FrankenMauser
New member
Rust-browned the barrel and tang. ("Standing breech"?) First time browning for the finished product. First time browning or bluing a hex or octagon barrel with something other than cold blue. Not perfect, but good enough. ...And my last time using Laurel Mountain Forge Brown/Degreaser. (I've experimented with it for two years on some take-off barrels and an old receiver. The copper sulfate/nitrate .. whatever it is .. just causes me problems. No matter how careful, fluid, smooth, and consistent I am, I get copper streaks and blotches -- even where I KNOW I did things perfectly.)
Hit the stock with one coat of Tru-Oil, and stopped. Don't like it. Way too light. I expected more goldish-brown. ...Got no color change. First time using Tru-Oil. Lesson learned.
Made me very glad that I did not do any real shaping on this stock. There's still plenty of room for me to sand that crap off, stain the stock, and reseal it later on.
Skipped bedding the tang, even though I should have. It's still living with lead shims under it.
Adjusted screw length(s) as needed.
Installed the included rear sight.
Slapped on that nasty thimble.
Reassembled the stock, etc....
My steel thimble was in work today (because that painted piece of die-cast garbage drives me nuts), but some unexpected life issues popped up. I cut, prepped, and drilled the flat bar; and cut, prepped, and shaped the tube. And I was *that* close to tack-welding it together when the evil cellphone notified me of an unsatisfactory development.
More than likely, I won't get back to the thimble until in or around the Muzzleloader Elk season (December). As long as the ugly one works, replacement is way down the list of priorities.
Anyway, that's how it sits and will be going back to the range.
If it works well enough, I'm leaving it alone at least until the smoke pole season is over.
After that... It depends on how much I like the thing. I have bigger priorities than a half-baked muzzle loader design that irritates me. But if I do like it, all bets are off... (Seems like a good opportunity to build a complete trigger assembly, if I think it's worth it...
)
Hit the stock with one coat of Tru-Oil, and stopped. Don't like it. Way too light. I expected more goldish-brown. ...Got no color change. First time using Tru-Oil. Lesson learned.
Made me very glad that I did not do any real shaping on this stock. There's still plenty of room for me to sand that crap off, stain the stock, and reseal it later on.
Skipped bedding the tang, even though I should have. It's still living with lead shims under it.
Adjusted screw length(s) as needed.
Installed the included rear sight.
Slapped on that nasty thimble.
Reassembled the stock, etc....
My steel thimble was in work today (because that painted piece of die-cast garbage drives me nuts), but some unexpected life issues popped up. I cut, prepped, and drilled the flat bar; and cut, prepped, and shaped the tube. And I was *that* close to tack-welding it together when the evil cellphone notified me of an unsatisfactory development.
More than likely, I won't get back to the thimble until in or around the Muzzleloader Elk season (December). As long as the ugly one works, replacement is way down the list of priorities.
Anyway, that's how it sits and will be going back to the range.
If it works well enough, I'm leaving it alone at least until the smoke pole season is over.
After that... It depends on how much I like the thing. I have bigger priorities than a half-baked muzzle loader design that irritates me. But if I do like it, all bets are off... (Seems like a good opportunity to build a complete trigger assembly, if I think it's worth it...
)
