GunLab

Heat treating video

I have an opportunity to interview the owner of the heat treating firm that I go to.A very knowledgeable gentleman that has been in the business for over 30 years. That being said I have always found heat treating to be one of the mystic black arts in the metal working trade. They do ferrous and non ferrous heat treating. And they do terrific work. I have used them for years.

So here is my request. What questions would you like me to ask him?

We have an opportunity to learn a great deal, lets take advantage of it.

Just A quick note for todays post. I have spent the last two weekends building a barn for a friend so not a great deal of time to write a post. There is something not right about a 60 year old framer with a 65 year old helper.

There has been some work completed on the VG1-5. I will post about this later this week. For now it is enough to say that a computer generated solid model is only a starting point. When we completed the first two samples a couple of problems arose.

As for today I am at the surgery center for a little work on the knees and will be out of commission for the day.

I will post the machining of the test barrel, front and rear barrel supports and the problems encountered later. Thanks chuck

My Introduction

Introduction

Now that you have following along with this build I guess it is time to introduce myself. By now you know my name is Charles, however after someone meets me they generally just call me Chuck. So, on this site just call me Chuck.

I have three passions in my life. The first is my wife of 33 years. Generally if you see a picture of me it was taken by her. She feels that there should be a human touch on this site and not just gun pictures. Not only is she my wife, she is my best friend, and travel companion. During my trips to study small arms she will spend a great deal of time copying information for me, which allows more time for me to do research and take pictures.

The second is small arms. My earliest memories are of guns. While living in Europe as a child I can remember trading cigarettes for old guns and then getting in trouble for it. I bought my first gun when I was 14 after I moved to the states. I have been studying and collecting them ever since. I enjoy all types of small arms. From cheap single shot pistols to the most expensive double guns and machine guns. Not only do I study them, I enjoy doing everything related to guns; from buying parts for weapons that I will never own to buying books on them. My library is about 3,500 books and magazines, a number of them in languages that I will never be able to read. I have had the opportunity to meet some of the greatest gun designers and collectors and have enjoyed the experience. A few of them I consider my closest friends. When the finances allow it, my wife and I travel the world to photograph and study weapons. I do not go anywhere without my measuring tools and camera, and if allowed, will take hundreds of pictures of a single weapon.

My third passion is machining. I have loved working with wood and metal all of my life. I bought my first tool when I was not even a teenager and have been buying them ever since. I have what I would call a nice advanced home shop where I play every chance I get. In the future we will take a tour through it and chat about each of the major items and what they are used for. With that being said, I do not know everything about machining. I consider myself to be an advanced amateur and I try to learn something new every day. In addition to just buying machines, I also build or modify a number of them. Expect to see that on this site as well. So everything is not just guns but also the equipment necessary to make them. A number of articles will deal with the fixtures and tooling necessary to build a weapon. With the advent of the CNC machinery that my shop has up-graded to, we will also cover manual machining, forging, casting of non-ferrous material and welding.

Now for the rest of the story; I own two businesses and generally work 12 to 14 hours a day. I will attempt to post at least two to three times a week as the builds go along. English is not my strong point, so if your comments are to bang me on that, just don’t. Also, with all the photographs I take, you would think that I would have improved over the years. I have not. Thank God for digital cameras because they allow me to take enough pictures that something will eventually turn out okay.

This site is going to deal with the design and manufacturing of small arms. I have a weapon manufacturing license and a SOT license. What this means is that I can build and register any weapon except a destructive device. There a number of projects in the works and I generally work on 3 to 4 at a time. We will be covering these projects from concept through the final product. The modeling program that is used in my shop is ‘Solid Works’ and the cam program is ‘Master Cam’. Everything will be discussed from the good designs to the real mess-ups that I can do on occasion. A number of the projects have a quite a few revisions to get to a part that will work. During a project I will attempt to post a link to where I obtained the equipment, or material, thus making it a little easier for you as well.

This site will be picture, and eventually, video heavy. It is just a lot easier to explain something that way then with just words.

I hope you enjoy the projects and I will attempt to answer any questions that I can. There are a few things not to do. Do not ask me for engineered drawings. Most of the items that will be built here have no drawings and I have spent years reverse engineering them. Also, I will not post engineered drawings on this site because it is a worldwide site and some countries do not allow their citizens to have access to that kind of information. I do not sell partial builds, everything I make is to completion. It has to be heat treated and proofed to verify safety.

I have known Ian from Forgotten Weapons for years and was part of the starting process to get Forgotten Weapons up and going. It is Ian’s site and he has done a great job with it. Ian will be helping me with this site as well.

