Trapper Scott
45 Cal.
Near the end of the week I'll crash for about 8 hours and start all over again.
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Kibler Woodsrunner kit
- Thread starter troy2000
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troy2000
45 Cal.
I think they are, too.
Years ago my brother was building a dome house in the hills north of Los Angeles, and had no construction experience. But he did have a lot of books, and I was browsing through them one day. Some of them were absolute BS - for example, one sneered at construction professionals for their nerve in charging good money, for work the author pretended any amateur weenie could do just as well.
But one book made a good point: the important thing is to get the job done, rather than getting wrapped up in the details. The analogy the author used was knitting a sweater: at some point you finish it, put it on to stay warm, and go on about your life.
The rifle makers back then were making their living at it. That wasn't an excuse for shoddy workmanship, but they weren't going for artistic perfection either - especially in the hidden details. They needed to finish the guns and get them out the door, so they could get paid and start on the next one.
troy2000
45 Cal.
Hallelujah... I got a notice from Lori that my Woodsrunner kit is finally boxed up and ready to ship. It's been a long wait; apparently they had a problem with their supplier of .54 barrel blanks. And wouldn't you know it: my refrigerator and water heater both crashed on me in the last two weeks. Had to replace the fridge, of course. And I decided to replace the water heater with a tankless one. I had to plumb new copper water lines for hot and cold to the exterior location, run a new 3/4" line for natural gas, replace an electrical subpanel with an upgraded one so I could run a circuit to the new heater, etc. Thank God I'm an ex-contractor; I shudder to think what hiring all that done would've cost me. But I'm temporarily tapped out, when it comes to loose cash laying around. Looks like I'm going to be taking out a short-term loan tomorrow... totally worth it.
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Tracking says mine will arrive today!!
Don
Don
troy2000
45 Cal.
Oogh... called my go-to short-term loan source today, and they have a new policy: their minimum loan amount is now three thousand. Not really a problem since I'll be paying it off the first month anyway, but it's annoying. Had they been more flexible, I might have strung the payments out over a few months and let them earn some interest.
TraderVic
40 Cal
TraderVic
40 Cal
....and congrats on your new Woodsrunner Rifle project.
troy2000
45 Cal.
Unfortunately, the only money my wife has is what she gets from me. Although I'll admit that once it's in her possession, she can be pretty hardnosed about turning loose of it. I closed the loan today, and sent Lori an email this afternoon. Waiting for an invoice, so I can pay online. The gal at the loan office did a pretty good job of trying to convince me I need $6,000, instead of their $3,000 minimum. Not sure whether to be complimented or insulted. On the one hand, it's flattering to think she believes there's room in my budget for an unsecured loan that size, with its exorbitant interest rates. On the other hand, she apparently thinks I might be dumb enough to borrow four times what I need...Your wife drives a hard bargain Troy
TraderVic
40 Cal
It looks like you'll be busy soon with your new Woodsrunner project. Looking forward to watching your build.
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Define soon..
troy2000
45 Cal.
We'll see. Got an email this morning saying Bree had sent me the two invoices, but the only one for the lock was in my inbox.Define soon..
add: Instead of playing email tag, I just called Bree and paid the other invoice over the phone. So the kit will go out tomorrow morning. Now I'm just faced with the nightmare of clearing my worktable, so I have room to work. When I retired I brought everything from my other shop to this one, and I still haven't managed to sort out and consolidate the two. Stuff is piled everywhere. Embarrassing but true...
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People are waiting months for a Woodsrunner, so when Trader Vic says soon I asked him to define soon
troy2000
45 Cal.
I already did the wait thing; I ordered mine last summer.People are waiting months for a Woodsrunner, so when Trader Vic says soon I asked him to define soon
add: Just checked my email; it shipped this morning.
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TraderVic
40 Cal
Guess I wasn't paying attention. Lets see......."soon" would be when I have adequate & available resources ($) that won't be needed elsewhere here on the farm (such as unanticipated tractor repairs, etc) - and can be used for an obvious purpose. I'm also contemplating selling a few cherished firearms, but...
troy2000
45 Cal.
Ok. Shipped Friday; I got it here in California about 11:00 AM Monday (yesterday). Can't argue with that... Of course, I had to intercept the mail carrier to get it. According to USPS rules, carriers on a rural route are supposed to make an attempt to deliver, including coming down a drive and honking their horn. But mine never does that. She throws an 'attempted delivery' notice in my mailbox, and carries my packages around with her the rest of the day. She actually works from the next town over, and takes them back with her. So I either have to drive to get them the next day, or go down to my local Post Office and request they be sent over so I can pick them up.
I spent a good part of the afternoon clearing off my main work table. It took a while, because I made an honest attempt to find a permanent home for everything I moved. Not saying the table was piled deep, but when I cleared it I found one of my bantam hens had laid three eggs under some stuff in the back (I leave my shop open, and they wander in and out). I guess she was getting ready to set, but I don't know how she expected to get her chicks down from the table. Just let 'em fall, maybe?
Anyway, I had the rifle assembled by 6:00 PM - without ever touching a chisel, knife or file. Of course, the stock came with the buttplate, trigger guard, trigger plate and ramrod tailpipe installed.
Went out this morning, to disassemble the gun and start sanding the stock. Unfortunately it's been raining since last night, and apparently the humidity has swelled the wood. Everything was a whole lot harder to take apart than it was to put together. The patchbox lid in particular doesn't want to move for love or money... I was in the middle of taking the buttplate off so I could get hold of the lid, when I felt a drop of water on my head. Another one landed on the edge of the table. My shop has a metal roof, and rain is sneaking in from somewhere. So I threw a junk 4x8 sheet of door skin over the table and everything on it, and called it a day.
