Hi, I wanted to know if milling a S&W .45 revolver on a manual vertical mill would be functional and safe. I love working on manual mills in my spare time. I don't have much experience machining guns and this is my first time. I've machined general industrial parts like frames and handles on a manual and complex 5-axis parts like impeller and diffuser on CNC. This is my experience ..read more

So I'll ask the question here since: 1. I am interested in gunsmithing as a hobby, already handload and build rifles from components. 2. If I talk about Precision Matthews lathes I won't get kicked in the butt and thrown out the door. I am looking for a lathe. I am very mechanically inclined, am a very experienced Mech Engineer by trade, and have experience working on cars, building engines and race cars, fabrication, etc.. More importantly, I have friends that are very experienced... Read more ..read more

Need some help with my bluing salts. Using a homemade recipe with caustic soda (23#), sodium nitrate(9#), and sodium nitrite(3#). Everything was going good then salts started to foam instead of boil, at any temp. Change out the batch and went to a 2:1 mixture of caustic soda and sodium nitrate. Same result. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated ..read more

So I have collected a few R700 barrels over the years. I have a heavy varmint contour barrel that I started observing a loss in consistiency. The round count was over 5K . "If I decide to attempt a rechambering what would be a good choice for target out to say 1K yds ? I am deeply vested into handloading so I have no real preference. I have a R700 Long action that i'm currently not using. I was leaning towards something of the 7mm family ..read more

Hello gents, avid firearms enthusiast , and 20 year CNC vertical mill machinist by trade. Over the past 5 years been building my basement workshop to hopefully enjoy all types of projects post retirement. I'm pretty much self sufficient as I have a deep inventory of shop tools. 11x29 lathe, 4x18 mill , TIG welder , MIG welder , metal bandsaw, torches , and a 3D printer . Very good with CAD and Mastercam . I'm "good" with a lathe , not "great". I'm more proficient on the mill side of... Read more ..read more

Hi, hopeing to get some advice. Taken a rifle barrel, put a V block near each end, w/ dial indicator in middle, to check for straightness. Getting a consistant high and low difference when twisting barrel. Anyone done this, and what what be considered acceptable and not, or what were your results? The idea is straightness and accuracy. Thank you ..read more

Friends I'm finally getting around to working on my JP Longfellow Remington 700 SA receiver blank. I have a CNC Sieg X2. I'm working on a jig to hold the blank. My first task will be to drill the scope mounts and then the extractor opening. My question is this: Is this mill going to be adequate? What methods, speeds, feed rates, end mills, etc. should I use for tackling this solid piece of 4140 still with my small mill? I've milled some cold rolled steel in the past with mixed... Read more ..read more

I'm brain dead this morning and can't think of the right terminology for a rifle scope that you can adjust to your eyeglasses. New glasses and I can't see shit through a scope now. Thanks i_r_machinist ..read more

Hello everyone, first post here. Here’s the issue: S&W M&P 2.0 10mm released a year ago drops mags under certain conditions. I and others traced it to poor magazine design: The channeling rib on the mag is too short and allows the rounds to press against the mag catch (see Figure 1 below). S&W are mum on the issue and blame everyone but themselves. As a POC, I tried sticking a piece of a credit card (see Figure 2 below) inside the mag at the mag catch window level, and it... Read more ..read more

We're looking to hire a gunsmith machinist. If anyone was successful in the hiring process - where did you find a good gunsmith machinist ..read more