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Posted: 4/12/2023 4:00:49 PM EDT
[Last Edit: DocGP]
OK, excited to say the least. It's a .54 cal, thinking on calling her "Muley", as that is my long term plan. A mule deer hunt with a very dear friend. Haven't opened the box yet, as I'm still at work and she's sitting in my truck. Looks like USPS did a pretty good tap dance on it, but I think it's fine. Will post more photos tonight and through the assembly (I would say build, but Jim makes it too easy.)
Doc |
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Yes please post pics.
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Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. PROVERBS 16:24 |
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I look forward to the detailed build and finish thread.
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I would love to see some close-ups of the grain if you don't mind showing it off with some mineral spirits or similar prior to finishing!
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What flavor is the wood? Plain, fancy, or extra fancy?
Also, has anyone seen an explanation as to why the lock is billed separately? I've always wondered what the story is there. |
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That there is pretty impressive. First ding is always the hardest. It's all downhill from here. |
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Bulldawg,
That is the extra fancy maple. Will be beautiful when finished. As far as paying separately. My understanding is that, Even though it's parts, if they are all sold "together" they are classified as a firearm, and therefore subject to more taxes. Doc |
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That is some lovely figure in the wood! It'll look like a million bucks when you're done.
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To the everlasting glory of the Infantry!
USA
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Looks nice man.
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RESIST
“Chaos liberates not only the evil, but the good.” —Billy Spears |
Keep 'em coming. They dropped the shipping time not long after I ordered mine, so I don't know if I have another 3-4 months or another 1-2.
Are you planning on doing any type of carving? I'm no wood carver, but I'm considering trying to do a little similar to the Woodsrunner's namesake. Might grab some scrap maple stock to practice on. |
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Its amazing the level of precision he's gotten to with the Woodsrunner. Your barrel brass fit out of the box is spectacular compared to my Colonial.
You're going to have a beautiful rifle. |
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Delivery time is definitely updated. I ordered March 13 and got the email today sayings it's ready.
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Tagged, please keep us updated with your progress
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View Quote LOL, gotta admit I'm jealous!! Your box arrived a lot better than mine did!! Doc |
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Nice! I've almost finished assembling a Colonial.
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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I can't wait to see the finished product!
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I tried that whole cancer thing. It wasn't for me. Good Riddance.
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I wish you hadn't shown that vise. Now I have two vises I'm looking to get. I guess you could say vises are one of my vices.
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Originally Posted By Bulldawg: I wish you hadn't shown that vise. Now I have two vises I'm looking to get. I guess you could say vises are one of my vices. View Quote Lol, i totally understand. Built my first 3 or 4 with a regular vise with wood jaws, but there is no comparison to this. So much more secure and less worried about marring the surface. Doc |
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Originally Posted By DocGP: Lol, i totally understand. Built my first 3 or 4 with a regular vise with wood jaws, but there is no comparison to this. So much more secure and less worried about marring the surface. Doc View Quote I'm working with a 1946 Wilton No. 4 I restored a few years back.... no swivel base, unfortunately, but I think I've got a setup I can work with. Got some jaw pads for this project and always have leather around, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll make it through without buggering anything up. |
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I have the same pics downloaded.
If I recall correctly, the patchbox lid was a replacement for the missing original. |
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Originally Posted By Bulldawg: First ding is the hardest... https://i.imgur.com/W5brDtO.jpg But I think I know where I'll be running the forestock molding line, now. View Quote I put some dings like that in my colonial. I was able to steam most of them out. Just soak the ding in water and take a heat gun to it. This should at least make the dent smaller. |
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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Originally Posted By RaptorFuel: I put some dings like that in my colonial. I was able to steam most of them out. Just soak the ding in water and take a heat gun to it. This should at least make the dent smaller. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By RaptorFuel: Originally Posted By Bulldawg: First ding is the hardest... https://i.imgur.com/W5brDtO.jpg But I think I know where I'll be running the forestock molding line, now. I put some dings like that in my colonial. I was able to steam most of them out. Just soak the ding in water and take a heat gun to it. This should at least make the dent smaller. I use a cotton rag or washcloth between the iron and the wood but I second this advice. Steam it - most of that should pop right back into shape. |
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Originally Posted By RaptorFuel: I put some dings like that in my colonial. I was able to steam most of them out. Just soak the ding in water and take a heat gun to it. This should at least make the dent smaller. View Quote Thanks for that tip. I've steamed with a wet rag before, but on shallower less sharp dents. Never thought to use just water and a heat gun. That plus a little more 150 grit brought the ding down to a tiny nick that's much less noticeable and will probably disappear after carving and finish. I managed to start on the 220 tonight without creating more dings. (Don't mean to hijack your thread OP - just tell me to shaddup if I'm in the way.) |
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Originally Posted By DocGP: Now off to more filing, sanding and polishing. https://i.imgur.com/UellPeFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/iJtyYPzl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9VbAxn7l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XggTDpyl.jpg I spent about an hour and a half with the files on just the trigger guard. Used my 8" bastard file to clean up the casting posts on the rear and the rest was done with the little file set. Then spent an hour on the buffer; https://i.imgur.com/ygHAwfMl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3BO9hP5l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/0Yl9VWMl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/E8y733Sl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OGy5rPQl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Lozlla7l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/fZJEahql.jpg I am having trouble getting it much past this point, so I think I am calling it good. Doc View Quote Nice polishing. I'll probably be going for a more brushed finish. Do you plan to do any sort of patina/antiquing with Brass Black or Jax or anything? |
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Yes sir, planning on the brass black and rubbing it back to desired level.
