A Collective Thread for All Them Guns

[Mechanic]

Maybe I can help. Making gunstocks is what I do to pay for a living. Brand new on this board, so please forgive me if I step where I shouldn't be going.
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Beautiful work!

[SashaGears]

this is the only non blurry shot I have right now..doesn't show the full bow...

but uhm, the front is painted to look like it's plated in brass, it's got two crests on each arm of the bow, with a red gem set in each one, there's also bullet shaped spikes on the front shielding. Gears are around where the compounding part twists and they actually move when the strings are pulled back to compression.

so...how is it looking so far?

http://i50.tinypic.com/9pqq1j.jpg

[sanityattack]

is that a gun from time crisis?  where did you find it?
Great over all i like the led setup nice touch

Thanks, it's the G Con 45 light gun. G Con 45

[malcontentcontent]

There are some very cool guns in here.

Hours at work aren't very good this week, so I had to do something to stave off boredom.  As such, I made a horrible gun/blaster/hairdryer thingamajig.  It's not great, but it's my first "gun."  It's just made from random bits, a paper towel roll, and spray paint, oh and an old hot glue gun.  Too bad I accidentally crushed the tube holding that bubble of liquid.  Feel free to mock my pathetic attempt...

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[Titus Wells]

I like that actually, it's got a sort of wierd-antique-alien-slightlystargatish look to it! Good old glue guns eh?

[markf]

I like that actually, it's got a sort of wierd-antique-alien-slightlystargatish look to it! Good old glue guns eh?

I agree with that assessment, and add it has an organic quality to the look, a very good first try at such modding. markf

[SashaGears]

that's actually really interesting looking, the designs on it almost look like glyphs of some sort.

and yes, it does look organic, the end of the barrel is reminiscent of a flower of some sort, very nice, can you say magitechnology developed by fae-folk? :"D

[malcontentcontent]

 Aw, thanks everyone!

 

that's actually really interesting looking, the designs on it almost look like glyphs of some sort.

and yes, it does look organic, the end of the barrel is reminiscent of a flower of some sort, very nice, can you say magitechnology developed by fae-folk? :"D

I'm really glad you said this.  The markings on the top are actually ancient Norse runes. It says "Sindri" in the Elder Futhark, another name for the dwarf Eitri, who made Mjollnir, among other things .  I figured since it looked kind of dwarvish, why not? lol

Dwarves can be counted as fae-folk, right?

[SashaGears]

I consider fae to be any sort of otherworldy, non-human creature.

I thought the glyphs looked nordic but the one on the handle looks like a celtic sign, so I wasn't really sure.

*points to avatar* I has a habbit of playing with rune-esque makeup patterns.

but yes, it does look like something maybe a human comissioned a dwarf to make during war, something that runs on the earth's magnetic energies, perhaps.

shoots out big...boombooms?

[malcontentcontent]

And now I have it! Mwahahahaaaa! I swear it's only for use against pirates and sometimes the unwashed masses.

Anyway,  if you look into Viking woodwork and such, the less complex stuff is quite similar to Celtic knotwork.  Not surprising considering the amount of contact there was between those peoples.

[SashaGears]

Indeed indeed

I'm actually in the midst of making a "bone and stone" type of...tribal wallet chain-esque thing, well, it's a rope...not a chain, and I'm trying to figure out if I can add small coins, little chunks of fake bone made from resin and paperclay, and little chunks of fake stone texture from paperclay.....it's turning out more difficult than I thought. might add some feathers on it afterwards.

I'm also working on making some horns, and I've made ornaments for the horns that are very celtic in design :3 celtic knotted steel ring for the left horn.

but horns are hard to make D:

[malcontentcontent]

May I inquire what your process is?

Have you tried aluminum foil and sculpty?  Pretty sturdy, easy to work with.  Or, you could make a mold then use acrylic sheets.  Once you get them hot, they're extremely pliable.  Just lay them over the mold and voila!  They will be light and sturdy after they're done.

