As a new member, I did not want to be obtuse and have my first few posts be glaring advertisements. That and I wanted to make sure that the lot of you was a group of people I would want to do work for. In the few months I have been a member I have to say I have learned an exceptional amount and am always eager to see what new material crops up.

Given the amount that I have learned, I am somewhat bashful to now post my work.

Custom .308, Yugoslavian M24/47 trued and lapped, Shilen 1/10 barrel, Timney safety and trigger, Talley bolt, Swedish bottom metal (from M96). Black walnut semi-inlet, Turkish Walnut forend tip and grip cap. David Clevinger engraving. This was my first custom rifle, knowing what I know now, I would change A LOT! Talley rings and bases, ebony forend tip, metal grip cap, different action, different bottom metal, etc. When I built this, I was just plain ignorant, well that, and broke. Fortunately I have learned alot!








Custom 1917 in .35 Whelen, Shilen barrel, Turkish walnut stock, ebony forend tip, free floated barrel. Trigger guard flipped, welded, and shaped, Nitre blued accents(not actually that purple), Talley bases and rings to be fit, red decelerator and Dakota grip cap. It will get some engraving, then rust blued.




This 1917 is coming along nicely, I am 98% finished with the inletting and will begin shaping after pillar bedding the action. Inletting by far takes me the longest, and I will be the first to adamantly suggest that I am not the best when it comes to wood! This action was a serious pain in my rear, and unfortunately, the man that semi inlet the stock (god rest his soul) opened it up on the large side. Fortunately, the customer is patient, and allowing me to take my time. As the $500 piece of Turkish walnut is the most expensive piece of wood I have worked with to date, I did not want to have an “accident”.

Hope you enjoyed my work! I will be posting more of it as I go. Feel free to comment (constructively) on my work. I am probably harsher on myself than you will be. For example, I am quite horrid at recoil pads. The one on the above .308 is mortifying for me to look at. If I can get pictures tomorrow nigth I will post another rifle I finished up recently, the recoil pad turned out much better.

Thanks!

Good stuff, and welcome! Just remember that almost every first rifle is a bit sore on the eyes, however it carries an exceptional amount of sentiment. Mine was a custom Mosin Nagant...I need not say more.
And it's always a good thing to deal with a patient customer. Thank him when you can, as the pushy ones are the cause of white hair.
I currently have two, a P17 and P14, in the works. The 17 is going to be a safe queen for my father, the P14 is going to be a 585 Nyati once I get off my butt and work on it. The Nyati is going to be fully engraved, blued and silver inlayed, English walnut with a hogsback / oberndorf (kind of?) style stock, 1/4 rib with a H&H sight set up. I have it in my head, it's a bit eccentric but it'll be interesting. Keep posting your work!

Whomever is paying a person of your raw skill set to stick a chisel into $500 wood is, well...... kind.

they said that about every gunsmith and stocker in the country once upon a time.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Nomo4me:
Whomever is paying a person of your raw skill set to stick a chisel into $500 wood is, well...... kind.

probably not .. the person probably got a $2500 quote for making a stock, and fainted ...

oh, wait, it was a semi-inlet .. all bets are off on that one, then

good luck

quote:

Originally posted by The Metalsmith:
...the P14 is going to be a 585 Nyati

please consider the 600 OK, or at least borrow Rob's reamer, which fixes the gross errors in the original reamer spec

I remember my first custom, wish I could buy it back. Then I could hide it somewhere out of sight! I'd like to say the rest have been better, then I see the work posters do here and wonder...
Anyway, I thought you done well, keep posting, I enjoy this forum for that reason!

I agree with srtrax, everyone starts somewhere and, while I am NOT a gunmaker, my first stock from a blank was, well...horrid. I sent the rifle to Jim Kobe for some metal upgrades and his polite comment was, "you ARE going to replace the stock, right". I laughed for a day or so.

Keep at it and be patient.

quote:

they said that about every gunsmith and stocker in the country once upon a time.

Rich

true words. applies not only to gunmakers but everyone else on the planet as well

I think some nice checkering would make that FINE first rifle look even finer! Keep up the good work!
Regards, Joe

The Metalsmith, thanks, I think your rifle will be quite unique, but tasteful. Please post pictures once you start building it. I do thank my customers when they are patient and understanding. I am upfront with time schedules and as always, stuff happens.

Nomo4me, I do not know if kind is the appropriate description... The customer knows me, knows my abilities, and my inabilities.

Idaho Sharpshooter, indeed. Everyone has to start from nothing. It is the ability to comprehend mistakes and take corrective action that allows a good student to improve.

