on safe.
caption: i think that i will operate the safety with the trigger finger. to me, it is more natural than using the thumb. i suppose it is from having grown up w/ the remington 1100 shotgun.
off safe.
caption: push the roll pin in with the trigger finger, and the gun is ready to fire. just a very simply movement.
you can see that the roll pin has been "polished", by going over it with file, dremel drum and sand paper. but, for the time being, i've left it a very tight friction fit, because i haven't figured any other mechanical means, e.g., spring & detent, to secure it. if you've any ideas, let me know
the other day i told you about breakfast at a wee bit o' heather's restaurant, and the wisdom imparted to me by several people saying, why don't you use roll pins instead of riveting pins in place, followed by a chorus of assents.
well, i was convinced, as evidenced by live link below, to the first "the further adventures ... " of the plywood gun. i'll just give you another shot from that post, to show how nice the roll pins look in my little gun, and how sleek it will be when the trigger group gets installed. (you can go to another live link below, "the holes are trued ... " to see how much better a smooth sided receiver appears.)
caption: the roll pins installed in the trigger pin hole & the hammer pin hole. it makes for a very clean installation, and much nicer than what i had originally conceived. although, as noted, i do miss the frankenstein's monster appearance of all the bolts and nuts i had slung on the side of the receiver at first.
ah, progress!!
well, now that these issues are seemingly taken care of, it is full speed ahead on installation of the trigger group, and of the lug which will have the buffer tube/upper receiver extension screwed into it, at the rear end of the bottom receiver. guess how i am now going to secure it? for sure, not with bolts, but w/ 5/32's roll pins, two of them, from side to side.
nope, it is not going anywhere.
so, really, all i've got left to do is build an upper, most of the parts which i've had laying around for a couple years now, and designing a new cartridge for it. more on that, when the ncaa basketball tourney is over.
john jay @ 03.23.2014
John ol'Buddy;
I was with you all the way until we hit the basketball part. You and 0bumer enjoy. I find no enjoyment in the alternative sport.
Posted by: Russ Harman | March 23, 2014 at 04:55 PM
russ:
i just put that in the last sentence to check up on you, to make sure that you've been reading the entire way through.
o.k. you passed.
john
p.s. i don't suppose that you are ready for synchronized swimming, and gymnastics w/ flags and that sort of shit, either. kind of like chinese artsy fartsy kung fu movies, which i enjoy, too.
you with me ol' bud?
Posted by: john jay | March 23, 2014 at 05:58 PM
John
My concern with the roll pins are how they will fit with the FCG. I realize they are harder than the screws, but they are designed to be over-sized to press fit in a certain sized hole. Thereby causing the moving parts to bind on the pins. The pin bores of the FCG parts may have to be honed over-size to function properly.
Also, depending on how the forces are acting with springs in tension, it could cause oddness in the operation of the FCG (gritty-ness, hard pull, inconsistency, etc). Especially if the split in the pin is against the load bearing point of operation. I think that the orientation of the pins will have a direct impact on the function of the FCG.
How spring pins would work with a cartridge style trigger assembly, I don't know. May not even be an issue.
Just a few thing to look at. The slab side has a nice look to it now. Can't wait for more.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Posted by: Leigh | March 25, 2014 at 03:15 AM
leigh:
it will work, because i will make it work. i come from a long tradition, here in the north eastern environs of the state of oregon, of baling wire, chewing gun, and twine mechanics.
my dad was like you. precise. fastidious. w/in tolerances. he once referred to a local, revered as "greasy jim," as a mechanic who loved a "bigger hammer."
things that you mention are why god made arkansas stones, and fine bastard cut files, and endowed people with ample reference to various magical phrases intoned in load screams, ... , to make things work.
have no fear, leigh. it will work, because i will it to work.
trust me on this, i was a lawyer.
john
p.s. we see a shiny "wear spot," we file/sand/hone/stone it down. and, say something that sounds vaguely like, "out, damned spot." well, along that line. sorta.
Posted by: john jay | March 25, 2014 at 10:18 AM
p.s. this is a prototype, not yet mass production.
when bill ruger was making the first mock ups of what would become the single six, he had a prototype carved/machined in wood, to see how it all went together.
it "functioned," as he knew it wood. er, would.
pattern makers, they called themselves, people who did this. a lost & forgotten art.
Posted by: john jay | March 25, 2014 at 10:21 AM
John
Far be it for me to criticize, my friend. You got to remember, I am a weekend farm hand - "heat, beat, and grind to fit" are a way of life. I did things to a JD 7410, two weeks ago, that made my heart weep. But, no matter how much I love that tractor; she's got too many hours on her, and it doesn't make sense to sink a pile of cash into something you're going to trade off.
I also remember the purpose of your project, and have the utmost respect for what you are doing. I just want to illustrate any pitfalls I think may arise. I also realize that this is your project, and am not trying to impose what I think upon it. I am happy enough that know that my ideas are given consideration, even if they aren't implemented.
I am willing to trust you more, knowing your not a lawyer anymore ! (lol)
When I used to race and built my own cars, I used a ton of cardboard, making templates. Everything from body panels, brackets, to plating between the door bars. I used that skill in my later life making machine guards on medical equipment. I may be a few years younger, but we're both old school. Unfortunately, we're a dying breed.
Be well, and keep up the good work!
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Posted by: Leigh | March 27, 2014 at 09:54 AM
leigh:
nah, nah, nah, not to worry. your remarks are well taken, and on point.
legitimate concerns.
some things i do well. some things, not so well. like sharpening knives. i can make a good knife dull in mere seconds.
to remedy that, i purchased a lasky set of mechanical stones, years ago. i drug them out of the basement the other night, selected "medium" grit, and took the surface pickling off the subject roll pins without too much difficulty, just rubbing the pin back and forth over the stone.
next came the "fine" grit, and the same. in about 10 minutes or so, the inside length of the pins was a shiny and slick as a new born's butt. i didn't even bother w/ "extra fine," as it would have been pointless.
i left the ends, which will bear (let's hope) on the outer clads, untouched. i want them big, sticky and stuck in place.
the slit down the pin is no problem whatsoever ... no wrinkles, no protrusions, no dimples or undulations in front of them to catch or drag on something revolving around it.
it will work.
john
p.s. and, as you know, these roll pins are tough, and they are hard. stout little bastards.
keep reading, please. keep commenting, please!!! i might not have thought of the stones, were it not for your comment. who knows?
Posted by: john jay | March 27, 2014 at 10:09 AM
p.s. i was growed up on john deere "g's."
in the winter, when the old dears were a little reluctant to start in the cold, dad used to warm the cylinders by opening the compression pet cock, squirting a little raw gas into the pet cock from his "click" oiler, and then light the whole mess off a time or two to warm the cylinders.
when i was very good, and very patient, i got to hold the match up to the pet cock, being warned to stand to the side.
i always enjoyed the fireworks, and never even singed a finger, not even once.
i also was taught how to hold the crank for the john deere, so as not to rip ones thumb off in case of a back fire. got all my thumbs, too.
laughing.
Posted by: john jay | March 27, 2014 at 10:15 AM