On topic, I'm thinking of modding a Nerf gun this weekend, but everyone and their mom does that, some quite well.   I'm afraid mine wouldn't be very unique.

[SashaGears]

screw uniqueness, how many steampunk men do you see with tophats? goggles? exactly...not so unique, so I say do it :'D



for bones, I mold it from paperclay, 3 coats of spray paint, 1 coat of clear resin, and then I add one more spray paint layer, and a sealer :]
makes it smooth, like real bones.

for stones, I do pretty much the same but with another paperclay layer atop the resin, and I sand-blast it for texture.

I don't really know how to make coins yet.

I would use sculpey and stuff, but I hate working with heat, I don't have powertools like that and I don't like the requirement of wearing a mask >< plus, sculpey needs to be baked D:

[Mr. Hatchett]

Are bones and stones so hard to get that you can't use the genuine article, or are you trying to make very specific, very odd shapes?

[SashaGears]

I'm making very specific shapes.

I'd rather not deface, reshape, and carve runes into real bone.

plus, if my little fake ones break, I can remake them...as hard as it is...if a real bone breaks, that would....be destruction of a dead thing.

which isn't fun D:

plus real rocks are heavy and smell of earth.

I need to take more pics of my bow, the one up there looks...icky

[Otto Von Pifka]

a great media to work with is epoxy putty. my favorite is apoxie brand clay. it's a two part putty you mix in equal amounts. about the consistency of modeling clay that hardens on its own in a few hours, has a half hour or so working time.

they sell little containers of it at some of the hobby chains but I would just search "apoxie putty" and order it from the manufacturer (Aves). they have a whole selection of different putties, the differences between them seem to be fairly minor. I've used apoxie sculpt, clay and fix-it and they all do just fine for molding and sculpting, including filling and adding stuff to other items.

as a straight up glue, they aren't super strong but you can always glue the epoxy to whatever else it was stuck to with a regular epoxy glue.

the stuff works pretty much like modeling clay, with the same problems. get it too warm and it sticks to your fingers. the good news is it washes off with water and you can also use a wet finger to smooth the surface of your sculpt. it sticks to itself really well. you can make small batches and build up pieces. you can use the coil method like you do with kiln fired clay. just give it a few hours to cure if the workpiece is getting a bit big, so it supports the newer pieces without deforming.

with good water smoothing before it cures, you sometimes get it so smooth, you don't need to sand at all before painting. the surface is usually firm enough (while uncured) to press materials onto it to leave a specific texture. a film of soapy water usually prevents whatever texture you are using from sticking much, if at all.

it sands and grinds pretty well, not too soft or too hard.

I used to use bondo for building up stuff, now I use the putty and everything is so much easier to do.

[Hey Joe]

I am finally starting my Tesla "death ray" rifle. Here is the beginning of the central barrel assembly.

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The lighted portion of the barrel is a plasma rod that is used in automobile decoration. It creates a moving lightning bolt that runs around inside the tube. The rest of the assembly is a reproduction brass candle lantern I found at the swap meet.

[Finnlock]

Wow, that is ganna look really cool.
Going to need to have a back pack or large belt pouch to hold the power for that thing, which will just make it cooler really.

Now that things have started to calm down I have started to work on fun things again.

Here is a WIP gun, it's the same base as the Sezna Bolt lighting gun I made. Still needs a bit more modding, bit I like the lines of it much better.

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Finnlock

[SashaGears]

the grip on that is pretty...

that symbol on the base of the barrel is very dimilar to a deigan symbol for water

[markf]

I really like the grip too. At some point when you are done I'd appreciate if you could share how you did it. markf

[Captain Billbill]

Damn fine work on the grips.. Nice work Finn...  O BtW, HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE...  I have really enjoyed the conversations and the pics i have had the pleasure to have seen here this year.

