I'd like to build a special rifle for my father and he really loves my manners t5 but likes the feel and look of a wood stock. Is there anybody y'all can refer me to, to have a stock duplicated and I'll do the finish work here? Thanks is in advance
Gunsmithing Stock duplicator
- Thread starter hunter223
- Start date
Not trying to bust your balls Chad but that isn't a true duplicate.
Uhm, yeah it is. Right down to the mold distortion.
This stock was built using an ultra high resolution (optical) scan of a T5A. The scanning work was done by the engineering department of the SD School Of Mines and Technology. -A grad student there if I recall correctly. One of the types that "never leaves skewel," lol.
Once I had this I converted the mesh file to a solid model. Once I had the solid I 3D surface machined the stock using a 4 axis cnc mill. Dimensions are reflective of the original +/- about .01" I say that because it was sanded by hand afterwards.
The portion of this that is noteworthy is how it was done. CNC'd stocks is not new, however surfacing machining them is rarely done. Most that are run in a mill this way are done with a digitized program. You basically bounce a Renishaw probe around an existing stock "master" and it records the points in 3D space. The "point cloud" is then brought into a CAM package and tool paths are assigned.
This works, it's been done that way for a very long time now.
The rub is you cannot do much with it. What I mean by that is if you run a 1/4" OD probe to get your points, your limited to a 1/4" tool for the final tool path. Deviate and you lose your scale. Same thing applies when using a conventional stock duplicator with a tracer ball. All the dimensions are generated to the spindle centerline. No real practical way to use offsets or surfacing programs that allow you roll the cutter off axis. This is because you are using inert points in space that are literally connected dot to dot like a kid's coloring book. There's no "sheet" (surface) to pull data from.
So what? It's a dumb stock right?
Yes, it is. However with wood you find that you hit a brick wall and the annoyance will make a whole lot more work for yourself. We must visit a playground to illustrate this. Jump on merry go round once. Stand in the middle. The very center. You might get dizzy but your not really moving all that much. By contrast it takes effort to hang on when you are on the periphery. Any cutting tool works the same way. If you run on center, you fail to generate surface speed. With wood that means you squish fibers. "Compression lines" is the term used. -Basically the stock starts to resemble a shitty gravel road full of rumble strips. You won't see them really till after you sand and start laying sealer. The grain swells and you punctuate by saying, "feck, more sanding".
With software and surfacing I can drive the tool diameter, the offset angle in relation to the part, the direction of the toolpath, stepover, etc. This stock left the machine ready for 320 grit paper.
A nut was cracked here. One that very, very few have done successfully I might ad. Big companies have not gone here. We tried to convince Dakota Arms folks of the benefits but the "craftsman" shot it down. -Career dissipation lamps started to flash like strobes apparently.
Not sure where you get your data, but I know this is a correct example of a T5A. I still have the blank sitting on the shelf. -One of close to 50 or so that I've bought directly from Manners over the last few years. -straight out of the mold. It was "good enough" for Tom Manners to put in a standing order with me should I ever decide to complicate my life and build another one. (someday Tom
)
C.
This stock was built using an ultra high resolution (optical) scan of a T5A. The scanning work was done by the engineering department of the SD School Of Mines and Technology. -A grad student there if I recall correctly. One of the types that "never leaves skewel," lol.
Once I had this I converted the mesh file to a solid model. Once I had the solid I 3D surface machined the stock using a 4 axis cnc mill. Dimensions are reflective of the original +/- about .01" I say that because it was sanded by hand afterwards.
The portion of this that is noteworthy is how it was done. CNC'd stocks is not new, however surfacing machining them is rarely done. Most that are run in a mill this way are done with a digitized program. You basically bounce a Renishaw probe around an existing stock "master" and it records the points in 3D space. The "point cloud" is then brought into a CAM package and tool paths are assigned.
This works, it's been done that way for a very long time now.
The rub is you cannot do much with it. What I mean by that is if you run a 1/4" OD probe to get your points, your limited to a 1/4" tool for the final tool path. Deviate and you lose your scale. Same thing applies when using a conventional stock duplicator with a tracer ball. All the dimensions are generated to the spindle centerline. No real practical way to use offsets or surfacing programs that allow you roll the cutter off axis. This is because you are using inert points in space that are literally connected dot to dot like a kid's coloring book. There's no "sheet" (surface) to pull data from.
So what? It's a dumb stock right?
Yes, it is. However with wood you find that you hit a brick wall and the annoyance will make a whole lot more work for yourself. We must visit a playground to illustrate this. Jump on merry go round once. Stand in the middle. The very center. You might get dizzy but your not really moving all that much. By contrast it takes effort to hang on when you are on the periphery. Any cutting tool works the same way. If you run on center, you fail to generate surface speed. With wood that means you squish fibers. "Compression lines" is the term used. -Basically the stock starts to resemble a shitty gravel road full of rumble strips. You won't see them really till after you sand and start laying sealer. The grain swells and you punctuate by saying, "feck, more sanding".
With software and surfacing I can drive the tool diameter, the offset angle in relation to the part, the direction of the toolpath, stepover, etc. This stock left the machine ready for 320 grit paper.
A nut was cracked here. One that very, very few have done successfully I might ad. Big companies have not gone here. We tried to convince Dakota Arms folks of the benefits but the "craftsman" shot it down. -Career dissipation lamps started to flash like strobes apparently.
Not sure where you get your data, but I know this is a correct example of a T5A. I still have the blank sitting on the shelf. -One of close to 50 or so that I've bought directly from Manners over the last few years. -straight out of the mold. It was "good enough" for Tom Manners to put in a standing order with me should I ever decide to complicate my life and build another one. (someday Tom
)C.
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Chad, you've posted some damn nice projects and images over the years, but that figured walnut T-5A is over the top awesome, take my money!!!
Chad, been trying to contact ya about this very thing. Can you PM me in regards to this? Thanks
Damn it when science is right.
Mr Dixon, thanks to your pics, now my khakis dont look right as I head to drop my kid at school on the way to work. I thought I left this problem in 9th grade math.......
Loved it when it was first made, it is still amazing. Its on my list if I ever find the winning lotto ticket in the gutter
Mr Dixon, thanks to your pics, now my khakis dont look right as I head to drop my kid at school on the way to work. I thought I left this problem in 9th grade math.......
Loved it when it was first made, it is still amazing. Its on my list if I ever find the winning lotto ticket in the gutter
That is a thing of beauty in workmanship. And further, a testament to the ability of properly applied technology. Can I hear a Hallelujah?
I loved it when you first did it and walked us all through the build and it's nice to see it again.
Thanks for posting it again, Chad.
I loved it when you first did it and walked us all through the build and it's nice to see it again.
Thanks for posting it again, Chad.
Goes just fine:
[video]http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/05/stunning-hand-crafted-walnut-tactical-stock-for-the-hide/[/video]
[video]http://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/story/1661902-sniper-s-hide-looks-at-the-mausingfield[/video]
Amazing work man, that is a piece of art. I love to see what technology can do when it's used on something out of the norm.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And to think, I still use a manual duplicator...
"Ready for 320 grit"...jeezus...oscillating spindle and 80 grit for me. Guess it's still better than the chisel and hammer
Very impressive shit, Chad.
I know jack about CNC- but thought a 5th axis would be necessary for this type of work. Of course, I was wrong!
"Ready for 320 grit"...jeezus...oscillating spindle and 80 grit for me. Guess it's still better than the chisel and hammer
Very impressive shit, Chad.
I know jack about CNC- but thought a 5th axis would be necessary for this type of work. Of course, I was wrong!
