Project Mauser B7

1
Owing to the vast reaches of real estate available to me in my basement, I have gridded it off, A-Z north to south, and 1-10 east to west. All my projects undergo triage and purgatory there, and stand stored between different phases, sometimes awaiting parts or money or both, sometimes tools. So this is Mauser B7.

Here is the Kit of Fun: a week or so ago I found 7x57 dies online, and the gent sent some unfired cases for measurement, and some stray brass and bullets--even the correct shell holder. I got this separate from the rifle.

The rifle also has some ammo. I will generate more brass when I can shoot it.

We can see here the previous worker was a crazed Albanian beaver, likely rabid, and began to prepare for a bedding job. Alas. And a crack flows from the magazine well to the trigger well.



Built for a scope, the stock was grafted in a separate operation to the receiver which has a groovy Williams peep sight--this resulted in tissue rejection, that is, tissue from the shooter who is forced to scrunch down inside the walnut and absorb the recoil with his eye ball socket and a few grams of cheek flesh. That's a must-miss, even to drink the delicate and balanced forces of the 7x57 Mauser.

What was needed was a low angle block plane sharpened keen enough for use in shaving a Trump noggin for hair plugging.

Two adjustments were needed.

Down.



And narrower.



See that really keen peep sight there? That's the whole point of this: old eyes like mine like peeps, with or without glasses. This one, like most of mine, has a way to change the aperture. So that rocks.

Why do this now?

Why, for to shoot the danged thing! It must first go boom, and I must see a target through the sights.

Now, this stock is wiggly, so I don't expect pin point accuracy. And the barrel itself is of questionable provenance, being, as it is, fairly bereft of markings of most sorts such as import, manufacturer, or caliber--minor issues, I'm sure. I did see an argument between two different armorers in two different scripts along the recoil lug. Let us hope the argument was over beer. Looks very clean inside.

Now that I can see out the peep I'll put a few holes in paper to see how it groups.

Yet another project begins.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

3
I can not wait to learn from how you bring this stock back to life!
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

4
Sorry for the crappy pic. Indoors with a flash. At least you can see the carvings in the channels.
b7crappyflash.jpg
It turns out the receiver was rocking because the inletting was poorly done. Before, we saw a split between the magazine well and the trigger well. This was because the receiver was torqued on with the magazine well cut too narrowly. This forced the wood apart and made the split, one of two places that caused the rifle to rock. The second place where it rocked was on the plateau directly in front of the magazine well. This had two high spots. Now all is flat, and the rifle drops in like pennies from heaven.

Another aspect of this stock was that the well where the receiver lug drops in is way large. However, this is the perfect place now to fill with acraglas; it will be stronger and more stable than before.

The barrel is now fully floated.

Because it will rain the whole weekend--sweet, wet, live giving rain to our parched state--I will go for the bedding tomorrow. Maybe better pics if I do it in the garage. Inside has bad lighting anyway. I like to work in natural light if possible.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

6
Marlene wrote:Everybody notice CDFingers' cool trick for keeping the action screws from escaping to the nether regions of floor corners?
That is a good one. I usually use tape, masking or boxing, for that purpose.
Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance
like no-one is watching.
Alex White

Re: Project Mauser B7

7
Cripe-a-rooni, Marlene. :oops: Now I have to leave that crappy pic up there that I was going to replace with this:
b7firstcuts.jpg
Now it's easier to see the places where I took off wood--took off a bit more from the comb, too. The action drops down nicely now, and my cheek has room. You can see the receiver lug well there, big enough for a cockroach hot tub I tell you what. Tomorrow between raindrops I'll see if I can get it bedded.

Once it's bedded I can attack the stock. I think I'll scrape off the poly or what not finish, then go at it with my sanding block. My habit is to only go to 80 grit with milsurps. I may go to 100 with this before I do the pine tar.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

8
It's so nice to notice that over the years I've come to know enough of who you are that I smile to myself, noticing that you have very nice well-worn chisels and a cheap-ish screwdriver. I smile because that fits the rest of what I know of you, and that you'd also see someone's tools as a part of seeing who someone is.

I lay screws out in sequence as I take them apart, making them in to a map of reassembly as I go. If I need to leave something apart, I'll poke the screws through a piece of cardboard, keeping their relative positions preserved, and possibly some details noted on the card. If there are only a couple of screws and a couple of parts, I'll put the screws back in their places in one of the separated parts.
Image

Re: Project Mauser B7

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lurker wrote:i use a harbor freight magnetic dish to hold loose parts. lately i've begun taking pictures as i disassemble stuff.
digital cameras are wonderful.
I have lots of habits developed before everybody had a digital camera in their pocket, but the truth is that taking pictures is probably better than 90% of my tricks to do the same thing.
Image

Re: Project Mauser B7

12
Hey Fingers. I just saw this in one of my gun kinks books. And its a cheap build. I can send you connecting rods if you want to build one. I thunk i might try it.