Jeffeosso, no, the customer did not faint. I am pretty upfront with my prices, and if I do not know or am uncertian, I work on an estimate, charging time and materials. Yes it is a semi-inlet, because I do not have the skill to complete a blank at this time. Could I, yes, the result would probably not be up to my liking. Given that the David Miller company semi inlets, I do not let it get to me.

srtrax, the .308 above was my first, though certianly not the first rifle I built. I will not sell it unless I have sold almost every other firearm I own. I appreciate your compliment, I hope to pass this one down to my child.

larrys, I believe the fact you can laugh at Kobe's comment and not be insulted is a sign of character. I am sure that Echols, Kobe, and Anderson (to name a FEW) would find my work unacceptable.

J.D. Steele I have been thinking the same. I have not been much of a fan of checkering, but it is starting to grow on me. It is one of those accents that just needs to be there.

Thank you all for the compliments and encouragement. I know I have a long way to go, and plan to work hard on getting there. Part of my business plan is to be a member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild within 10 years. Whether that will happen or not...

Not that it should matter.....it is only a 35 Whelan.

And I don't want to start a shit fight, but is it just my eyes or is one those scope mount holes on the 1917 drill straight thru the bolt recoil lug.

I just had a simlar action ready for my 600 OK and the gunsmith wouldn't build on it because of where the hole was drilled and it looks to be the same place

regards
S&F

quote:

Originally posted by ShortandFat:
Not that it should matter.....it is only a 35 Whelan.

And I don't want to start a shit fight, but is it just my eyes or is one those scope mount holes on the 1917 drill straight thru the bolt recoil lug.

I just had a simlar action ready for my 600 OK and the gunsmith wouldn't build on it because of where the hole was drilled and it looks to be the same place

regards
S&F

The rear tapped hole is straight through the recoil lug, you are correct. Unfortunately the action was already drilled and tapped when it was received. I do not think it is a problem, at all. Now, if I was building it for a customer who wanted a 600 OK, that would certianly be a different story.

I would not hesitate to shoot this rifle for the rest of my life.

FWIW, the Redfield Jr base for the 1903 Springfield is, or used to be, DESIGNED to have an 8-40 hole D&Ted right smack dab in the middle of the top recoil lug!

Haven't ever heard of any problems whatsoever with this particular application on the 1903, but after all it IS a Springfield and not a Mauser......FWIW.
Regards, Joe

"larrys, I believe the fact you can laugh at Kobe's comment and not be insulted is a sign of character. I am sure that Echols, Kobe, and Anderson (to name a FEW) would find my work unacceptable. "

On the contrary, I like the looks of it. Keep up the good work and apply sooner that later.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
On the contrary, I like the looks of it. Keep up the good work and apply sooner that later.

Thank you sir! I'll wait a few more rifles, get my craft a little more perfected, and then give it a shot.

After several semi-inlets I'm on my fourth from a blank. I'm never completely satisfied but enjoy it. There's a lot of value in that. As much as farming it out to someone more skilled than I. I have a couple from gifted makers and like them but get more pleasure out of those I do myself. I really need to get a better checkering skill set though, I still farm that out.

dempsey, it will be a few more rifles before I try a blank. Sadly when I was at CST, building from a blank was largely glossed over. That is all changing today. I hear now there are quite a few students inletting from blanks.

Here are two 1911 builds I did while at CST. 1911's are my other love. Well.. ok maybe there are a few other than just custom rifles

Norwegian 1914, full build, engraving by David Clevinger.

Custom 1911, Ed Brown internals, Caspian frame and slide, full build, hot salt blue finish

quote:

Originally posted by Fal Grunt:
dempsey, it will be a few more rifles before I try a blank. Sadly when I was at CST, building from a blank was largely glossed over. That is all changing today. I hear now there are quite a few students inletting from blanks.

I am astounded. Ed Shulin (TSJC '65-'90s, now passed on to his great reward) had told me that there was a period of years when the students were more interested in synthetic stocks than walnut but I didn't imagine that it was THAT bad!

IMO if you didn't learn how to start from a blank (for even a totally strange rifle) then you or your instructors passed up a golden opportunity. Ed and I had our differences but he was a heckuve good instructor and taught us the complete procedure including making all our own chisels, layout patterns, templates and other stockmaking tools.

