heypete
Member
I have a semi-auto Browning M1919A4 .30 caliber "machine gun". Alas, I can barely afford to feed it with ammo, let alone to give it a nice tripod. They're about $500-$600 for a USGI tripod, and about $300 for a German MG42 anti-aircraft tripod with M1919 adapter.
Currently, that's out of my financial reach.
So, what is one to do?
Build it out of wood, of course. For a total price of less than $20, I bought two 8-foot 2x4s, a bunch of metal brackets, washers, nails, wood glue, and a 8x(1/2)" hex bolt with threaded tip.
Then, over the next few days I commenced swearing. I'd measure twice, but end up cutting six or seven times. Eventually I had to result to highly unorthodox methods of woodworking to get parts to line up. And line up they finally did, even if it required a quarter bottle of glue, brackets, and screws to force the wood into the right position.
Finally, I'm done. It's not pretty, I'm not sure how durable it'd be (the recoil's not bad, but I'm not sure how much recoil the pine could handle over tiem), but it's cheap and presumably it works. I'll need to take it to the range sometime to try it out.
In case it isn't obvious, my woodworking skills are minimal...in fact, all I really remember is what I learned in the Boy Scouts about whittling. Still, they were enough to make things work. Any advice from skilled workworkers would be nice.
Anyway, pictures below for your amusement:
I'm in the black shirt, smiling like a goober. Hey, if you had a M1919 and finally build a stand for it, you'd be smiling too!
Currently, that's out of my financial reach.
So, what is one to do?
Build it out of wood, of course. For a total price of less than $20, I bought two 8-foot 2x4s, a bunch of metal brackets, washers, nails, wood glue, and a 8x(1/2)" hex bolt with threaded tip.
Then, over the next few days I commenced swearing. I'd measure twice, but end up cutting six or seven times. Eventually I had to result to highly unorthodox methods of woodworking to get parts to line up. And line up they finally did, even if it required a quarter bottle of glue, brackets, and screws to force the wood into the right position.
Finally, I'm done. It's not pretty, I'm not sure how durable it'd be (the recoil's not bad, but I'm not sure how much recoil the pine could handle over tiem), but it's cheap and presumably it works. I'll need to take it to the range sometime to try it out.
In case it isn't obvious, my woodworking skills are minimal...in fact, all I really remember is what I learned in the Boy Scouts about whittling. Still, they were enough to make things work. Any advice from skilled workworkers would be nice.
Anyway, pictures below for your amusement:
I'm in the black shirt, smiling like a goober. Hey, if you had a M1919 and finally build a stand for it, you'd be smiling too!