Image


I hate taptalk update
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

13
I've been looking at jigs like that for a couple years, like work with my router.
Some really cool ones allow a donor stock to be clamped in, then the follower allows you
to make a new stock from scratch. Inletting afterward, but a great way to get the basic
shape cut out quickly.

Now, as far as a checkering cradle goes, once I get the poly off, I may checker the wrist
and foregrip to see what happens. I have a crude set of clamps I'll use, but eventually
I have to make a cradle, old school, like this:

Image


CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

14
I love the faucet handle.

Sent from my LGLS770 using Tapatalk
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

16
JoelB wrote:I have always used these for reshaping stocks. They are faster and more flexible than planes. http://www.stanleytools.com/en-us/produ ... ade/21-296
Yes--that's good for removing large amounts of material quickly. It leaves behind a relatively flat surface, just chunky. The low angle block plane is then applied for straightening and smoothing. It does, however, leave little parallel planes at different angles. The sanding takes that to round. You can see in the comb pics the little parallel planes along the curve.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

17
Whats the blue tag in the lower left of your bench.. 250 Gummy ? You munch Gummy bears while you whittle? Lol

Sent from my LGLS770 using Tapatalk
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

18
Also, why'd you drop the greatful dead avatar? I always lome zuit suit ghost. Even had him painted on one of my guitars when i was pretending to be a musician back in the day lol

Sent from my LGLS770 using Tapatalk
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

19
It's Halloween, so this year's avatar is last year's punkin. I'm about to carve another--it's a Steal Your Face punkin, still pretty Dead. It'll be next Halloween's avatar.

First a bit of back story.

Where the gun and stock are lying is my portable work bench. It has a hole in the top so I can carry it around. It's a little taller than a chair with a flat top. It has one side where I can clamp a vertical board to it via a flange. On the other side I can clamp horizontal boards to it. It has a tray at the bottom for tools--meaning crap. So those gummed reinforcements are for note book paper--those white rings you put around notebook paper holes. You know "the tray." It's like "the kitchen drawer," where stuff you used once goes in case you ever need it again. I used them some time back to prevent tear out when I was using a 1/4" brad point bit.

So the gummed rings are unrelated to the stock, artifacts of old projects done on that bench.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

20
CDFingers wrote:It's Halloween, so this year's avatar is last year's punkin. I'm about to carve another--it's a Steal Your Face punkin, still pretty Dead. It'll be next Halloween's avatar.

First a bit of back story.

Where the gun and stock are lying is my portable work bench. It has a hole in the top so I can carry it around. It's a little taller than a chair with a flat top. It has one side where I can clamp a vertical board to it via a flange. On the other side I can clamp horizontal boards to it. It has a tray at the bottom for tools--meaning crap. So those gummed reinforcements are for note book paper--those white rings you put around notebook paper holes. You know "the tray." It's like "the kitchen drawer," where stuff you used once goes in case you ever need it again. I used them some time back to prevent tear out when I was using a 1/4" brad point bit.

So the gummed rings are unrelated to the stock, artifacts of old projects done on that bench.

CDFingers
Bummer. I was hoping they were some exotic non fat gummy bears. Lol

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I know, all gummy bears are non fat..
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

21
Here's some coincidental data: the tool box and the portable work bench came from the same cedar fence (1889) that we tore down during the organ project (1989).

The tool box is finished with boiled linseed oil, milsurp stock finish, bench with nothing. My master at the organ project said that in Japan cedar is used like this and traditionally these kinds of work related tools and jigs are left unfinished. He frowned at my finishing the tool box with BLO (I'm pretty sure he said 'friggin' gaijin' in Japanese), but he was totally fine with my leaving the bench raw.

So there you have it.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

22
Well its a great bench, especially being repurposed wood too.

Sent from my LGLS770 using Tapatalk
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

23
The weather was scrumptious today, the kind of weather we never let folks know happens up here. Leaves, breeze, sunny clouds, yummy.

There's nothing like cutting wood with sharp tools to center the mind after a blind side right hook, I always say. On with the How To.

We found a split. You don't just glue it. You have to dowel it too. It needed repair before the bedding takes place.

A few things may be gleaned from this pic. Others are narrative. For example: this is how you get the white glue to squeeze out of a crack like that. You put glue along the surface part of the crack, and you try to push it down in with your finger. Looks like none, but some went. Then you gently spread the crack--here, I put my fingers and thumbs in the magazine well and pressed them together. I'd open shut open shut the crack a few times, then push down some more glue, then open shut and so on till I drove glue out the other side. Then you clamp with the handy dandy, no mar Harbor Freight Special there. They don't mar.

