Re: my home shop .284 win build (pic heavy)
300sniper,
This thread immediately went to the top of my list. Before the end of your rebuild, you verified and showed the results to everyone who wished for viewing and confirming.
You described conditions that “made you nervous” was quite accurate and hit home with me. I have had those feelings at different times and I am hoping after my overall machining skills improve and I performed the same cut on a barrel several more times I will have either ruined one or be able to settle down and my heart not be beating like a lizard.
Another legitimate suggestion would be to treat this thread as a living document; but not like the Republicans and Democrats treat and show disdain for the US Constitution, their living document.
Simply add more description, interpretations, why you did something and why you didn’t. There are some excellent comments by others and even why one used HSS instead of carbide reamers and justified his methodology. You will do more smithing so the opportunity will avail itself.
I do believe I have seen my fair share of machining instructional videos and if there is a consistent weakness in most are the “thought process” speak and sometime the simplest of technique is withheld, not spoken or seen on video (e.g. a feed rate, a dial/test indicator setup, and realistic alignment/run-out times). My intent in no way is to diss the sharing and helpful time and expense many very highly qualified smiths took to produce instructional DVDs.
Go back and delete some of the superfluous comments like mine and Viola! SnipersHide, compliments of 300sniper, et. al, has an online instructional that augments Hinnants’s book, and countless DVDs and magazine articles.
Being a FNG, what is still really surprising to me is the love and respect most of the experienced gunsmiths have for their vo/avocation. There is an extremely limited field of interest out there and obviously more than a handful have covied up on this forum. I have found when successful and qualified smith has time; they love to talk about what they do and how they do it, especially when they have a hungry audience (snipershide).
One does not have to be interested in purchasing a Grizzly or South Bend lathe, build a shop or what have you to start their own gunsmith shop so they can improve their two gee-whiz rifles and one hunting stick. If, at the very least, it will confirm to some bloke reading your post (along with the others that contributed) what the meaning of simple terms like “lapping the lugs” or “blueprinting an action” means.
To end my missive (I heard that!), years ago, when I had trouble remembering which end you put the gasoline in the rifle, I had a Rem 700 completely “accurized.” Blueprint or true the action, bolt face, lug abutments, have the lugs lapped; reinstall the crown, blah, blah, blah. I got it back several months later and shot it. The smith was honest and told me he just couldn’t get any real discernable improvement out of it but he thought it shot just a tiny bit better than before (factory ammo).
Several months ago I was digging in my gun safe and yanked this beauty out to see, look and learn. Short of the story is there wasn’t a tool mark one on the bolt, bolt face, or action. Apparently I could parrot the words but I didn’t have a clue what they meant. Therefore I got a bucketful of my money’s worth in real-life lessons.
Cheers!