The Classic New Bee.

[Elkins45]

I agree. And in the future I plan on just having him make me a rifle can and waiting on it.

His response and information has been invaluable to me.

You still don’t have your stamps?

 

[Demi-human]

You still don’t have your stamps?

No.
Should I inquire about them?
I’ve looked at the ATF website again and nothing has changed in a month, submitted and pending.

 

[Demi-human]

The ATF site is down at the moment. I’ll call today.

 

[Demi-human]

I called in to the NFA Branch.
She was very nice, even though my Walkers Razors had a bit of feed back. She said nothing looked out of place.
Still submitted. Still pending. 60 days.
I am merely impatient.

 

[Demi-human]

Day 96...
Though I doubted being able to hunt this year anyway, I most assuredly won’t be doing it with a can.

 

[Gtscotty]

That seems really long for an e-file, I though they were still averaging around a month? Might want to call for another status check.

 

[Demi-human]

I will, but they can’t tell me anything that the ATF site can’t. I wondered if they lost my prints, but if they didn’t receive them in the ten days, wouldn’t they close the application?

If I had known I’d have to wait the same amount of time, I would have just purchased a good one from Mach.

 

[Speedo66]

I called today to check status of an Eform 1, and the recorded message says 120 days.

Hopefully, that's just the max time.

I read on another non gov't site that the research period for new model silencers, which all first applications would be, is now weeks instead of days.

Yeah, I'm bummed.

 

[Demi-human]

So, only a month or so left then.
It’s not like I can change it, so...

Thanks for letting me know about your call, I’ve been quite busy lately, and worn out when I drive back home.

It’s a hundred and fifteen degrees right here...
And 55’ tall. In the summer I hear it gets 150 degrees. I’ll never know, that’s too hot for this Irish laddie!


Cooling towers.

 

[Demi-human]

Oh My Gosh!

I just got my stamp email!

Woohoo!

Very curious it arrived the very next day after I called to inquire about them...

However, I am none the less pleased, very.


Yesterday, while on lunch I decided to call the NFA Branch again, to be certain they received my prints and everything. My call was taken by a thickly accented, very cordial man, whose wonderful and happy daughter I could hear in the room.
He informed me that all was well, prints received, just still waiting...
Since July 26th...

Both previous service representatives were female and also very nice, but too, were unable to tell me anything more than yesterday.

But, I digress.

I GOT STAMPS! Another just came in as well!
YeeHaa! There’s going to be, quiet and civilized, fun tonight!

Time to test out the engraving pen!

 

[mavracer]

Welcome to the world of shooting without ear pro

 

[Demi-human]

Hmm, darn. It took so long I’ve misplaced my engraving pen!

This aught to work for the lettering. It was easier for me to be neat practicing on steel while the stencil was on the bigger side. I hope that titanium might react the same way to my penmanship.



I brought a few to practice up, since it’s been six-ish months. I still may go with a different font. I’ll see what my practice leads to this weekend.

After using my lathe to turn a few bowls, I can say with certainty, even with a new fancy chuck, it is absolutely the wrong tool for the job.
Actually, now know much more about wood turning, I bought a spindle lathe. Not ideal. At all. Even though it has made some beautiful bowls. Were it a nicer lathe altogether, it may have worked.
But it ain’t!

I’ll have to hit up our steel drill press at work.
Which means I’ll get to clean it up first. Yay. Slovenly kept, since I try to run the wood shop and stay out of the steel room.

Well, off to get some appropriately sized drill bits, or reamers, if one could be had.

 

[Elkins45]

I’m happy they finally came. You definitely ended up on the far end of the bell curve.

 

[Demi-human]

I’m happy they finally came. You definitely ended up on the far end of the bell curve.

That is not unlike most of the rest of my life...

 

[mavracer]

Ok for the big ? When's the next form going in

 

[Demi-human]

Ok for the big ? When's the next form going in

Well, I have been thinking of one for the 450 Bushmaster...
I guess I’ll have to get threaded barrels from now on.

In reality, by April. I’ll need a birthday present to me.

 

[Demi-human]

Okay. So, there are drill bits, and then there are drill bits worth a dang. Took me a ride to Menards to find the good ones...

I started with the stainless baffle. And promptly roached the brand new drill, as it cut off center and through.

I then tried smaller drills and stepping them up.
No dice. After breaking one off in the end cap, I managed to turn it the opposite direction using needle nosed plier and with a tiny “Ping”, it came out.

Pushing harder with a new bit was also ineffective, as the drill simply punched into the drill press chuck.

Reassess. File cuts titanium fine. Inspect drills. New, sharp, and 118 degree split point.
Resolve to try new drills.
Lowe’s only had DeWalt crap. Earnie’s is closed on Sunday. Hit up Menards and find Bosch tight twist 135 degree drill bits. Only 9/32, no letter drills.

Not completely satisfied I headed back tkk on the shop.
I was dubious of the cutting oil I used earlier and washed everything with brake cleaner.
I grabbed a new baffle and decided to just screw one up, right off the bat.

To my amazement, it cut like it was plastic!

Perfect, shiny, spirals of titanium effortlessly lifted from the baffle and stay together for the entire boring! I then drilled every thing else out as if it were butter. I didn’t even need to open the other three I bought. Just wonderful!

The drill press is not as great as I imagined. When tightened on the vise block it slightly lifts one side. This resulted in less than concentric holes. I was concerned that the bore size wasn’t enough for my ham-handed Hackett, so I assembled the whole suppressor and ran the entire thing onto the drill from both ends. I disassembled it, rotated the baffles a bit, and then ran it again, twice.
Now when looking through the tube there is a single concentric bore. Probably slightly bigger than I intended.

