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Not cheap, creative  If I were cheap, I wouldn't spend $100's on some things, yet bemoan paying $5 on others, then again, maybe I am cheap?As I mentioned on another thread, I've made wood scrapers from used hacksaw blades. Cheap, and easily ground to any shape I want, w/o the grief of grinding a $10-15 German scraper. I've used cases to make punches out of. I made a flex shaft grinder using a makita 1/4" die grinder and foredom flex shaft. I'm sure there are some others that don't come to mind, will have to ponder them. | |||
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| One of Us |
Every time I finish a stock I have to search for something to hold the finish when I wet sand. I use a small block of wood but need something relatively small. Most stocks I build have Pachmyr pads and the packaging from these when split in half provides two nice containers. Chic [This message has been edited by Customstox (edited 02-13-2002).] | |||
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I'm assuming you are interested in shop equipment as well as gun accessories. For grinders and buffers on the cheap it is really hard to beat just a cheap mandrel on a 3/4 - 1 hp washing machine motor. I guess most of the motors are in the 1/2 hp range but 3/4 and up are when you can really get some work done! If you find a motor you can be on the road for less than $25 including the wheel or buff. If you want to spend a little more get an arbor and run it with a belt and pulley, but then you are starting to get into a little bit more money, which is opposite the "free" aspect. Everybody should have a buffing wheel, just don't experiment with anything expensive until you have made your mistakes on the cheap things first. For gunwipes I put some oil and a shot of WD40 on a cloth and keep it in a 35mm film can. If you do a lot of finish work and live by a school sometime get a bag full of empty milk cartons, the 1/2 pint ones. Wash them out before you do anything else with them but they used to be very handy for finishes and glues or mixing up small batches of epoxy. Nowadays though I got a tube of plastic deli containers and just use those, much neater to keep them in a stack and if you use the bottom one it will be clean inside guaranteed. | |||
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Chick, I use jar lids, the wifes saucers, aluminum pans, sardine cans, sawed off platic bottles and peanut butter jars, shoe polish cans, and my all time favorite, a 6" iron skillet I found at the dump!! Hope this helps you in your search for the holy grail of wet sanding......  ------------------ | |||
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| One of Us |
Ray, what is shoe polish? I have heard of boot wax and boot water proofing but shoe polish? Sounds like frivolous stuff to me. | |||
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one of us |
I got tired of burned fingers so I made a "cartridge case turntable" for annealing case necks out of a tape deck mechanism. It is set permanently on "play". With a "turntable" made using a holesaw to cut a plug of 3/4" plywood on the spindle, it turns the case just fast enough. ------------------ | |||
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Tuna fish cans! I love these things little ones big ones. I use them for all sorts of things but mostly for mixing bedding compounds. P.S. It helps if you like tuna fish too. I make use of barrels that are shot out instead of just throwing them away. I use the barrel shank in making tools to square bolt faces, hold tension against the bolt while lapping the lugs & in the case of the mauser barrel to lap the inner collar square also. This save me time of having to thread for the action.
[This message has been edited by Bear Claw (edited 02-13-2002).] | |||
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| one of us |
Popsicle sticks and cotton pipe cleaners have been extremely useful to me. Large packs of popsicle sticks can be bought at dollar stores or craft stores for next to nothing. They are good for mixing glass/epoxy, useful as tiny sanding blocks, wedges, shims etc. The pipe cleaners are most useful for cleaning and degreasing threaded holes, getting gunk out of grooves etc. I also use the mouths of spent cartridge cases to scrape off surface rust and stray acraglass. The cases don't mar the bluing and any brass residue can be wiped off with solvent or oil. Cut-off ends of metal round stock make good barrel channel scrapers too. Super glue is also used alot in my shop. I've used it to fill cracks in stocks, build up handguards on military guns, temporarily hold scope bases in place and even for gluing things together. A small metal lathe or mill-drill creates almost unlimited potential for making your own tools. I guess its like money; it takes tools to make tools. - John FWIW I'm not cheap, I'm just poor! [This message has been edited by Beelzebubba (edited 02-13-2002).] | |||
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"A small metal lathe or mill-drill creates almost unlimited potential for making your own tools. I guess its like money; it takes tools to make tools. - John FWIW I'm not cheap, I'm just poor!" True. I'm too poor to pay attention. LOL | |||
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| One of Us |
I went to purchase a houges ballistic shooting bag and when I saw the price $130.00 if I remember correctly so I went to a leather goods maker and got him to make me one from leather and he also filled it with buckwheat husks which gives the same quality's as sand with a 1/4 of the weight cost me $10.00 not quite free I suppose. I use beer bottle tops to hold graphite in and wool bail hook conainers for odds and ends. ------------------ | |||
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| One of Us |