Doc |
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I wet my Colonial stock for its first de-whiskering. I'm excited to get some stain on it. I would describe this piece of wood as painfully curly.
Attached File |
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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Originally Posted By RaptorFuel: I wet my Colonial stock for its first de-whiskering. I'm excited to get some stain on it. I would describe this piece of wood as painfully curly. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/167432/758A0AC7-2FDE-4032-B2E3-7750C8A37471_jpe-2823541.JPG View Quote Woah raptor, that's going to be stunning. My constant montra to myself is "Don't make a 500 dollar gun out of a 1200 dollar kit!!!!" Doc |
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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I finished up sanding with 220 and began working on 320 tonight. I wasn't sure about the wood I got, but after working it with 320, I think I'm gonna be very happy with my mid-grade wood.
And I got to steam out another ding. I need a bigger work space. |
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I finished sanding with 220 and need to start on 320. I put everything together to check final fit (and to show it off to some buddies). Once I finish sanding and whiskering with 320 I'm going to do some stain tests in the barrel channel. I'm going to test iron nitrate by itself, iron nitrate washed with lye water (this should give it a red hue) and honey amber trans tint under iron nitrate.
Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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How's she comin, Doc?
I've been spending the past few days on the metal. Spent 4-5 hours last night polishing up the lock, cock, frizzen, etc. and cold blued it & rubbed back this morning. Picked up some carving tools & scrap maple from my dad the other day. Excited to get started on cutting the wood, but I'm forcing myself to wait and be patient. |
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Originally Posted By Bulldawg: How's she comin, Doc? I've been spending the past few days on the metal. Spent 4-5 hours last night polishing up the lock, cock, frizzen, etc. and cold blued it & rubbed back this morning. Picked up some carving tools & scrap maple from my dad the other day. Excited to get started on cutting the wood, but I'm forcing myself to wait and be patient. View Quote Too many irons in the fire, so may be a bit of a pause, but will be back at it soon. Waiting for my visor and some supplies from Kiblers LR to show up. Keep em coming!! Doc |
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Got my brass browned and rubbed back to a mild artificially aged look...
Cut my first two incised lines along the forestock tonight. Think I'll stop there with those - went from ramrod pipe pin to pin with a sweep down after the front pin. Need a drink after that. Cuss words. Lots and lots of cuss words. Obviously an amateur job, but it'll work for me. BTW, the water and heat gun trick works pretty decently for stray lines, as well, if they're sharp/fine enough. Drew out the rear incised lines. Gonna let my nerves settle for a day or two before attacking those. Been playing with some incised carving on my scrap wood. Think that might actually end up being easier than the forestock/buttstock molding lines. |
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What chisels do you use?? I just have a junk set of harbor freight. Need to pick up some decent ones.
Doc |
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I used Narex woodworking chisels, bought on amazon. They're affordable and were well reviewed. I bought a 3mm and a 6mm chisel, that combination was about perfect for my Colonial build.
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I've got a .54 Woods runner on it's way - just got the tracking number. Particularly interested in your finishing techniques on the wood and the barrel.
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Since we are an AR-15 family, who is going to step up and parkerize their barrel first, lol. Anyone dare me ?
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I spent the last week obsessing over getting the finish perfect. Today I decided it was good enough and moved on. I had come up with some ideas to adjust the color if the iron nitrate didn't give me exactly what I wanted. I tested it in the barrel channel and decided to just go for it and the color turned out exactly how I wanted it. Tomorrow I will add another coat and start applying Tried and True Varnish.
Attached File |
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"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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My plan is iron nitrate + Tried & True, as well. I'm not planning on adding any other stains or dyes. What I get is what I get, and I'll be happy with it.
My current obsession is trying to get those damn squigglies done cleanly. I'm running out of whittlin' stick. Might have to rasp it all down to get more clean space. |
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Originally Posted By Bulldawg: My plan is iron nitrate + Tried & True, as well. I'm not planning on adding any other stains or dyes. What I get is what I get, and I'll be happy with it. My current obsession is trying to get those damn squigglies done cleanly. I'm running out of whittlin' stick. Might have to rasp it all down to get more clean space. View Quote If I might ask, why the Tried & True instead of the Permalyn that Kibler sells? I have some of the Permalyn on order, but can be swayed one way or the other. One guy suggested I use Formby's Tung oil. I'm leaning more toward a hard use un-adorned hunting gun so weather resistance is key. |
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