The Hakim gets de-Bubba-ed

[Harry Paget Flashman]

I made some more improvements to Frankenstock project #2. I added a Romanian front end pistol grip and a Chinese SKS bayonet. I trimmed off and Dremeled out the underside of the pistol grip to make it fit as flush as possible and Gorilla Glued it in place and then secured it with four 2¼" stainless steel screws. 2 through the grip and 2 through the stock. No trimming of the stock was necessary. The SKS bayonet sleeve I Dremeled out to get a tight fit and it is held on by friction. I re-blued the bayonet where I ground it.

The project still needs some putty work, sanding and finishing. Maybe some adult supervision too.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock #3

Today I began Frankenstock project #3. I began with an M44 stock ordered from Numrich for $9.95. I added a grip cut from a Chinese 98 Mauser stock that had been parted out. I Dremeled out much of the wood from the grip piece and got a flush fit by using different grit sandpaper laid over the underside of the M44 stock using it as a sanding block to smooth out the shape. Then I Gorilla Glued the grip to the stock and secured it with two 2¼" stainless steel screws. After letting the glue dry for a few hours I puttied up the irregularities and sanded it 2 hours later. It still needs a little more putty work, sanding, staining and tung oil. No work was done to the stock except cleaning and light sanding.

The first picture is of the M44 stock with the Mauser grip added.

The second is of a comparison of Frankenstock #1(L)(M44 stock w/generic grips from a shotgun blank & recoil pad) to #3(R)(M44 stock w/ Mauser grip)

The third is a view from the bottom.

The fourth is is an oblique view w/ the trigger guard hole on the right.

 

[trueblue1776]

You know, a fresh block of walnut can be had fairly cheaply.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

The newer one looks more comfortable.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock #3 completed

I completed Frankenstock #3 today. I re-puttied using a blond colored "plastic wood" let it dry hours 2 hours then sanded it with a random orbital sander and fine grit paper. I finished sanding by hand and stained the grip and putty with a water-based walnut stain. Then I Q-tipped on a coat of tung oil over the whole stock. After about an hour I wiped the stock down with a clean cloth. This is all the tung oil this stock will get. Just enough for light weatherproofing but no sheen or shine.

I am renaming this rifle the "Phinn M39 Nagant Carbine". It's all a reversible Bubba job so it doesn't count against karma.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Using a $9.95 M44 stock from Numrich I made Frankenstock #4. Numrich sells the stocks "stripped" but the first three I ordered had fore end caps, barrel band springs, cross bolt and butt plates. The most recent three were "stripped" as advertised. I had a forward barrel bad spring and fore end cap from another project. I used a '98 Mauser cross bolt with the internal part of the bolt having to be ground to half its width so the receiver would fit properly forward of the magazine housing. I re-blued what I ground down. I added a surplus M44 butt plate attached with one M44 screw and one SKS screw.

I had a piece of stock left over from Frankenstock project #2 and fashioned a pistol grip, attaching it with Gorilla Glue and two screws stainless steel screws. I did a lot of Dremel work and finished up doing some coarse sanding using sandpaper over the stock as a guide for shaping the pistol grip where it was to attach to the stock. I wanted to make it as flush as possible for a gluing surface and to minimize the amount of wood putty I'd have to use. I used a different putty (Elmer's) and still had difficulty staining it to match the wood. Anyway, I used less in this project than the others. To lengthen the stock I spliced in a 1" piece of mahogany and sanded it flush. The whole stock got a single thick coat of raw linseed oil which I let soak in for an hour then wiped it clean with a cloth. I just need a rear barrel band spring to complete the project. The original stock is a red varnish one was untouched.

It actually looks a lot nicer than the picture. Really.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock #5

Frankenstock project #5 was a splice of part of a walnut shotgun stock with pistol grip to an M44 stock. Both stocks were ordered from Numrich for less than $20. The goal of this project was to achieve a splice without using any wood putty. Some fairly precise cuts on the table saw were required. Screws and glue were used.

I also added a cross bolt using using a ¼" carriage bolt and nut. I had to Dremel off half the width of the bolt after fitting it in place in order for the forward receiver screw lug to fit. I blued the part of the bolt that got ground and puttied it in place to hide it. I cut the fore end off about 1" forward of where the rear barrel band used to go.

Altogether I added ~2" to the stock. I'll probably finish it with linseed oil after I finish rounding off the fore end.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock Project #6

Frankenstock #6 involved splicing in two 3/4" pieces of mahogany at a 45° angle into a surplus M44 stock. The buttplate, barrel band springs and fore end cap were either scavenged or purchased separately. About 1 3/4" was added to the length of the stock. Gorilla glue and eight stainless steel screws were used.

All that remains in the project is to finish the stock with tung oil and find a surplus cross bolt piece.

 

[trueblue1776]

You've got some good ideas on how to make a shooter Mosin better without spending more than the gun is worth, keep it up!

What type of saw did you use for the latest splice?

 

[The Deer Hunter]

The latest one look nice. With the stock just that much longer, it makes the entire gun look more balanced although its got 2 spacers in it. I'm sure it will look nice with some stain and varnish one it.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

trueblue1776. I used a Craftsman table saw. The real trick is to keep the oval stock steady to make a straight cut. If you rock the stock on cut like this you're screwed.