Upon returning home I washed everything, reassembled, and then placed it on my rifle. I don’t have an $80 concentricity rod from Guiselle(sp?) but I do have a carbon cleaning rod. It was not perfectly centered, but it wasn’t bad...


Then only thing left to do was try it! So I did!
In the basement!
Grabbed up a log end, went down stairs and fired five rounds.

When I came back up I asked my girl if she heard that.

“Heard what?”



So. Awesome. Yeah.

It works even better than I imagined! Even quieter than an oil filter I watched someone, not me, use once.

Absolutely a riot! This was my first, it is not the last!

I have a 30 caliber suppressor to engrave and drill next.




Oh, and my engraving does not look completely like a third grader did it.

That’s at least sixth grade...

After struggling with the drill press I’m going to have a second look at the wood lathe. It would be nicer to do this things at home.
I wish I had a block of titanium to test with...

 

[Elkins45]

Where did you get that kit?

 

[Demi-human]

From the now scrutinized Diversified Machine.
I hope their water is not as hot as it seems.
This is a finely crafted apparatus. I would love to have more like them.

Did I mention how remarkably quiet it is?

 

[mavracer]

Well, I have been thinking of one for the 450 Bushmaster...
I guess I’ll have to get threaded barrels from now on.

In reality, by April. I’ll need a birthday present to me.

It's definitely addictive I just picked up 6 and 7 and 8,9 and 10 are in jail now.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Then only thing left to do was try it! So I did!
In the basement!
Grabbed up a log end, went down stairs and fired five rounds.

When I came back up I asked my girl if she heard that.

“Heard what?”



So. Awesome. Yeah.

It works even better than I imagined! Even quieter than an oil filter I watched someone, not me, use once.

Clip those baffles and it'll be much better, especially on handgun hosts. .22 rifles are pretty easy to quell the sound on, pistols are another story entirely.

Single radiused clips work best on radial cones, you want them about 1/8" wide, and deep enough that when you're looking at the baffle along the bore axis, the clip is nearly a half circle. Crappy 3 minute MS paint image to illustrate:

 

[Elkins45]

From the now scrutinized Diversified Machine.
I hope their water is not as hot as it seems.
This is a finely crafted apparatus. I would love to have more like them.

Did I mention how remarkably quiet it is?

I thought it looked like the DM kit. I don’t know what his current status is but I hope he finds a way to keep working. I would like to have one of those one day.

 

[Demi-human]

I went out to the great outdoors, somewhere in the woods since I no longer have a cabin.
And after a trip back to the house to fetch ammunition that would cycle through my bolt action, and back out to the spot, I spent a few boxes of Aguila getting to know my new suppressor.

These were not quite subsonic. The further I got from the target the more they seemed to crack.
With my Walkers RTZ I could hear the plate ping from far away pistols shots. Now without muffs and with a seriously “Hollywood quiet” suppressor on my rifle, I can hear the steel clearly, and it gets absolutely smacked by this “lowly” Rimfire. The “click-CLack” of the action in my MKIII is the only sound, then THWACK!
This is fun!


I could notice a few first round pops, as compared to the basement. Then it occurred to me I tried it the first time Wet. I didn’t dry it every well after rinsing out any shavings and there was a dirty grey water in it from the few shots I took. I stopped and rinsed it out, having remembered a cleaning thread about applying silicone plumber’s grease first for easy cleaning. I dried it and put on a layer of grease.
I thought to use some sanitizer but forgot it.

Single radiused clips work best on radial cones, you want them about 1/8" wide, and deep enough that when you're looking at the baffle along the bore axis, the clip is nearly a half circle.

I thought of doing that, but it will need to be Dremeled in. I’d like to make a good stencil so they are all as alike as I can make them. The next ones will be clipped first the drilled, as they are a different shape. Like a K-cone hybrid.

I can see me making more of these. I hope there is another kit maker that has this kind of quality. I have four in mind. Well two for me to make and two to buy from you, @MachIVshooter. Rifle cans are different, and yours are better.

 

[Demi-human]

I was completely wrong about my little wood lathe!

After mucking about with the shop’s drill press and mill table-clamp-thing that did not work how I would have liked, I tried making the Blackout can at home on my lathe.

The four jaw chuck held the baffles and cap perfectly, with a small flat ledge that held them perpendicular to the chuck.
The bit of play in the tail stock was of no consequence, as the piece was spinning instead of the drill, it found the center almost automatically.

Upon assembly, the baffle concentricity was perfect!

The entire process took 20 minutes, instead of an hour. And the results were excellent!
No after assembly drilling for straightening.

Darn! I wish I would have tried the rimfire on it first!

I have fourteen perfect titanium spirals and four stainless ones.
There were five perfect coin shapes cut from the baffles, indicating perfect 90° when drilled. (And also that my lathe can press quite a bit harder than I can on the drill.)

It’s on now! Cans for everything!

And I don’t even have to go to town.
I do have to go to my father’s shop though.
Infinitely better than heading to work on a Saturday!


All done!


These baffles are neat.


The grit media blast popped a small hole through the cap... I pushed the small bit of metal out with a splint.



Alright. So these are beautifully done “kits”.
Who makes an equally nice one?
I’m going to be needing a lot more rimfire kits...

 

[Demi-human]

Ooh, baby...



Two hundred, quiet, trouble free rounds from this one so far.

I think the stimulus is worth about six stamps...