Firearm Building

[SmeeAgain]

There should be a specific forum for this.
I like creating "stuff". And I like guns & shooting. So it makes sense to create my own guns & shoot them.
Anybody else?
My first, many years ago was actually a kit. A black powder revolver.
It was mildly fun but didn't completely scratch my itch. I had to build stuff from scratch.
Over the years, it's been a long list.
Now I don't want this to morph into a political discussion, I'd rather spend the time seeing what others made but... I gotta say this.
The "gun grabbers" are all upset over "ghost guns", not the backpack type in the movie Ghostbusters, but the homemade kind that supposedly aren't traceable.
After a career in law enforcement, one thing I noticed... Criminals are stupid and for the most part lazy.
While they manage to create some clever things in prison out of basically nothing, in the real world they would rather just steal one already made.
It's extremely difficult for me to imagine a criminal having the ability / skill / resources to make a decent gun, I'm not seeing the motivation when they can simply steal one.
So why the hype? "Ghost guns" turning up at crime scenes? Like they drop them & leave them behind after each crime? I doubt it.
That's another topic... I'm done with that rant.
Back to the good stuff...
Show us what you made! Or tried to make... failures count too.

 

[tark]

Made these guns over a span of twenty years. Didn't make the barrels, screws or springs. Long barreled Rolling block is a 45-70 shorter barreled one, a 30-06. 1045 steel for the .45 and 4140 for the 06. Both professionally heat treated. Both passed a brutal proof load. If you want details, shoot me a PM. Puter is drunk, sorry bout' the upside down pic.

 

[troy fairweather]

I'd like to make some guns, I just don't have the means or place to right now. Underhammer mz are easy to make as well. Wanting to make some shotgun adapters some day to.
Edit, spell correct is kicking my butt today lol.

 

[WestKentucky]

I was building up my tooling inventory before I moved. That’s been put on back burner, but I do still plan to tool up. 3D printer is my newest machine and I am going to be set up to do lost PLA casting by summer (cast in bronze, brass, aluminum, other relatively low melting point metals). Getting a rough cast part to finish should be a lot better than milling a part from a solid block. I may build a lathe from cast parts once I get the casting part really nailed down.

 

[troy fairweather]

I was building up my tooling inventory before I moved. That’s been put on back burner, but I do still plan to tool up. 3D printer is my newest machine and I am going to be set up to do lost PLA casting by summer (cast in bronze, brass, aluminum, other relatively low melting point metals). Getting a rough cast part to finish should be a lot better than milling a part from a solid block. I may build a lathe from cast parts once I get the casting part really nailed down.

Be a fun project making everything possible for an ar-15 on the 3d printers.

 

[Pew-Pew]

Built a few pistols & rifles over the last year or so. I went overboard
Right now, I have all the stuff to build a P80 G22/17. Just need to get the desire to start the work now. Recently did another P80 G19

 

[jdsingleshot]

You've all probably seen this thread a bout this build....Only bought the barrel blank.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/this-little-bolt-gun.901689/#post-12209716

 

[SC45-70]

I've built several including this Ferguson sporting rifle.



https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...uilt-a-ferguson-flintlock-rifle.855573/page-2

And a few of these.






And several more of various shapes and sizes.

SC45-70

 

[troy fairweather]

I've built several including this Ferguson sporting rifle.

View attachment 1061480

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...uilt-a-ferguson-flintlock-rifle.855573/page-2

And a few of these.
View attachment 1061481

View attachment 1061482

View attachment 1061483

And several more of various shapes and sizes.

SC45-70

Very nice where did you get the cock for the flint lock underhammer. A pistol lock?

 

[SC45-70]

Very nice where did you get the cock for the flint lock underhammer. A pistol lock?

It's a regular cock that I modified.
FYI everything on that underhammer flint (other than the cock, frizzen, spring, clips and screws) came out of my scrap box.

SC45-70

 

[bannockburn]

SC45-70

I've built several including this Ferguson sporting rifle.

My all-time favorite muzzleloader! Love the breech loading design and the craftsmanship which went into building one; along with the history of the rifle and the man behind it, Major Patrick Ferguson.

Thanks for sharing your gun making talents with us!

 

[bannockburn]

As for "building" guns I more rightly have "assembled" a couple of them; namely a CVA Colt Model 1861 Navy (which I made as a present for my brother's wedding), and a Traditions Hawken style .50 caliber percussion muzzleloader. I have also assembled a 1911 from an Essex frame on up, with a TacSol .22 target conversion kit.

 

[AK Hunter]

So why the hype? "Ghost guns" turning up at crime scenes? Like they drop them & leave them behind after each crime? I doubt it.
.

The reason the ghost guns turn up at crime scenes is that the ones they recover are the guns that didn't shoot right. They are the ones in the dead guys hands that jammed or blew up in his face. The guy that did the shooting probably had a stolen gun with the numbers ground off & they call that a ghost gun too.

 

[SC45-70]

Here is a little more modern one I built.
22 LR with 4 inch barrel.
Started with an 80% lower. Made a stainless barrel extension and added it to a
Stainless Green Mountain 22 LR barrel blank, Turned the barrel to fit a CMMG bolt.
Cambered the barrel and cut the extractor slot.
Profiled and thread the barrel. Made the barrel shroud and plug to fill the buffer tube hole.