Next, while the glue is still wet, you want to drill down so the dowel will cross the crack. You do it. Then with a finishing nail you put some glue in there. Then you tap short piece of dowel down in there. I took this pic just before I wiped the glue off with a damp cloth so we could see the crack and the dowel. And the photobombing prey of my dog of gnarl.
b7crackrepair1.jpg
The reason you drill the dowel hole and tap the dowel when the first glue is still wet is that the wet glue allows the pressure of the tapped dowel to drive glue out while it's wet.

Sometime over the weekend I'll take off the clamp and clean it up with a sharp chisel. Then it's ready for bedding.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Project Mauser B7

24
CDFingers wrote:The weather was scrumptious today, the kind of weather we never let folks know happens up here. Leaves, breeze, sunny clouds, yummy.

There's nothing like cutting wood with sharp tools to center the mind after a blind side right hook, I always say. On with the How To.

We found a split. You don't just glue it. You have to dowel it too. It needed repair before the bedding takes place.

A few things may be gleaned from this pic. Others are narrative. For example: this is how you get the white glue to squeeze out of a crack like that. You put glue along the surface part of the crack, and you try to push it down in with your finger. Looks like none, but some went. Then you gently spread the crack--here, I put my fingers and thumbs in the magazine well and pressed them together. I'd open shut open shut the crack a few times, then push down some more glue, then open shut and so on till I drove glue out the other side. Then you clamp with the handy dandy, no mar Harbor Freight Special there. They don't mar.

Next, while the glue is still wet, you want to drill down so the dowel will cross the crack. You do it. Then with a finishing nail you put some glue in there. Then you tap short piece of dowel down in there. I took this pic just before I wiped the glue off with a damp cloth so we could see the crack and the dowel. And the photobombing prey of my dog of gnarl.

Image


The reason you drill the dowel hole and tap the dowel when the first glue is still wet is that the wet glue allows the pressure of the tapped dowel to drive glue out while it's wet.

Sometime over the weekend I'll take off the clamp and clean it up with a sharp chisel. Then it's ready for bedding.

CDFingers
Tell the truth. The sock monkey is really doing all the work..


Its looking good.


I went to goodwill the other day and picked up used , thick and sturdy kitchen knives to reshape into tools for cutting and scraping wood.

Sent from my LGLS770 using Tapatalk
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: Project Mauser B7

25
Bedding takes several steps. Here is "clay". That is, I use modeling clay to prevent the acraglas from going where I don't want it. A bed or two ago I allowed the tiniest of spaces between the wood and the clay, which allowed some acraglas to run out the bottom. Luck smiled upon me, leaving enough behind to do the job. But I learned.

Pic then narrative.
b7clay1.jpg

There's always more than one way to do everything, so my basket of action screws sits there. But most importantly, you see the blue tape. Acraglas sticks very well to lots of stuff. It sticks to tape, so when it dries you can peel the tape up and the glas comes with it--unless it's too thick. Then you use a sharp chisel or a razor knife to cut the acraglas from the tape or where ever. The tape controls the over flow.

Next, pink modeling clay. You can see the chop stick there. It's carved to like a screw driver tip. You use it to pack the clay down between the spaces. You can see the magazine parts there. Think of the clay as a dam, like across a river. You dam up the spaces and keep it where you want it.

When I put the receiver in, I'm not going to torque the screws. I'm going to use one of those clamps there, and I'll tell you why.

I use Johnson's Paste Wax as my mold release. I'm going to slather it where I don't want acraglas, and that includes down there in the recoil lug screw hole in the magazine well. The receiver has the male part of the package, and the trigger guard has the female part. So there's clay around the trigger guard screw well, and I'll put wax down in there. On the receiver side of it, I'll slather wax around the screw hole; the screw hole will have clay in it. You don't want glas there, and the clay comes out easily. The wax will make a small space between the metal of the magazine and the receiver, which will aid in proper torquing when the thing is put together. There are capture screws to consider, see.

In the tang well we see the same things but for consideration of capture screws.

Now, when I drop the receiver down in there on top the glas, it will have been slathered in wax, and any holes plugged. Then I drop it down and clamp it. Then this should squeeze out some glas, so that's part of what the tape is for. Some glas will drip and the tape will keep it off the finish.

This stock is going to be completely refinished, so it does not matter here. But: I want to make sure I learn all the best practices. For example, the places where stock and tape mate will have wax, and the wood places where there is no tape will have paste wax.

I expect some glas to ooze forward, so will wax the barrel quite a ways forward. Wax is easy to get off, but I won't want to epoxy B7 together permanently.

It can sit this way for many days--just so those of you who haven't tried it will know that. It will be fine. The only thing really that's time sensitive is the acraglas mixing and applying.

That's for the next pic and time.

On edit: note in the above pic where the tang hole is not plugged with clay. Neat catch Fingers. I will plug it now. :oops:

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

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