Okay, I'll man up and take the blame. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Tinkering with firearms is somewhat addictive, ain't it? The fact that you're doing it to teach your grandson will make it worth every minute and dollar to both of you. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

My right-side safety arrived and I don't think I like it. For one thing, it requires a 1/8" groove to be milled in the bolt shroud right here:



This would be an approximate position with the safety OFF:



and this would be an approximate position with the safety ON:



I looks like a knuckle buster to me - and a real detriment to fast-cycling the action - but it might be a little less so after installation. I've seen a bolt shroud advertised for sale that already has this modification, so I think I'll try to buy it for a test before I decide to mill the one I have. If I don't like it, maybe I can sell it for most of what it costs.

See, everywhere I look, I can find a way to spend a little more. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Frank

Now, the creep is REALLY on. I bought the second Dayton-Traister safety, which included a blued bolt shroud. I figured the blue finish was ok, since I'll probably refinish all of the metal after everything else is finished. What I didn't suspect was that the machine work had not been done to the assembly - and it wasn't. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" /> So, I decided that if I wanted to use this safety, I would practice Dremel-milling on the blued bolt shroud - and I did, so the safety would sit down into the slot, like this:



And, of course, just as soon as I did this, a coveted new-in-the-box, antique, Maynard P. Buehler Springfield safety showed up on one of the auction sites. I couldn't believe it and was tickled to buy it for about $26. It is a far more elegant design, so I installed it on my original bolt shroud:



Here's a picture of the safety in the ON position, with the firing pin cocked:



Here, the safety is OFF, with the firing pin still cocked:



And here, the firing pin has been released:



I do have one problem to resolve before going further. With the safety ON, trigger pulled and held, then safety moved to OFF, the firing pin falls..... not good at all. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> I think I need to file the cocking piece sear tab, but I want to find out exactly what to do before I screw up something.

All-in-all, I'm satisfied with the way this rifle is coming along. The right-side safeties do not get in the way of bolt operation at all. They also don't touch the scope, no matter the scope mounting position.

I'm thinking of refinishing all of the metal, including the scope mount and rings the same parkerized color as the bolt handle. Or, I may shine this t*rd and blue everything in a gloss finish. I probably should shoot it first to see if it's worthy. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, after I resolve the safety issue, I'll start on the stock.

Frank

The safety issue was only my mis-read of some poorly written instructions. It functions as it should. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

In case anyone is thinking of inletting a custom rifle stock, you might want to re-think it a bit. This is the first stock I've done this much work on and I don't think I would do it again. The Fajen stock looks like a drop-in at first glance, but it was far, far from it. The receiver and barrel lug pillars were about 3/8" from meeting the bottom metal, which means that a whole bunch of wood has to be hogged out of the stock. I'm no gunsmith, so I'm proceeding cautiously with a Dremel grinder and inletting black. So far, I have over 50 hours of work in fitting this and a whole lot of hours still left before it's finished.

First, I rough-cut the stock to length - to be finish-shaped last. Then, the real work began...... after smearing inletting black on all of the metal that touches wood, the rifle is then assembled, disassembled and the transferred black marks ground off. This goes on over and over and over until the fit is good. Here's an example of how little is removed each time the rifle is disassembled - just the black is removed:



Each time the grinding is done, a little sanding and shaping can be done on the top rails. Eventually, it may look pretty good:





I sanded off all of the proud wood that was under the magazine cutoff switch - didn't like the look of it at all.... it's looking cleaner to me now:





The left side profile is beginning to take shape, but still has some rail sanding to go:



You can see from the tang area how much material was removed as the receiver and barrel areas were lowered:



The right side shape is just beginning with the first cuts under the ejector port:



I'm sure there are faster ways to do this. It's not so hard - just very tedious. I have a feeling that if I ever finish it, I'll never sell this one. With the 14" LOP, it's beginning to fit me very well and it feels ever so nice in my hands....... it comes up to the cheek weld about perfectly, but I haven't tried it with the scope mounted yet.

Frank

Frank, I've been watching and learning from this thread. I'm quite pleased that I backed out of purchasing this from you. It really looks like you're having quite a bit of fun with it...

Indeed I am enjoying it, Larry. After all of the time, effort and money, it probably won't be worth much to anyone but me, but I'm already seeing something I might eventually like as much as any $800+ rifle I could buy. I just hope it groups well and I don't have to rebarrel it.

Frank

Man with all this work you're putting in on her, go ahead and order up that crowning tool. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Looks great frank. You ought to take up building AR's... They're easy. AK's are a bit more challenging, but so much more forgiving than something like this rifle you have here.

Thanks, Curtis. If I'd have known how much work was in this stock, I probably would have bought a Bell and Carlson drop-in synthetic one...... but then I think I'll like this one more when it's finished. It's sorta like me - old-world antique.

The modern military pieces are nice, but I just prefer classic firearms for hunting. I don't want to scare the wildlife - just kill 'em. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Frank <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

coming along nicely <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

After another 10 hours, it's beginning to shape up rather well. I suppose every one of these rifles with a custom stock has different lines, depending upon what the builder's idea of purty is. I'm trying to get it to look simple, yet with good lines. Here's the bottom metal after fitting - you can see how much wood was sanded from what was a rounded bottom profile:



The magazine floor plate fits just right:



The right side profile allows for the use of the Lyman 48C receiver sight, if someone should want to install it:



Relieved for the bolt handle:



Bolt inserted:



Left side profile - haven't yet decided if I want to relieve the area under the magazine cutoff switch so it can be fully functional.... the cutoff position is fairly useless for my purpose:



I think I'll go ahead and bed the receiver before I final shape it.... so I can shoot it before it's finished and see if it's worthy of more work.

Frank

With the inletting finished, the action was epoxy bedded. Even though the metal was waxed and modeling clay used to block anything that could cause the stock and action to lock together, there was a moment of concern in removing the metal from the stock. A dead blow hammer took care of the action and a hammer and drift encouraged the magazine/trigger to let go. It is certainly a tight fit:



After I clean up the flashing with a Dremel, it'll be ready to go to the range for test firing.

Frank