I hope you will enjoy this site and learn something from it. Please feel free to comment and ask questions. If anyone knows of a manufacturer that would not mind being interviewed, please let me know.

Chuck

Making the Type 99 magazine part two

Well more work has been completed on the solid model of the type 99 magazine. We have now finished both side with feed lips and bottom plate rib. Soon the follower and lower spring plate will be completed. When all the parts are completed it will be off to the 3-D printer.

Here are a few more solid models to check out.

We have now completed the entire magazine. So this is the rest of the solid models.

First the exploded views.

Now for some individual parts.

and a picture of this part.

and a picture of the follower

Here is a drawing of the magazine as well.

This is it for now. Next will be the machined plastic model.

As a side not. If anyone has a rusted/dented unrepairable magazine they want to donate to the cause it will be used to test the final bit of information that we need. Please feel free to contact me.

Part 4: VG1-5 Rear Top Cover

We are going to take a short break from the lower receiver and do some work on the upper rear top cover. This piece is what holds the ejector in place and covers the rear of the upper receiver. In the original rifle it also contained the fire control mechanism. Due to the changes that we made to the fire control system it is now installed in the lower receiver.

In the first model reproduction this piece was made with only a single rib.

However in this model we are going back to the 7 rib design as in the original. I just think it looks better and more like the original.This is the story of making that pressing.

Pressing is an interesting art and science. While we do everything in solid works their sheet metal program is not actually designed for this type of work. A lot of steps were taken to get to the design that we wanted.

In this first picture is the basic sheet steel cut out that we started with to test the new stamping dies that we made for the pressing of the ribs.

This is a far way from what the actual design will be when we stamp for the top cover.

Here are a few pictures of the top cover rib stamping dies.

This what the stamping will look like just out of the die.

Nothing ever turns out as it suppose to during the first pressing. We had are share of up sets.

With the rib design correct and the overall shape correct it was time to test out the next step. This is to bend it into the correct shape for the rear top cover.

This next series of pictures is the actual bending of the top cover. This series was to test the actual die out and before it was installed in a set of die plates.

These two pictures deal with setting up the flats in the press dies by correctly placing it to bend it.

Once correctly located the pressing continues.

As a quick side not. The press used in this operation was a 20 ton from Harbor Freight.

Once through this operation the flat will come out with a rounded shape.

But the work does not stop there. Even though it has a basic shape it still needs to sharply defined. This next set of steps shows that being done.

You will notice that several hits are done during this stage. This is to insure that the lower flange is pressed square for the entire stamping.

Now that it is pressed tight it is taken out of the die and its support and this is what we have. Still a great deal of work to be done to it. In addition it is not quite the correct overall design.

The next post will deal with more on the upper rear top cover. I hope you enjoyed this presentation so far.

Making the Japanese Type 99 Magazine

An opportunity has come about to possibly buy a Japanese Type 99 Nambu light machine gun. Years ago I owned one and enjoyed shooting it. I still have ammo and reloading equipment and kind of always wanted to obtain another. The problem with Japanese machine guns is the lack of spares and magazines. I bring this up because there are no magazines for the gun that might be available and it is missing a few small parts. Luckily though I have a friend who owns a Type 99 with one magazine. So a deal was struck. Let me borrow the magazine and the parts I need to make and I will make him a few magazines as well.Now with the magazine in hand it is time to get down to brass tacks. The first order of business is to study the magazine closely.

This allow me to determine how it was made.

After the examination was complete it was time for picture taking. A hundred pictures or so later…

These are just a few.

Then a set of drawings were roughed out so I could make a solid model. This is the start of that model.This gives me the two halves of the magazine. The next order of business will be to design the feed lips. That will be in the next day or so depending on work load.

Redesigning the VG1-5 Fire Control Group

A few e-mails and comments on why we are not using the original fire control system have been brought up. So I thought a little clarification would be in order. This is an original fire control group:

You will notice the how complex this is and that it is a riveted unit. In addition some of the major components are forged and not just machined from stock. Now while I would like to make this, it is impossible to reverse engineer this without taking it apart. I have yet to find anyone willing to allow me to disassemble this unit. So we have studied the space available in the receiver to allow us to build a fire control system there.

This is a picture of completed fire control mechanism with out the disconnector.

This system is designed to be safe and pass the ATFE tests. I hope this helps with the reasons for the design changes we have made.

Part 3: VG1-5 Receiver Reinforcements

Now that we have the two halves ready to spot weld together we first have to install the strengthen plates to both sides. The major purpose is to add material for the magazine release assembly. These plates add extra material to make a sturdy mounting area for the magazine release.