I spent a good part of the afternoon clearing off my main work table. It took a while, because I made an honest attempt to find a permanent home for everything I moved. Not saying the table was piled deep, but when I cleared it I found one of my bantam hens had laid three eggs under some stuff in the back (I leave my shop open, and they wander in and out). I guess she was getting ready to set, but I don't know how she expected to get her chicks down from the table. Just let 'em fall, maybe?
Anyway, I had the rifle assembled by 6:00 PM - without ever touching a chisel, knife or file. Of course, the stock came with the buttplate, trigger guard, trigger plate and ramrod tailpipe installed.
Went out this morning, to disassemble the gun and start sanding the stock. Unfortunately it's been raining since last night, and apparently the humidity has swelled the wood. Everything was a whole lot harder to take apart than it was to put together. The patchbox lid in particular doesn't want to move for love or money... I was in the middle of taking the buttplate off so I could get hold of the lid, when I felt a drop of water on my head. Another one landed on the edge of the table. My shop has a metal roof, and rain is sneaking in from somewhere. So I threw a junk 4x8 sheet of door skin over the table and everything on it, and called it a day.
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troy2000
45 Cal.
Went out to the shop today and finished removing the butt plate. It didn't help at all on the patchbox lid; it's hanging in like it was superglued. So I did what I should've done yesterday: brought the stock into the house. I have natural gas heating, and the air's a lot drier in here than it is out there. Eventually the wood will shrink and I can get the lid off. Better believe I'll resize it a little, before finishing and installing it...
Meanwhile, since the buttplate is off the stock I went to work on it. Followed Jim's advice: I rough-cut a scrap of 2x on the bandsaw to fit the curve, and screwed the buttplate to it. I left a decent tail on it so I could stick it in the vice, and thinned the screw heads so they'd be recessed. Got all the machine marks off with 220 sandpaper and a flat file. Next I'll hit it with some 320, and see where to go from there. I'm aiming for more of a satin finish, instead of a highly polished one.
And by the way, I'm glad to know I'm not nuts. I worried myself a little the other day, because I couldn't find one of the swiveling soft jaws I made for my bench vise. I thought, 'jeez, am I losing it?' But today I caught my five-month old pit bull/German Shepherd pup in the act of standing up and swiping the other jaw off the table, and later I found the lost one outside. Fortunately he hadn't chewed the leather off; there were just a few random toothmarks.
Meanwhile, since the buttplate is off the stock I went to work on it. Followed Jim's advice: I rough-cut a scrap of 2x on the bandsaw to fit the curve, and screwed the buttplate to it. I left a decent tail on it so I could stick it in the vice, and thinned the screw heads so they'd be recessed. Got all the machine marks off with 220 sandpaper and a flat file. Next I'll hit it with some 320, and see where to go from there. I'm aiming for more of a satin finish, instead of a highly polished one.
And by the way, I'm glad to know I'm not nuts. I worried myself a little the other day, because I couldn't find one of the swiveling soft jaws I made for my bench vise. I thought, 'jeez, am I losing it?' But today I caught my five-month old pit bull/German Shepherd pup in the act of standing up and swiping the other jaw off the table, and later I found the lost one outside. Fortunately he hadn't chewed the leather off; there were just a few random toothmarks.
DuncNZ
54 Cal.
You guys seen this ? I couldn't find part one
troy2000
45 Cal.
I stumbled onto it right after Jim posted it. Good stuff in there.
I asked about part 1 in the reader comments, and Jim said it was being edited. But he provided a link to it anyway; look for his reply to my comment under Troy Stallard. It should be right at the top...
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troy2000
45 Cal.
Ok. I leaned the stock up near a heating vent yesterday evening, and this morning the patchbox lid slid right off. I'll be putting a little slop in it before I do the final installation... I finished working on the buttplate, except for the wedding band-type rings on it. Waiting for some soft polishing stones I ordered to show up, before I tackle those. Finished it up with purple Scotch Brite pads, or at least the 3M version of them.
troy2000
45 Cal.
When I popped into Home Depot for the Scotch Brite pads, I headed for the sandpaper area in the paint department. Got intercepted by an old boy in an orange vest, who asked if he could help me find something. I told him what I was looking for and he said, "all that will be in the cleaning department." I asked, "are you sure none of it's in with the sandpaper? It's also used for finishing." And he got a little huffy that I would doubt him. Didn't feel like arguing, wasn't in a hurry, and I needed some paper towels anyway. So I wandered down to the cleaning department - and sure enough, what I wanted wasn't there. Grabbed some paper towels, walked back to paint, checked the sandpaper display, and snagged the last two double packs of purple 3M off the shelf.
Found out in a hurry I needed to use it with a light touch on brass, but I'm pleased with the results. The finish has a mellow sheen, as opposed to being super bright and shiny. Tomorrow I'll tackle either the trigger guard or the stock - or maybe both, if I'm feeling ambitious and the dogs and chickens leave me alone. My little bantams totally took over the shop while it was raining, and were annoyed that I would interrupt their lives. But they moved back out today when we saw a little sunshine...
Found out in a hurry I needed to use it with a light touch on brass, but I'm pleased with the results. The finish has a mellow sheen, as opposed to being super bright and shiny. Tomorrow I'll tackle either the trigger guard or the stock - or maybe both, if I'm feeling ambitious and the dogs and chickens leave me alone. My little bantams totally took over the shop while it was raining, and were annoyed that I would interrupt their lives. But they moved back out today when we saw a little sunshine...
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