It certainly ain't rocket science. Consult Alvin Linden's and Dave Wesbrook's books and Les Brooks's tutorial on this site for some splendid instruction. It's a lotta work compared to other methods but it's the only way I could ever get even close to exactly what I REALLY wanted.
Regards, Joe

Blanks are a matter of pride for me. I was avoiding going into any detail about them for the moment. I am a perfectionist. I have not been happy with a single rifle I have produced as of yet. I KNOW any blank I produced would just drive me nuts. I know the process and I know the layout (though not well enough yet).

So, once I feel better about my inletting, shaping, and finishing, I will tackle a blank.

As to CST, when I was there, there was much to be desired. Towards the end I like to think I had a hand in the hiring of one instructor that brought much needed skill and talent to the school. Shortly followed another. The two of them have turned that school upside down and have improved it 100%.

I would have gladly done two walnut stocks, however we were required to do one synthetic. They were total trash, the instructors thought they were trash, and frankly were a waste of money.

The 1917 above, the stock was semi-inlet from a turkish blank by Ed Shulin. His pattern was a little large, but I understand this was one of the last blanks he did. His health may have been a factor. I know the two mauser 98 stocks he semi-inlet for me were just about perfect.

I will do a blank soon enough. I have a 9.3x62 that I am planning to be a quasi copy of a Model B Oberndorf with an octagon barrel. I think doing the stock from a blank would be appropriate.

The Wesbrook book is a good one. Lindens book also has a lot of good info but for me reading it drives me nuts. Best way to learn is by doing. I do stocks for relatives as gifts and the occasional friend, they buy the parts. Just looking at a lot of stocks by different makers also helps me a lot. SDH has some good books for photos, he's as moody as an old lady with too much time on her hands but still good books. I think it's the wind in Livingston.

The main thing I've learned about stockmaking is to KEEP MY CHISELS RAZOR-SHARP!

Second thing: if my chisels or scrapers don't quite fit the shape I want, then I make a new one the proper size/shape instead of trying to 'make do' with an inadequate tool.
Regards, Joe

When Les Brooks posted his thread on inletting a blank, the thing that bugged me the most, and I was actually jealous of, was that when he was in school they taught him how to make chisels.

At TSJC we HAD to make our own chisels, screwdrivers, punches, scrapers, mandrels, bolt forging blocks, bolt thread taps, etc or we didn't pass. Some students made their own checkering tools and I still have the cute little 1.5" x 1.5" bench square that I made for one of my 'electives'. All my screwdrivers except one were stolen by other students but I still have my chisels, scrapers and other handmade tools.

Actually making the tools is, to me still today, one of the most enjoyable parts of gunsmithing. And I get a small spiritual reward every time I use the tool, by remembering and cherishing the product of my own handwork.
Regards, Joe

Making your own tools is something I'd like to learn. I've made some and modified others but I sure could use some instruction on how to do it right.

Jerry Liles

As I understand it at CST (probably same era you went through TSJC) you also made all your own chisels, screwdrivers, scrapers, square, etc.

J.D., why don't you post a tutorial on how to make chisels or something similar. I know how to, but I am sure I could learn some more!

Nathaniel, AFAIK you are correct about the CST program, the students there back in the '60s also had to make many if not most of their own tools unless I'm mistaken.

The programs have obviously changed rather dramatically over the years. For instance Boots Obermeyer and Bob Snapp both learned how to cut-rifle barrels back in the '50s but by the '60s the big P&W machines had been moved down the hill to Prator's shop. He would teach a few folks who were REAL interested, but on a strictly occasional basis after hours or on weekends. We didn't learn to rust blue either but did have a case-coloring session. Back then TIG welding was known as Heli-Arc and was a brand-new & very exotic process for most folks, I didn't learn it myself until about 1980. At TSJC we learned only simple stick and OA welding.

Full penetration of course, no exceptions! (private joke)

I'll try to follow your suggestion about a chisel tutorial but I'm mighty short of tuits these days. However I'm working on Jerry's project right now and he wants to know how to make his own stuff so I guess that tutorial can become part of the build. Come to think of it, I think I need a couple of new ones myself to work around the magazine cutoff....
Regards, Joe

Welding was OK, we learned OA, no stick. We had the opportunity to take TIG, but I passed. I have an expert welder who will do better than me for a lot less. Someday, I will learn TIG.

I have seen enough threads around here about full penetration.

To anyone that needs some work done, I am finished up with my customers Norwegian krag, and have an opening!

thanks

When I was at CST you had to do a rifle and a shotgun from blanks, but after that you could work a semi. We only made screwdrivers if we did not already have one that would fit, did make some scrapers and chisels but it was not required.