These are my horn scratchin’ tools, showing a little rust, they havent been used in a while
The middle is a scraper the othe two for doing fine work
The middle is a scraper the othe two for doing fine work
Finished one horn today...
Got three more ready for scrimshaw.
This one is 'attributed' to a Revolutionary War soldier named Samuel Partridge. Lake Champlain and Ticonderoga... Came out pretty neat!
Got three more ready for scrimshaw.
This one is 'attributed' to a Revolutionary War soldier named Samuel Partridge. Lake Champlain and Ticonderoga... Came out pretty neat!
Gorgeous work
Today I worked on a rear Pilar for a yugo 48 Mauser barreled action that I’m trying to put into a new black walnut sporter stock I got from a guy on eBay.
Awesome work!!!
Thanks… the scrimshaw is pretty crude. Nothing like your fine work in post 42!!
Interesting tool you use? Offset? Can you share more details? Mine are carbide engraving tips I machined into aluminum handles.
Maybe I am not using fine enough tool?
Sirhr
The wife of one of my high school teachers was as scrimmage artist (ivory). She was carving at several of the pioneer festivals I worked. IIRC she used something like this
www.riogrande.com
Tungsten Carbide Scribe with Two Tips - RioGrande
So I went down the rabbit hole of 'just because you can... doesn't mean you should' today... to make a part I don't need but want anyway.
I've a really nice and rare US Optics SN-9. Not just rare... but one of about 3 in this configuration. When I say "About" 3... I mean three.
If you are going to have an iconic SN-9... you need the iconic SN-9 conical sunshade. It's how they roll. But, durn. The factory doesn't make them any more. I tried politely asking. Begging. Grovelling. And even blackmail... (I saw you guys in that RV at PRE....). No dice. No sunshade available.
FINE... (he says in his best huffy Karen voice...) I'll do it myself.
Took about 3 hours on three different lathes. But made a sunshade for my SN-9. Time would be a lot less if I was working from a cored hunk of aluminum. But alas, no cored rounds here. Just solid bars.
How it started... Solid bar on the band saw. Cut off about 3.5 inches.
Threaded at 32 TPI and knurled.
Inside and outside tapered with .050" wall thickness.
It's a bit longer than factory. But will look the part with some etch primer. I could have it anodized... but I'm cheap.
Anyhoo... one of the stupider things I've machined. Because I can, not because I should.
And to the USO folks monitoring SH... Your PRE photos are safe with me. Really. For now.
Cheers,
Sirhr
I've a really nice and rare US Optics SN-9. Not just rare... but one of about 3 in this configuration. When I say "About" 3... I mean three.
If you are going to have an iconic SN-9... you need the iconic SN-9 conical sunshade. It's how they roll. But, durn. The factory doesn't make them any more. I tried politely asking. Begging. Grovelling. And even blackmail... (I saw you guys in that RV at PRE....). No dice. No sunshade available.
FINE... (he says in his best huffy Karen voice...) I'll do it myself.
Took about 3 hours on three different lathes. But made a sunshade for my SN-9. Time would be a lot less if I was working from a cored hunk of aluminum. But alas, no cored rounds here. Just solid bars.
How it started... Solid bar on the band saw. Cut off about 3.5 inches.
Threaded at 32 TPI and knurled.
Inside and outside tapered with .050" wall thickness.
It's a bit longer than factory. But will look the part with some etch primer. I could have it anodized... but I'm cheap.
Anyhoo... one of the stupider things I've machined. Because I can, not because I should.
And to the USO folks monitoring SH... Your PRE photos are safe with me. Really. For now.
Cheers,
Sirhr
Sorry for the late reply, I haven’t checked this post in a while!!
The top one is a calligraphy pen, the nibs are removable and I took that one and ground it down to do the small double lines. The rest of the work is done with the bottom tool, if I remember correctly it it a carbide scribe. I machined a wooden dowel to fit because it was too slim for my fat fingers.
The finer the point the finer the lines, I braced the horn over a sandbag and had at it
The middle tool is a lathe bit that I use for scraping on the horn itself to help shaping
After carving the designs on the horn I went over it with a very fine grit paper, to take down the rough edges then inked it
Hope this helps
Kevin
Not sure if this is technically for 'Guns' but since I love tomahawks... Am making my first one this weekend.