I cut the splices over-sized and then ground off most of the excess on a bench grinder after the glue dried, then followed up with a palm sander going from coarse to fine sandpaper. I finished up by hand. Besides waiting for the glue to dry it took about 2½ hours.

I'm out of surplus stocks now, having gotten 6 from Numrich for $9.95 each. As much fun as these projects are I beginning to wonder how many spare stocks I really need? I don't know whats going to run out first...Numrich's supply of M44 stocks or THR's bandwidth.

 

[musher]

Wow, for a thread that started out as a story about debubbafication, we've sure ended up a long walk from Sand Antone.

Pretty entertaining, really.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Back in post #3 and 4 of this thread I posted pictures of my first M44 Frankenstock. Essentially it was a standard stock lengthened 3/4" with a treated 1X4 pine insert and painted glossy black. It was butt ugly. I recently whacked the fore end off to salvage some metal parts for other projects and re-puttied and sanded the stock to get rid of the larger dings.
I also added a Mauser 98 butt plate making some adjustments in the wood to make it fit. I like it better now. It is just one of about a half dozen pieces of furniture for the one M44.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock #7 and #8

Frankenstock #7 was an experiment in getting a "rosewood" finish on a surplus M44 stock without any "Bubba" modifications. I cleaned the stock up with water and TSP in a tub. I scrubbed and wiped thoroughly and got most of the cosmoline out. After the stock dried it was grayish in color and had a rough, fuzzy texture. I applied a coat of Regal Red gloss enamel Rustoleum paint to the cleaned stock and let it dry for 24 hours. After a day I sanded the stock clean with 160 grit paper. After removing all the paint I steel-wooled it with paint thinner to get a smooth surface. Then I put on a coat of tung oil and let dry. I steel-wooled it again and put on a coat of raw linseed oil and let it dry overnight. I steel-wooled it again and put a final coat of tung oil on it. The wooden top piece is painted a gloss black for a two-tone look.

From a distance it looks like rosewood. Up close it is mirror smooth and looks like a stock that was painted red and then stripped and refinished. I like it.

**************************************************

Frankenstock #8 is a mash up of a Romanian AK-47 Dragunov stock and a Mosin Nagant M44 stock. The Dragunov section was lengthened about 2" using a piece of hardwood from a stock blank and mahogany. The most challenging part of this project was in the 90° elbow cuts. That was critical to get the mating surfaces to match up for a good Gorilla Glue bond. Three 2" stainless steel screws connect the two halves. Eight 1 5/8" screws reinforce the splice used to lengthen the Dragunov stock.

I have had poor luck getting wood putty to stain so this time because I was using a laminated wood Dragunov stock I decided to build up the putty in layers of different colors hoping that in subsequent sanding it would look nice. You can see in the pictures it turned out no worse an abomination than previous attempts with putty. It is what it is.

I finished off the wood with two coats of tung oil. I am looking for a volunteer to shoot a few dozen Bulgarian heavy ball through it to test the ergonomics and to see if it comes apart like a log cabin launched from a trebuchet.

Note: I still need to add the barrel band springs and cross bolts which I got from Omega Weapons Systems and are in need of re-bluing.

 

[trueblue1776]

Nice work with the dragunov stock, would be a great stock for a scout project!

 

[LeibstandarteAdH]

I just 'happened' into owning a hakim, and boy i thought that it was a bitch to find the parts for the busted Vz 52 that i traded in towards it... I cant even find ANY hakim parts at all! i cant find a single orriginal magazine! someone butchered the otherwise fine rifle by trying their hand at the 25 round MG-13 mag conversion and failed. Leaving me with no functional magazine for the otherwise very nice and orriginal gun. Ive already found out (read) about the horrors of losing barell bands and such...

Anyone know where i can get an orriginal 10 rounder that is NOT a modified Ljungmen hackjob?

 

[Scott7891]

gunbroker.com, i see original mags on there all the time but are $80 a piece. also you can find gun parts on there for the hakim. i see them on there all the time and i look for i too have a hakim. luckily the one i have was never butchered but im still trying to find a gas adjustment tool for one. the guy on gunbroker who had one stiffed me on it so i wouldnt recommned it from there

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

LeibstadarteAdH. Numrich has 10 round magazines built by F.A.C. for $52.45. I bought one last June as a spare for mine. Here is the link: http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=762950&chrSuperSKU=&MC=

Hoosier Gun Works has one for $55. http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/magazine_mil_rifle.html

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Frankenstock #10

Frankenstock #10 was made from a salvaged M44 stock. The fore end was shortened and thickened with a piece of hardwood shaped to fit and glued on. A repair was made to the top rear of stock with a spliced piece of old 5"X1"X1" wood from '98 Mauser stock. Two butt pads were added to lengthen the stock. Both were cheap-o's from Numrich...a generic hard rubber and a Westernfield soft rubber.

I first stripped out the cosmoline with brake cleaner and paint thinner then painted the whole stock with a glossy oil-based enamel paint. After drying for a day I stripped the paint with steel wool. A coat of tung oil was added then steel wooled off the next day. A final rub down with raw linseed oil completed the project. The result is a dark grain smooth finish.