When I glue on an ebony fore end tip I add a black substance to the epoxy glue so that if there are any tiny gaps (and of course there aren't- yeah sure!) you won't see them. The black stuff that is often recommended is Lamp black available at hardware stores. That is a hardware store from circa 1930. I use the black toner from depleted Xerox printer cartridges. Speaking of super glue, I use it on checkering where the wood tends to fuzz up. Paint on a bunch of it after I am 3/4 depth and it then checkers like it is granite. | |||
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| Moderator |
The best super glue you buy at hobby shops that specialize in models. I think that the brands are all pretty much the same, but I like to get both the "super thin" stuff in addition to the thicker gels. I suppose if I had to only get one I would get the super thin stuff as it can do things nothing else can. The reason for getting it at a hobby store is that you will be buying fresh stuff, modelers use a lot of it. Also buy some accelerant when you are there, that stuff is pretty impressive too! It will force the super glue to cure in about 2 seconds so you can put it on one piece, coat the other piece in glue and hold it for a second and it is stuck. Toner cartridges are a great idea, burnt cork works too and I usually have more empty wine bottles than empty toner cartridges but you never know! | |||
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| One of Us |
Mark, Remember this is cheap, my wine bottles have screw tops, lol. | |||
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Thanks for the tips on the lamp black substitute. I just ordered some rottenstone from Brownells even though it is "commonly available in paint stores." I can't count the number of blank stares I've gotten from even the older paint experts when I asked for it. I guess I save a lot of money buying the older gunsmithing books too! I don't suppose you guys know a good substitute for rottenstone? - John | |||
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Man, where do I start? I don't mind spending money on some things, but if I can make an item, sometimes I get down-right stubborn about buying that item. Plus it's fun. Some things that come to mind.... And then there is the non-gun shop equipment like the hydraulic tubing bender, water cooler for the TIG welder, hydraulic press, glass bead cabinet... God, I got too much time on my hands... Joe. | |||
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Like jmac, any thing I can copy or pickup for nothing or close to nothing. I like Brownell catalogues they give you all the dementions on there products. I have used it to make a set of bluing tanks that set on a cloeman camp stove or my turkey deep fryer cooker.Some of these projects get really involved like the rifle rest and the arrow straightener.I gave up on the tuna can for anneling and made an alluminum bowel with a shaft that set in a hole on the bench with a thrush washer so it turns easy. some others on the bench are jewling fixture a powder measure stand a bolt welding jig, and many more that i have forgot about.  [This message has been edited by HIVELOSITY (edited 02-14-2002).] | |||
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Ok I'll be first... Hivelosity your setup there looks like it loads only inaccurate, if not downright dangerous, ammo. How does one keep from skipping a charge or double charging the next case when you are always staring at the wall? | |||
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Mark, what set up??? I do see the wall. Chic | |||
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OK, And I thought maybe you would recognize what tallent i have? I have a couple autographed copys of the Wolfe calander girls from the gun shows here in Northeast Ohio.. sure made the gun shows great, took my father-in-law, could not get him past the girls. go figure. dave | |||
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| <Paladin> |
...Some many years ago, I finally found a use for the little cartridge "racks" found in .22 rimfire plaastic boxes: I glued several together with plastic glue, then used other glue to secure them to the inside of a drywall wall which had suffered a good-sized hole. Once this plastic lathwork was firmly in place, it made a perfect base for troweling plaster into place and securing it there. I was terribly proud of myself --which just goes to show how easy it is for some folks to be proud about something.... Paladin | ||
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does any one have a good idea for bore guides [This message has been edited by HIVELOSITY (edited 02-16-2002).] | |||
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Lesson learned, USE SPENT CATRIDGE! you may use the resizing die to keeps it secure while driling or tapping the thread. cost - approx $10 in parts from home depot. Enjoy... ------------------ Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. | |||
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| <atlasmlc> |
HiVelosity, Several of us use fireformed cases from a particular gun....cut off the head....epoxy an arrow shaft (if less than .284 caliber), or use part of a golf shaft (they are tapered and readily available)...Then just cut a notch in the end for adding your favorite cleaning and oiling product...and VIOLA!! | ||
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| <Kerry.S> |
Yep I copied brownells barrel vise and action wrench, scope alignment points, bolt knob welding fixture. Front sight pusher, sight soldering fixture. front and rear sight tools for the AR-15, bolt lug lapping tool. and the one I'm most proud of. I copied the forester universal scope and sight jig. That one took my over two months of lunch hours to build. And I made it better then the original. Mine has a replaceble top bar so you can have any hole spacing you want. Kerry | ||
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