The pewter pouring on the shaft is something I've always wanted to try! Wow, how cool are the results when you see them in person.
Started with a head from The Log Cabin Shop in Oh and a hickory handle. I'll finish it next weekend.
Cool thing about pewter is it melts at temps less than paper burns... so you can make your 'molds' from cardboard stock!
Really having fun with this!
Sirhr
The pewter pouring on the shaft is something I've always wanted to try! Wow, how cool are the results when you see them in person.
Started with a head from The Log Cabin Shop in Oh and a hickory handle. I'll finish it next weekend.
Cool thing about pewter is it melts at temps less than paper burns... so you can make your 'molds' from cardboard stock!
Really having fun with this!
Sirhr
That's pretty cool ,I've read about pouring a pewter nose cap for a muzzle loader before. I never realized it's melting point was that low. Do you need a flux to make it stick to the metal
Y’all are doing some really cool stuff. I would love to learn machine work, but what y’all are doing is so far beyond what I thought you could do at home.
Nice!
I wish we had a mill at the shop.
I’d be doing all kinds of things.
First thing would be a nicer night vision bridge for my 2 Gen XLR element
We fortunately do have lathes
That's really cool work! I've done a couple for knives, never thought about an axe handle, very nice!!
What bedding compound do you use?
My Hawk project has turned into a set including Hawk, a pair of knives and a Mohawk war club…. Fun project to do. Spalted maple head, fiddleback scales. Doing some interesting things with pins.
Spalted maple isn’t really a great head choice because it it punky and fragile… but I’ll epoxy stabilize and it will be gorgeous!
Sirhr
Spalted maple isn’t really a great head choice because it it punky and fragile… but I’ll epoxy stabilize and it will be gorgeous!
Sirhr
Nothing like a good war club
That is just sexy right there!
Mine is totally not authentic... sort of a modern interpretation. Yours... wow! Where did you get the wood?
Sirhr
I got it the Dixon gunmakers fai in Pa. i cant remember the makers name. It’ll come to me
Thats the second one I built the first one got broken at a shoot with the scouts. We were doing a black powder day with them, demos, shooting etc. The targets we used were pumpkins.After each group camr thru I picked one kid usually the smallest, handed him the club and told him told him to have at the pumpkins. Let me hear your war cry amd go. I gave it to one kid and he blasted a pumpkin and it broke. It was hilarious to watch.
He got a souvenir and the smile was awesome
He got a souvenir and the smile was awesome
Prepping wood:
To make some grips:
This is where I like to start with thickness between .650 and .70. You can actually start with stock as thin as 1/2 inch, but this gives a lot more room for contouring.
To make some grips:
This is where I like to start with thickness between .650 and .70. You can actually start with stock as thin as 1/2 inch, but this gives a lot more room for contouring.
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Grip panels are marked out using a clear template so I can see the grain while marking.
Got to cut some shit:
And gotta shoot some shit. While not 100% necessary to square up all sides, I like to for laying out cut lines.
Got to cut some shit:
And gotta shoot some shit. While not 100% necessary to square up all sides, I like to for laying out cut lines.
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This is why most anyone making Single action grips will want your gun or at least the grip frame:
That is a pretty damn perfect 90 degree corner on that piece of maple. However, sho’ isn’t a 90 degree on the gun, lol.
This is the most important part of fitting single action grips.
This becomes the reference point for everything else. You have to put in the effort to get as close perfect of a mated fit as possible.
Gaps here are gross.
That is a pretty damn perfect 90 degree corner on that piece of maple. However, sho’ isn’t a 90 degree on the gun, lol.
This is the most important part of fitting single action grips.
This becomes the reference point for everything else. You have to put in the effort to get as close perfect of a mated fit as possible.
Gaps here are gross.
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Continued work... got the head all drilled (both pieces) and the scales applied to the steel body. Lots of poured pewter going into this one. Having fun with that technique!!!
Nice war-clubs. Both of them. Well done.
I don't have one of those here, but I DO have a Coup-Stick. (Legitimate) as well as a Talking Stick.
And no, the stick does not talk. It is the stick that one holds, when doing the talking at a meeting/conference so as to NOT get interrupted. ONLY the holder of the stick can speak.
I don't have one of those here, but I DO have a Coup-Stick. (Legitimate) as well as a Talking Stick.
