ChooChoo404
AH veteran
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2025
- Messages
- 151
- Reaction score
- 100
Am told, as it seems I was way too young to now recall, that I once owned, manfully helmed and commanded, a cardboard box.
Don’t know what came in it, or how I got title, but it seems this paragon of containers was an able stand-in for Apollos, Poseidons, Mustangs, P-38s, Citroen DSs. Toyota FJ55s!
Not satisfied the box be a mere interstellar conveyance, this was also my mancave, my workshop.
It seems, am told, that to this bloke’s shed I took stolen razor blades, and alarm clocks.
Remember those? Clicketyclack all night until BLLLLAANNG! Godawful things, miss ‘em. Theoretically.
They would find me in the engineering space of my starship, alarm clock thoroughly gutted, skinned, and hung, blood everywhere as anyone might expect.
60 years later things are only a little different. No cardboard Enterprise. No Mustangs, fewer razor blades, less blood. Not saying zero.
But still taking on tasks am not equipped for and maybe I shouldn’t.
I live in ‘Murika (fukkyeah) where we got us a serious gunsmith goat rodeo.
Three times in a row now, the “best gunsmiths i can find around here” have hosed the poodle. Pricey too. Very. The folks I -believe- are more reliable are so far away that the cost approaches or exceeds a wash and the hassle takes it over the weir. Downside of a big country hooked on black guns.
So after a ‘great’ gunsmith returned this early 50’s AyA 56 not knowing it had a broken lock, charging me a bundle, and the next guy told me the visibly cracked stock was likely broken all the way through and only the pins (screws) were holding it together at all, I said FTS and took a 20V DeWalt to it myself.
I mean, how hard could it be.
Right?!
First, locks out, examined. Eyes crossed, head scratched, calls and emails.
Brake cleaner applied, broken lock taken down all the way.
Found a laser welder to repair the snapped tumbler pivot.
Put it all back, easier said, clean and dry lubed, put a couple hundred cartridges through. All good. So far.
Then I stripped the whole H&H style treble locking hidden third bar action intercepting sear double trigger auto safety live pigeon enchilada all the way down. Bare as Adam.
I discovered that, no, the head of the stock isn’t impregnated with oil and crumbling like an oreo in milk as I was told is likely. Yes there was old oil, but shockingly little. Yes there are new cracks but they seem to be strictly superficial. Weird.
Something I haven’t seen written up.
Challenged the strength of the stock head by a failed attempt at destructive testing, twisting, warping, bending, hard. Hallelujah. Solid.
A few pins were back a bit as you might expect from a 75-YO gun. One I have put over 10k+ rounds through in the last 5 years. Everything cleaned hard, tightened gently.
A toothbrush, qtips, and acetone took some crap off the mating faces on the head of the stock. I tried to protect the outer surface of the walnut from the acetone with boiled linseed. Good not great results. Own it. Dabbed acetone over the cracks then paper toweled it off a few times. Can’t see it mattered.
Warmed up the electron microscope and applied a medium viscosity cyanoacrylate to every trouble spot.
Looks solid, I could do better on cosmetics. You might not see it but I do. Applied linseed oil to all the action and lock mating surfaces on the head of the stock, checkering.
Reassembled.
Tested w snap caps.
And, whaaat?!
It all works. Better than before, actually.
Let this be a lesson to you.
First, get you a box, and some razor blades…
Don’t know what came in it, or how I got title, but it seems this paragon of containers was an able stand-in for Apollos, Poseidons, Mustangs, P-38s, Citroen DSs. Toyota FJ55s!
Not satisfied the box be a mere interstellar conveyance, this was also my mancave, my workshop.
It seems, am told, that to this bloke’s shed I took stolen razor blades, and alarm clocks.
Remember those? Clicketyclack all night until BLLLLAANNG! Godawful things, miss ‘em. Theoretically.
They would find me in the engineering space of my starship, alarm clock thoroughly gutted, skinned, and hung, blood everywhere as anyone might expect.
60 years later things are only a little different. No cardboard Enterprise. No Mustangs, fewer razor blades, less blood. Not saying zero.
But still taking on tasks am not equipped for and maybe I shouldn’t.
I live in ‘Murika (fukkyeah) where we got us a serious gunsmith goat rodeo.
Three times in a row now, the “best gunsmiths i can find around here” have hosed the poodle. Pricey too. Very. The folks I -believe- are more reliable are so far away that the cost approaches or exceeds a wash and the hassle takes it over the weir. Downside of a big country hooked on black guns.
So after a ‘great’ gunsmith returned this early 50’s AyA 56 not knowing it had a broken lock, charging me a bundle, and the next guy told me the visibly cracked stock was likely broken all the way through and only the pins (screws) were holding it together at all, I said FTS and took a 20V DeWalt to it myself.
I mean, how hard could it be.
Right?!
First, locks out, examined. Eyes crossed, head scratched, calls and emails.
Brake cleaner applied, broken lock taken down all the way.
Found a laser welder to repair the snapped tumbler pivot.
Put it all back, easier said, clean and dry lubed, put a couple hundred cartridges through. All good. So far.
Then I stripped the whole H&H style treble locking hidden third bar action intercepting sear double trigger auto safety live pigeon enchilada all the way down. Bare as Adam.
I discovered that, no, the head of the stock isn’t impregnated with oil and crumbling like an oreo in milk as I was told is likely. Yes there was old oil, but shockingly little. Yes there are new cracks but they seem to be strictly superficial. Weird.
Something I haven’t seen written up.
Challenged the strength of the stock head by a failed attempt at destructive testing, twisting, warping, bending, hard. Hallelujah. Solid.
A few pins were back a bit as you might expect from a 75-YO gun. One I have put over 10k+ rounds through in the last 5 years. Everything cleaned hard, tightened gently.
A toothbrush, qtips, and acetone took some crap off the mating faces on the head of the stock. I tried to protect the outer surface of the walnut from the acetone with boiled linseed. Good not great results. Own it. Dabbed acetone over the cracks then paper toweled it off a few times. Can’t see it mattered.
Warmed up the electron microscope and applied a medium viscosity cyanoacrylate to every trouble spot.
Looks solid, I could do better on cosmetics. You might not see it but I do. Applied linseed oil to all the action and lock mating surfaces on the head of the stock, checkering.
Reassembled.
Tested w snap caps.
And, whaaat?!
It all works. Better than before, actually.
Let this be a lesson to you.
First, get you a box, and some razor blades…
