turned to guns. He was telling me that he has a Model 63 .22 stainless with 4" barrel that was purchased in the late 70's. The curiosity about this gun is that the frame had a double hit when the S & W logo was stamped into it. It's like the logo has a shadow logo. Any idea what such a monster would be worth? It's got to be an unusual pistol with very few like it. LC

Fritz I like your analogy. I'd be leading off first in baseball. Maybe stealing second. While I follow a lot of the threads but don't post too much it I would consider most of you conservative. Kinda funny the way it comes out in the test. Maybe more and more specific questions would give a different outcome.

Monte, Please know that I am sitting on the sidelines cheering this project on!! I aspire to install a skeletonized grip cap and butt plate later this year. I'm re-reading Wesbrooks book now refreshing myself on the process. Please, continue to share with pictures as your project unfolds. It's really nice to see this level of work here. I'm sure that if it turns out as other of your projects it will be very nicely done.

To save some time could you take the appropriate sized insert, say, from a Lee Auto PRime shell holder set, mill it down for thickness and outer diameter then silver solder it on? Or maybe epoxy it into place?

DT, I'll have to say that you've made some sense and made me think a bit. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that just blames the Mexicans since they are here. Hadn't really given much thought to drying up demand for them. Mentally, I usually jump to the harsher conclusion for solving such a problem. Unfortunately, we still have a very expensive problem. A few years ago when I was still doing Home Health Care I had to see a young Mexican fella who had gotten himself looped and had a car accident. He was taken to a university hospital, underwent orthopedic surgery to patch him up and came back home with orders for nursing and physical therapy. We, the tax payers footed the bill as this guy was Indigent. It will only get worse when/if these people are legalized and then have open access to taxpayer-funded med care. LaRaza, The Dem Party, Vincente Fox, someone is costing us a bunch of $ by enouraging more illegal immigration. I'm sure that many come for a better life etc but suspect that a large percentage are here to stir the pot. When this is added to the increase in demand for medical care as the babyboomers retire and go onto Medicare it looks much worse. One would think that the number crunchers would take care of the problem. If this were GM or Ford the problem would likely have been solved a few years ago. Maybe we need more of a corporate mentality in running Gov.

Em, I'm truely sorry. As I've become older(Sliding into middle age) the importance of family has become much more dear. I understand now the impact of family on and in my life. Wish I'd had some of this wisdom about 20-30 yrs ago. It's very nice that you are working to influence your nieces and nephews. You may have more ability to impact them than you realize. "Aunty Em, Aunty Em" followed by the patter of little feet as they come to sit at your feet and gobble up nuggets of truth and wisdom......... Fritz, Unfortunately strength derived from wisdom and knowledge can be overcome by the strength of the hord.; Sheer numbers. Kinda like when Ghengis Khan swept Westward.

Cherry is fairly easy to work with. Not as porous as walnut so in some ways is a bit harder to cut at times. It's one drawback is softness. It is a hardwood but will ding and dent pretty easily. On the other hand, it's a bit unique in gunstocks. Cherry wood will develope a deeper red color with aging which makes the character of the wood change through the years. This stock isn't stained so it will darken nicely over time. I put a few coats of Watco Tung oil on it followed by a few coats of high gloss poly to build a thick protective coating. I'll probably add a few more coats of poly for more protection. This stock was experimental for style and features. I wanted to practice before I start on a mannlicher stock for a Carl Gustav. I plan on doing it in cherry with very traditional lines with a steep comb for open sights. After this one I feel up to tackling something a little more detailed.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8...8508566&pl=true

Thought I'd share some pics of a stock that I made for a Savage .22. Still not perfect but each stock, this is the third, is better than the last. This one is made of cherry and was originally designed to be used for aperture sights. I changed my mind and went with a scope. The comb drops a good bit but I like it and it fits well. Best yet it shoots well. It's pillar bedded and bedded to the step in front of the barrel lug. The floorplate, trigger guard and buttplate are homemade also. With Wolf Target ammo I've shot a 3/8" 8 shot group at 50 yds and 1/2" group with Rem Subsonics at 50yd. Both center to center. It's nice when it works out that way.

Fascinating thread. I see that there is much agreement and many who are ready to take up (action) against the invading hord(s). I agree. It's time to restore our country! In response to Swampthing's post in Fighting words (which is where this reply may better fit) I have written my Congressmen. In the Spirit of "Karl the Liberator's" post, Strength is definitely part of our problem. Here are a few grenades, but we as a nation, as people with conservative and patriotic values need to think. We need a bit of introspection. Thus said, I'll stand in line and face these same grenades that I toss! We are selfish: We view children as a burden. We do our part and have the x.x amount that we are supposed to have as good Americans. We barely replace ourselves and our spouses. We need to have many kids and teach them good solid Judeo-Christian principles and teach them history. We are self-absorbed and self-centered: Quit worrying too much about retirement, living the good life, being a bejillionaire, having a dog named benji, a 3 car garage complete with a new sedan, new truck and new ATV and bass boat. Everyone who reads this post is going to die. You are moving in that direction with each beat of the clock. The above is a small and stupid legacy to leave behind. Who will care after you have gone? Who will hold down the fort when you are gone? Who will the good men be who stand as strong leaders of this great nation when you are gone if you don't make them? My 94.5yo paternal grandfather died this afternoon. He had 8 children, 7 of which are or have been contributing members of society. One of my uncles while reflecting (This uncle is 81 and married my dad's oldest sister) stated that if he had it all to do over again he would have had as many children as he could have instead of just the three that he did. We are defeating ourselves.