And no, the stick does not talk. It is the stick that one holds, when doing the talking at a meeting/conference so as to NOT get interrupted. ONLY the holder of the stick can speak.
You back doing grip projects??? I have a Turnbull-restored, Adams-Engraved and rare New Service .45 LC... that I'd love to have you stock!
It's got really boring grips. And it needs a masters' touch!
Sirhr
I’m going to focus on grips this year. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve made any so this is my re-familiarization set, lol.
It’s really not going to get much better than this unless I were to file the frame square, lol. 
I had to actually inlet the grips for the wonky frame. Had to break out the 1.5x cheaters and a chisel, lol.
I had to actually inlet the grips for the wonky frame. Had to break out the 1.5x cheaters and a chisel, lol.
That's gonna be gorgeous. Can't wait to see the finished results.
Barrel contouring. Round to tapered hex to round. 2 thread protectors.
Thank you,
MrSmith
Thank you,
MrSmith
Another reason to have the gun is you run into issues like this where the frame isn’t flat:
Which leads to this:
Damn Eye-talians got me good. Only real options are to file the frame flat or fix the wood. Long time wisdom is to remove material from the least expensive part, lol.
Which leads to this:
Damn Eye-talians got me good. Only real options are to file the frame flat or fix the wood. Long time wisdom is to remove material from the least expensive part, lol.
Perhaps!The gun?
Left side fitted to the grip frame/cylinder frame junction.
Might tweak it just a cunt hair more, but I’m done for the night. Time to eat pizza and watch porn.
The amount of extra effort required on this one is pretty annoying. It’s all because of the grip frame, lol.
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Fitting the spacer for one piece grips. Not a super critical fitting part, but you want at least 75% contact with the frame. You can use clear epoxy to bed it to the grip frame for 100% contact, but that’ll come later. Pretty much the same concept as bedding a rifle stock.
What is the spacer for?
One piece (actually 3 pieces) grips. Gun on the left uses escutcheons and a screw, along with a pin through the frame for mounting.
Gun on the right has one piece grips which are held on by the backstrap.
You can see the spacer in this completed set:
Spacer fitting continues. Protip, life hack, hash tag when fitting the spacer, I back off the top back strap screws about 2 turns to leave a gap as shown in this picture:
What this does is creates a compression fit when the screws are tightened. The backstrap pushes against the spacer forcing the grip panel into the corner of the grip frame/cylinder frame junction like this. Now this did require small material removal on the spacer and the corners of the grips. A .0025 feeler gauge can just barely get in between the top of the grips and the ears of the frame. All part of the fitting process.
Here you can see how the spacer works. I have a lot of material to remove on the spacer before I can fit the other panel. Should have done it before initial glue up, but I’ll just feed that shit to the block plane.
What this does is creates a compression fit when the screws are tightened. The backstrap pushes against the spacer forcing the grip panel into the corner of the grip frame/cylinder frame junction like this. Now this did require small material removal on the spacer and the corners of the grips. A .0025 feeler gauge can just barely get in between the top of the grips and the ears of the frame. All part of the fitting process.
Here you can see how the spacer works. I have a lot of material to remove on the spacer before I can fit the other panel. Should have done it before initial glue up, but I’ll just feed that shit to the block plane.
It depends on the gun and how many work arounds I have to do to accommodate the frame. Believe it or not, to get this part is only about 4 continuous hours. The most spent so far was fitting the grip frame junction and the spacer.
The process gets much slower as you get closer to the finished product. That’s why I keep slave frames and sets of screws around because you’ll be installing and removing the grips about 5,000,000 times as you get to the final fit.
That’s not counting stock prep.
Here I am testing the finish. I’m a firm believer that curly maple needs some color added. Whether it be an oil based stain or alcohol/water based dye. On the test below, the left side is Tru-oil on the maple with no color added. On the right is Aqua Fortis Reagent with a coat of tru-oil.
Aqua Fortis Reagent applied to wood, and dried before applying heat to blush it. I always finish the insides of my grips with the same color (if using stain). Gives a more complete look.
I use a heat gun set at 300 degrees. The wood does not get hot enough to compromise the glue joint of the spacer. Interiors are only finished up to 120 grit. This is the inside after one application of Aqua Fortis and blushed with heat:
This is after the second application and blush. Hit it with a 3m white final finish pad because this will raise the grain. On these I applied a coat of mineral spirits to see what it’ll look like when finish is applied:
Aqua Fortis Reagent applied to wood, and dried before applying heat to blush it. I always finish the insides of my grips with the same color (if using stain). Gives a more complete look.
