Did that bevel work up inside pay off?
The fit looks pretty good to me. This is the under side of the
receiver - again - it will never show. The "blue" is
layout fluid. You paint it on so that you can see scribed lines
on the raw steel.
The billet hub is put in place to verify
it's fit. That'll do. But - we're not done yet ...
Over to the big surface grinder to
precision grind the top and bottom faces. The billet is placed
onto a magnetic chuck. The chuck plate is activated and holds
the work during the grinding process. The work is moved back and
forth under the spinning stone by the use of two wheels which
must be turned in sequence. A third top wheel will adjust the
depth to which the stone can approach the work.
We've come aways from the billet. Yet,
we're still not ready for bluing.
Sand and polish. Then clean. NOW it's
ready to blue. Yes - MORE operations yet applied to this ONE part
of the entire rifle.
It's been a Journey from the solid
steel billet to the completed machined and polished part. A few
score more parts, assembly, proofing, and we'll have rifle.
Keep in mind, I'm currently running
twenty something DIFFERENT rifle projects in the shop right now.
Those are just the ones in progress. Not just different rifles
- different models/formats ... meaning all different parts. It
takes awhile to gather up the required parts to make what you
see displayed completed on the website here.
Hope you've enjoyed this journey. I
know, from the mail, that you have. Thank you. I've gone to this
extreme effort to document, prepare this material, format it,
and upload it, in order that you may see some of the work being
done. I do indeed hear that you'd like a running daily show of
this material. Many of those asking are the good folks on the
ledger.
I hope this example has given you some
of an idea of the time involved. In reality, I've shown you maybe
HALF of the steps in making this one part. The critical machine
tool set-ups, measuring, tool bit sharpening, changing out of
settings, bits, speeds, sanding, sanding finer grits, sanding
finer yet grits, polishing, polishing finer grits, it all takes
a great deal of tedious time. It would be like "listening"
to paint drying, which is even more stressful that "watching"
paint dry... ;?)
If I were (which I won't) to show you
a complete start to finish rifle ... can you IMAGINE the production
time? This was ONE part.
Gary
`;?)
Recent E-mail:
That's Why I want a Barnes
Hi Gary,
Loved the visit to your shop. The pics of the process shows the
"performance
art" of a Barnes airgun. So many "custom" airguns
polish a stock and trim a
barrel and it's a custom job. I know my grandchildren will still
be
enjoying Barnes quality. Only you give Barnes from the first concept,
thru
each hole threaded, to the hand rubbed oil stock and now the hot
blue of the
steel. Your touch shows in each piece of Kelli's gun. It is amazing
that
as with any classic it continues increase in value to its owner.
The pics
just paid interest on my down payment.
Thanks for the invite,
Kent
Hi Gary,
Thanks for sharing what is just a small segment of what goes into
an entire rifle. This is like a microcosm of thousands of different
steps and was fun to watch. Would be great to be the proverbial
mouse in the corner, to watch the whole rifle be custom manufactured.
I ask, where else can a person go to see this. Of course....no
where.
Thanks,
Hi Gary.
I dropped in on the Homestead today ....
What a terrific trip through a small part of one project! I don't
know much about building a rifle, but I know quite a bit about
what truly high-quality workmanship is, and I can certainly see
it here. Bravo Gary! Nicely done. As you've implied many times,
the product isn't simply a rifle, it's a one of a kind, hand crafted
literal work of art. This is exactly the sort of thing that I
struggle with as an employer ... care and workmanship like this
simply cannot be hired. And this is why I hope you never attempt
to hire "help". In my business I've had to compromise,
and that's something I'm not very comfortable with. Not that we
produce a poor product or that we don't give our customer's their
money's worth. It's just that the truly fine detail, that's done
everytime, whether it's visible or not, even if it's not "necessary",
doesn't always get done by employees. What a joy to see it in
your work.
Thanks for all the effort Gary.
Gary,
I have always been facinated by the art of metal work and the
people who have the skills both natural and learned to do it.
Unfortunately I am not one of them, I know my limitations although
I do love to tinker and am a pretty fair carpenter/woodworker.
I absolutely love the post on 07-09-05 showing all the detail
and intricate cuts, passes and threads that are required on just
one simple little part. So much of that effort if not all of it
is hidden inside or shaved away to be lost forever from the outside.
If you don't show many what you take for granted they could never
understand the time, patience and skill that is required to produce
the products you make at such a high level of excellence. Please
continue to show those parts being produced so the uneducated
and unimaginative (me) will know what went into the gun we are
holding when our turn rolls around. For me it enhances the value
of the gun as I can see the labor of love that was put into it
and I would imagine a little bit of you as well.
Gary,
Thanks so much for this small look into the magic shop. I know
that yes it does take alot of time to put these pages together
for all of us to see, and yes it would take forever to show the
complete process but if given the opportunity please allow PBS
or The Smithsonian or heck even the Yankee Workshop to follow
the process and film it. Lets face it how many people are there
in this world that can do what you do and I can assure you your
grandchildren will thank you for it, not to mention the fact that
it may become a lost art.
I grew up the son of a Navy Captain and got to ride on a battleship
when I was younger, my father pointed out the 16" guns on
that boat and told me that even with all the technology we have
today there is no one alive that even knows how to make those
barrels anymore. The process has been lost and there is no reason
to ever bring it back. Those guns were monumental feats in thier
time and now are just a footnote in time.
Thanks again for the time you spend to entertain and enlighten
us all.
Sincerely,
