The wife and I decided to go on a prairie dog hunting Expedition to Wyoming. I dragged out my old gun case and realized that the handles had long ago crumbled away to nothing. They were originally made from plastic. I have owned this case since like 1979. The handles on this particular gun case were pretty much flat on one side which made them very difficult to replace but an ideal candidate for replacement in aluminum. The rifle on top of the cases is a heavy barrel Savage in 22-250 caliber which I purchased for the trip. Never really cared for Savage rifles, having a strong preference for the Remington 700 rifle, but I have read a number of articles suggesting the design of the action aids in accuracy....and the low price, swayed me to give one a try. It has actually worked out well achieving 3/4 minute of the angle 5 shot groups. Dollar for dollar, the most accuracy for the money I have ever seen.....although I still prefer the Remington. In picture number 2 you'll see the supplies I used to make the pattern. You will notice in the picture I have a jar of molasses. I had planned on using the new molasses-based sand to cast this object but I ended up not using it. The sand did not come out quite as good this time as it did the previous time and since the pattern was so simple I didn't see the need to run the risk of having a problem because I was very short on time. [I will re-post an article I recently posted on Alloy Avenue discussing this molasses based sand.] I was leaving for my trip the next morning. Photo number 3 shows the two molds all rammed up. You'll notice that I used my aluminum molding box with my reducer plates so I would use less sand. Those things work really well they just clamp in internally. Notice that I have vice grips on these flanges to make sure they stay together and don't leak. Aluminum molding boxes are much less likely to leak because the metal hits the cold aluminum and freezes but it's always good to have clamps. In the next photograph you'll see where I used a box and a piece of wood to create a barrier so that I could pour some sand against the side of the wood molding box. The reason I did this was that the sprue was awfully close to the edge of the wood and when I pulled the mold apart I lost enough sand from that area that I was afraid it might leak. I do not have any photos of the shake out cuz I was in a big hurry to get it done there was a thunderstorm coming. [You can see the wet concrete on picture 3 we have had nothing but rain for weeks!] This is one of the quickest casts I have ever done I finished it completely in 2 hours and 45 minutes that is from empty molding boxes to Melting the metal to shake out fettling, final finishing and fitting. All completed within 2 hours and 45 minutes. The final two photos show the finished product, it really came out nice.
Nice job on the handles Stevan. It's nice to be able to knock something like that together on short notice. Definitely looks like a 70s style case. And the color is marvelous! Lol. I'm a Winchester Model 70 guy myself but I guess that's a conversation for a different time. Sometime you and your wife could come up around Buffalo for a woodchuck (groundhog) hunt. We're plagued by them. I could be your guide (I work cheap!) Ha! Pete
Great to see you Petee! The wife has a model 70 women's and youth model in .223. Great little gun. Had to relieve the forend and glass bed the recoil lug before I got good accuracy. Before free floating the barrel, it shot fine till the barrel warmed up, after that you got two groups, one about 1.5 inches above the other. Once I free floated the barrel, that problem went away and I get like .9 minutes of the angle on a 5 shot group.
Great job! If you two get tired of shooting Pete's groundhogs, we have grey squirrels trying to live in our roof and a raccoon that took a dump on my molding bench lid the other night. They'd all love to meet you... Jeff
I kill over 50 squirrels every year at my house with my Diana air rifle.. FYI....If the squirrel chews your wiring and causes a fire, your homeowners will not pay.
My old boss once made some glasses for an airline pilot out of four bifocal lenses arranged in a "Franklin Split" to get four distinct ranges of focus: one segment for overhead controls, one for out the window, one for the instruments and one for reading/writing. This guy was like 6 months off retirement and in a bind. Ok time to return to your regular thread programming