I use a heat gun set at 300 degrees. The wood does not get hot enough to compromise the glue joint of the spacer. Interiors are only finished up to 120 grit. This is the inside after one application of Aqua Fortis and blushed with heat:
This is after the second application and blush. Hit it with a 3m white final finish pad because this will raise the grain. On these I applied a coat of mineral spirits to see what it’ll look like when finish is applied:
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Not much headway on the grips. It’s amazing how much I have to re-teach myself after not cutting them regular for over a decade, lol.
Had to make a side track and make work holding jig.
Start here by measuring the depth of your vise. This is your radius:
Break out the compass and draw your circle. Cut that shit out with a coping saw:
Cheapest double sided tape on earth, and strong as fuck to glue them together:
A trip to the disc sander gets you round enough. Use a wedge to separate the two pieces. Find center:
Fuck maths. The barrel is .78 wide. Mark for cuts, and make cuts. Chisel out waste:
Good enough for gubmint work:
In a vise like this, I get 180 is degrees of movement, which is super useful for all the contouring and fitting to come:
In a swiveling vise, I get 360 degrees of movement on the horizontal, and again the 180 ish degrees in the vertical. Very helpful for contouring.:
I usually use scrap pine for this. The resin helps in holding. I’ll probably open up the V channel a bit. Requires minimal clamping pressure for a good solid hold. The barrel of the guns are usually wrapped for finish protection, but this is one of my slave frames for fitting.
All you do is loosen the vise and spin the wheel. Lock back in where needed.
Damn, I haven’t made one of these in a hot minute, lol.
Had to make a side track and make work holding jig.
Start here by measuring the depth of your vise. This is your radius:
Break out the compass and draw your circle. Cut that shit out with a coping saw:
Cheapest double sided tape on earth, and strong as fuck to glue them together:
A trip to the disc sander gets you round enough. Use a wedge to separate the two pieces. Find center:
Fuck maths. The barrel is .78 wide. Mark for cuts, and make cuts. Chisel out waste:
Good enough for gubmint work:
In a vise like this, I get 180 is degrees of movement, which is super useful for all the contouring and fitting to come:
In a swiveling vise, I get 360 degrees of movement on the horizontal, and again the 180 ish degrees in the vertical. Very helpful for contouring.:
I usually use scrap pine for this. The resin helps in holding. I’ll probably open up the V channel a bit. Requires minimal clamping pressure for a good solid hold. The barrel of the guns are usually wrapped for finish protection, but this is one of my slave frames for fitting.
All you do is loosen the vise and spin the wheel. Lock back in where needed.
Damn, I haven’t made one of these in a hot minute, lol.
Just tried aqua fortis for the first time today on this Hawk handle. Hickory, so not much flame. But the photo does not do justice to the color.
Great work BFC!!
Sirhr
Great work BFC!!
Sirhr
That is very nice!!
Got all the pewter and pin work done on the war club. Started shaping the handle and sanding. It is heavier than I thought it would be! But there is a good pound of pewter in it!
That is damn cool. Did you do wood pegs with pewter inlay around them?
Can’t wait for this to show up. 
This maple has enough richness to not need any dye or stain. Due to having some Birdseye, this will get some BLO before moving on to further finishing. BLO is a must for Birdseye as it brings a great shimmer to the eyes.
Then I can apply an oil based top coat after the BLO dries.
Not sure what I’ll make yet. Maybe revolver grips, maybe 1911 grips, but I also have a couple people wanting knives rehandled.
Maple like this is a treat, and brings a premium as you don’t get it every day.
Might just keep it for myself in my ever growing stash of unique wood.
This maple has enough richness to not need any dye or stain. Due to having some Birdseye, this will get some BLO before moving on to further finishing. BLO is a must for Birdseye as it brings a great shimmer to the eyes.
Then I can apply an oil based top coat after the BLO dries.
Not sure what I’ll make yet. Maybe revolver grips, maybe 1911 grips, but I also have a couple people wanting knives rehandled.
Maple like this is a treat, and brings a premium as you don’t get it every day.
Might just keep it for myself in my ever growing stash of unique wood.
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