Historical note – we are making the second version of the the magazine catch, which is a pretty typical push-button type. The very first examples of the VG1-5 used a long piece of spring steel riveted to the rear side of the receiver and bent to protrude through a hole in the receiver and hold the magazine up. Those didn’t work very well, and the design was changed to the more expensive but much more functional button. Mid-production receivers are not uncommon with the rivet holes for that type of mag catch punched and left unused, presumably done untilt he original receiver stamping tool was worn out and needed to be replaced.

And another view.

This is the tool that was design and made to produce this strengthening plate. It is designed so that every side is a different angle.

The tool is designed to attach to the fly press.

You will see the fly press used in numerous operations as we continue with the project…

Now on to spot welding. The first picture is of a 110 spot welder that was first used. The major problem is the depth of the spot weld. It could just not do the task at hand (although it is just fine for AK lower rails).

The second spot welder is a 220 unit. It also was not up to the task. With the number of spot welds and the cool off time between welds it would take forever to complete the project. So the answer was a water cooled unit. I found this one on Craigslist in Phoenix for a couple of hundred dollars.

Now on to the spot welding. The first thing to do is position the support plates in the proper location.

Next it is time to spot weld.

Then spot weld some more.

Once we have completed this task it is time to clamp the pieces together and spot weld the two halves together. With both supports spot welded on.

It is now time to set up and spot weld the two halves together. First the set up tool (which is the same mandrel used to ensure good bends and angles earlier on).

And a different view.

Now on to the welding.

Now the completed spot welded receiver.

So what you have now is a part that is ready for the first machining step. I will leave you here and with the next post we will start the machining process.

Part 2: VG1-5 Receiver Pressings

Now that you have seen the concept models it is time to get into the nuts and bolts of making this. So the first step is cutting the 16 gauge sheet metal to the proper size. This is no easy task as we do not know what the starting size is. So we cut the flat to the basic die size. These are cut in lots of 10 pieces on a friend’s shear. Then we press them. The first set of pressings will give us a basic idea how to proceed.

About now you ask why sets of 10. There is a certain amount of movement of the sheet metal on the die as no stops have been placed in yet. Using ten stampings allows us to verify the how the stamping looks. Once this initial set is completed we now adjust the size of the flat to give us the overage required we need for overlap. So there is another 10 pressings for the scrap bin. Now we look at the stamping to see where we can remove metal and if any cuts need to be made in the blank to give us the correct and proper looking final product. A master is made to work from.

At this point a flat sheet of 16 gauge is taken to the water jet people and cut for the proper shape. Again all we do is 10. Once cut they are all pressed. Now we should be very close to what we need. If the pressings are correct we then cut up the complete sheet and press the complete run. Now, as for what we do with all the extra pressings. They are used for a variety of items. Some are used for testing the amp and time settings on the spot welder.

Some are used for doing tig welding. The rest are made into art , if you want to call it that.

Now on to the pressing. The dies are set up in the four poster press that we rebuilt – this is it prior to rebuilding.

Now onto some pictures of press operations…

This shows the properly sized and cut sheet in the dies and ready for pressing.

This is a side view of the same set up.

Starting of the pressing cycle.

Pressing completed.

As removed from the die.

A few pictures of the pressing die:

Now with both halves of the receiver pressed it is time to do the touch up work. The receivers are placed in a mandrel and all the angles tightened up and prepped for spot welding. Each set of receiver halves is clamped together with this mandrel inside to ensure that all the corners are nice and square and the angles completely formed.That is it for today. The next post will be adding the side support pieces and setting up for the first milling operation.

GunLab is Back: The VG1-5 Project

Gun Lab is now back into full swing. The objects are still the same. That is discussing the design, prototyping and the building of small arms, their parts and accessories.

The first project is the Gustoff Volkssturmgewehr, model MP-507, and commonly called the VG1-5 in the states. This rifle was designed at the end of World War 2 by the German arms manufacturers and was to be issued to the home guard. For a detailed overview you should read Desperate Measures – The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm published by Collector Grade Publications.

I have always wanted one of these rifles, however with a price tag of $35k to $53k it is way past my budget. So it is time to build one or at least a facsimile of one.

The first hurdle was to design a new fire control system – the original design is nightmarish to make, and still not change the overall appearance of the rifle.

This is the solid model concept drawing of the fire control mechanism. This model allows me to look at part size and relationship.

Cutaway view including new FCG (click to enlarge)

VG1-5 exploded view (original Gustloff FCG design)

Recent Posts

Categories