SC45-70

 

[AZAndy]

I spent about twenty years upgrading 1911s in various ways and discovered one day about a year ago that I had enough parts to actually put one together. It's a Springfield frame with a Citadel slide, and the barrel is from a Springfield although not the same gun as the frame. I don't remember who made the trigger, grip safety, mainspring housing, or hammer. I didn't have to do much slide-to-frame fitting, surprisingly, and it shoots just fine-- in fact, I just shot it yesterday.

 

[jdsingleshot]

I see a difference between assembling and making....

 

[Blue68f100]

With 1911's there is no drop in parts, most all have to be fitted. The exceptions are screws and springs.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I put my projects in this here gunsmithing section. I spent many years on a ford bronco forum where projects with lots of progression pics are the norm. So thats kinda how i post them here. Most folks seem to like to see the progression.

Ive done a few 80% AR lowers and assembled the rest of the bits. Ive done some modifying. My latest is still awaiting camo paint, a compact chassis for a marlin papoose.

I also converted my new in box Ruger Wrangler to a polished birds head grip.

In the process of making a stainless muzzle brake for a 22-250 bolt action pistol.

Next will be a falling block 22 pistol from a cut off stainless 10/22 barrel.

 

[tark]

With 1911's there is no drop in parts, most all have to be fitted. The exceptions are screws and springs.

Your point being...?

 

[Blue68f100]

Your point being...?

It's not a gun your going to be swapping parts out on. Meaning most every thing you change requires fitting. Not for a parts changer, requires some knowledge and skill to do it right.

I've built several scratch build 1911. The first one (45 acp) took close to 100 hrs to do, all hand fitting. I shot sub 2" groups at 50 yrds. The last one, I have a few more tools (mill & lathe) cut the time in half.

Here's my last build, 9mm and 357sig slide assembly. I now have a Holosun on the 357sig. Made the grips too but were for my other 1911, which has a slightly different taper on the mag well. The grips is from German Linen/wood Micarta I salvaged from some field equipment in 1980 that was be dismantled. I still have about a small amount left over.

I built this last year, using some left over AR parts. I machined the upper from billet, bolt action, single shot. The hand guard is what all my neighbors have been wanting from me.

 

[BigBlue 94]

It's not a gun your going to be swapping parts out on. Meaning most every thing you change requires fitting. Not for a parts changer, requires some knowledge and skill to do it right.

I've built several scratch build 1911. The first one (45 acp) took close to 100 hrs to do, all hand fitting. I shot sub 2" groups at 50 yrds. The last one, I have a few more tools (mill & lathe) cut the time in half.

Here's my last build, 9mm and 357sig slide assembly. I now have a Holosun on the 357sig. Made the grips too but were for my other 1911, which has a slightly different taper on the mag well. The grips is from German Linen/wood Micarta I salvaged from some field equipment in 1980 that was be dismantled. I still have about a small amount left over.

I built this last year, using some left over AR parts. I machined the upper from billet, bolt action, single shot. The hand guard is what all my neighbors have been wanting from me.

View attachment 1061886

Great work! Ive pondered a bolt action AR before, still on my list. Rotary bolt makes a straight pull easy!

 

[tark]

It's not a gun your going to be swapping parts out on. Meaning most every thing you change requires fitting. Not for a parts changer, requires some knowledge and skill to do it right.

I fully agree. Having worked for Les Baer for 21 years, I've done a bit of this myself. But I think the original intent of this thread was to showcase guns that you have literally carved out of blocks of steel and made yourself, one offs that are unique and one of a kind. It seems to have drifted a bit into guns built from parts that were manufactured by someone else. No one appreciates a custom 1911 or an individualized AR built to someone's particular tastes...but these are not "Home made Guns"

Having said that, I LOVE your single shot AR. THAT is a super cool piece of work.

 

[SC45-70]

Here is one that I built every part except the barrel and the screws.
I did machine the barrel down to the correct size.

60% scale plains rifle.
Yes it shoots!







I made a special nipple that takes a #11 cap. The recess in the hammer is too small to contain the cap fragments and the only time I fired it I got a piece of cap frag in my lip. So it's only been fired once!

SC45-70

 

[tark]

^^^ Totally awesome SC45-70 !!

 

[tark]

Methinks

Here is one that I built every part except the barrel and the screws.
I did machine the barrel down to the correct size.

60% scale plains rifle.
Yes it shoots!

I'm guessing you might be a tool and die maker SC45-70. You have skills that are far beyond most of us. Your Ferguson rifle is a pure work of art. I have built a number of guns, but I just hacked away at the steel until it resembled a gun. I have no formal machinist training. When I went to work for Les I had never touched a milling machine. I didn't know the difference between an end mill and a ball end cutter, or the difference between high speed cutters and carbide. What limited knowledge I now possess, I learned from Les. I built my 30-06 rolling block rifle entirely on a Smithy bench top combination machine. Learned a lot from that machine. The first thing I learned is that carbide cutters and bench top machines don't like one another!!! Not a stable enough platform. I have stopped making guns, these days. I am 73 and I have four bad discs in my back and a lot of arthritis. Too painful to stand.

I hope you are still making museum quality pieces and will continue to share them with us.

Tark