Edited Sorry. Posted in response to Flaco, not a flame, but decided to move it to the following in Fightin' Words as it is more appropriate under that thread. http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=2001

http://facsupply.com/shop/ This is an intro to the site: Welcome to FACSUPPLY.COM The assets of Federal Arms Corporation (FAC Of America) have been sold. We are currently working diligently to offer you exciting products at great prices!

Swamprat, My dad says that when he was a kid people used to have my grandpa make ax handles, hoe handles etc. He'd whittle them out of hickory and then use that same method to finish. A piece of glass to smooth out everything. He said that they were SOO smooth and didn't need a bit of sand paper. I've got some cabinet scrapers in the assorted shapes and a burnisher. Works about the same way but more expensive for sure.

Swampy, Do you find that you use a few of those channel tools more than others or do you use them to progressively deepen the channel? Can some of you guys who have the home made tools post pics to give me a better idea. I like the idea of making my own where I can.

DT: I have used the tablesaw method to get the initial barrel channel started. It worked well. I've considered the router method. I like it for bulk removal. Bulk removal is always the easiest though. I'm trying to find the poor man's way or tool for that finess work. That is, other than using a wooden dowel and various grits of sand paper. Square is definitely key! Power planers and joiners and tablesaws are nice here!! Fritz: That's the monster. Did you try any other tool before investing in that particular one? Do you use this tool only to deepen the channel or to finish also? By finish I refer to the process of removing those last traces of gunblack from the wood. Do you find that only one diameter in this particular cutter is what you migrate to?

Gents, Thanks for the fine advice. And please, bring more as the thoughts come up. I'm pretty comfortable with the flat chisels. I really like the look of the barrel channel chisels. Looks like it would make quick work and give a good base to work from for keeping the channel flat. That's the one I'm not sure that I could make. Have you ever worked with the barrel channelling tools that have the two wooded ball handles and multiple round scraper discs attached in row? This looks like a handy dandy tool also. I'm sure that I can get by with the basic stuff that I've used. It's just so much work though. I've really found that having the right tool, on other projects, has made what might be miserable fun. Saves some skin on the knuckles too!! Now, the small curled scrapers I can see making easily. I have a set of Shop Fox cabinet scrapers that are good for smoothing once a burr is burnished on the edge. What creative approach can you see to making a functional tool for cutting the barrel channel? Is there something that is just sitting there under our nosed that we are overlooking?

I'm at a crossroad trying to determine where I want to go with stock-making. I have purchased and read the book by Wesbrook. This after making two stocks with no advice or help. The other day I added an extension/repair to the tip of the forearm section on an old sporterized military stock. To my pleasant surprise, inletting that new portion was a pleasure and much simplified with my newly gained knowledge. Now the hard part. I want to try to get into stock making and checkering(sp) but don't want to spend a small fortune. In the back of Wesbrook's book he gives a list of preferred tools. It's quite a list with quite a large pricetag when added up, even with the C & R discount. This is why I come to the forum to ask those of you who have ventured down this road the following question. If you had to pick the basic tools to competently inlet an action and magazine/guard, what tools would you place on that list? Please consider this question in the light of getting "the most bang for your buck". Thanks

FC, Is the minister to whom you refer "Tony Evans"? My wife and I saw him once. Powerful speaker and appears to be very sound in spite of the high profile position that he is in.

Thanks one and all for the words of wisdom shared here. I definitely don't want to re-create the wheel, as like most of you, I have limited time to devote to sporterizing. I think that the big temptation is to go a bit crazy since the C & R license came in. A few good points have been made that have caused me to think a bid on purpose and function. I appreciate the sewerpipe analogy as my first milsurp was a burned out Vz24 which has been transformed into a very nice little Sporter. It's original Mil barrel was aweful putting its shots all over the right side of a piece of notebook paper shooting off bags at 40 yds. Brutal! I would have needed the bayonet attached to hunt with that thing! Something that I had not considered was the route that z1r just took. The price isn't bad for what you get. The question of Bore and Action are the only drawbacks but don't close the door here. Looks like I have a few options to consider here. Maybe some slow selective reviewing of shows, shops and vendors as suggested. Then take a slow approach. A piece here, a part there..............I've seen some really nice work posted by the members here and would like to emulate some of that craftsmanship. Steve

FC, I'll try again. I asked two questions on my last post but was mainly concerned with the question of a base action to build from. I'm considering a sporter in 8x57. The actions that seem to be available for a good price are Czech 98/22's, Turkish '38's and Yugo '48's. From the experience of this forum is one of these a better choice to base such a rifle on? Does one have inherent advantages? or dis-advantages? over the others? I'd like to use the original barrelled action to keep costs down. I'm thinking full length Mannlicher Style with open sights. What do the masses say? Steve