[Otto Von Pifka]

what I did on the front sight of that magnum revolver was remove the sight blade and cut the top open with the cutoff wheel on a dremel, then I stuck in a small washer and glued it in to become a bigger sight blade. the half round profile looks more retro than that angular sight.

[Dusza Beben]

Maybe I can help. Making gunstocks is what I do to pay for a living. Brand new on this board, so please forgive me if I step where I shouldn't be going.

Have a look at my websites gallery if you want some ideas: http://riflerestorer.com/gallery/gal.htm  just click a thumbnail for more details and pics.

Trying to read through all the entries kinda creates the glazed eye look. So I may be repeating others words, please accept my apologies if I do. This is what works for me.

Use anything you can get your hands on to remove the majority of wood that doesn't belong. Chain saws, community karate class, etc...you get the point. Gouges, rasps, course sand paper, grinders, etc all work pretty well.

Since you do not have to worry about recoil, cast off, toe out etc won't be an issue. Save yourself some headache -make the center line of the butt plate in-line with the bore and the top of it about 1-1/4 below the top of the rifle. 

Make a butt plate before going much further. (sounds kinda backwards for the  moment). Screw it on to the back of your stock blank. Now you have a pattern to follow. I can send you a printable pattern if needed.  The same thing for the pistol grip (don't do that yet. The flat surface of the pistol grip should point at the bottom of the butt plate.  The sides stay pretty much perpendicular to the flat "bottom" of the grip. Starting out with the back of the receiver, I reduce wood until there is no more then 3/8 of an inch of wood either side of the receiver. This of course precludes you already have the metal inletted. The wood under the receiver is hard to judged. Most of mine have magazines. Come to think of it, there is one single shot in the gallery. I size it for where the trigger guard goes. Leave a lots of room for your fingers between trigger guard  and the pistol grip. When the trigger guard is in put the pistol grip cap on. Use it for a pattern or  or keep it.  Aesthetics will tell you what to do.  Taper the stock until you have just 3/16 to 1/8 of an inch or so on the sides of the forend at the end of the stock. The bottom should be deeper, maybe 3/4 to 1/2 of an inch. Slant the front of the stock back a few degrees at the bottom. Then round out the sides a little...try to resist having perfectly flat sides at the end of the stock. You can use flat sides, but not easy to incorporate. Might save some headache by not trying that the first time.

With the rounded profile of the butt plate, slant everything from it to the the wrist. Wrist thickness is the same as what the back of the receiver is. Blend it all together an voila....sand smooth and finish.

This is a link to a lever action I am carving  from the woodworking guild I am a member of: http://www.woodworkersguildofga.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1239854926/

Left out cheek pieces, that is something to do after you have straight stocks figured out. They are carved out just like they look.

I can add more if you want...don't want folks reading this falling asleep from boredom.

Hope this helps.

...and I was just looking for a place with steam punk ideas lol!
 

Good luck,
Chris

That's some mighty fine wood butcherin' if I do say so myself!

DB

[maduncle]

So I went up to mum and dads place today to help dad clean out his workshop as they are moving house.

Amongst the box of old tools I scored there was a saw handle that begged to become a gun handle.

An afternoon (well - evening too) session in my workshop and I have the first draft of 'Bianca' built.



Crappy camera phone picture - sorry.

Anyway, I plan to keep all the brass bits brass, but I want to paint the handle and the ceramic insulator to look like ivory.

I figure ivory would have been a good product to use for such parts 'way back when'.

Anyone have any tips on painting parts to look like ivory?

[Titus Wells]

Nice work!

Ivory is very, very smooth so try and sand the handle as smooth as you can using finer and finer sand/wet & dry paper until it's as glassy as it will get. Then I use a sprayed white base and apply lots of layers of glaze. If you can add a few layers of slightly yellowish glaze between clear coats it will give that translucent look and you can use a really fine brush and a very watery yellow ochre ink to add the occasional vein or flaw in the surface, before applying more and more coats of glaze!