GunLab (KnownHost) » Volkspistolen

Another sheet metal pistol

Chuck — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 08:00:50 +0000

After my post on Axel’s home made sheet metal pistol I came across another one made by Clinton Westwood. In the following videos produced My Clinton he goes over the process that he went through to make a 25acp pistol from this set of plans.

Part 1 This deals with making the magazine.

Part 2 deals with making the frame

Part 3 is making the fire control group

Part4 Is making the rails and slide

Part 5 deals with making the frame web and trigger guard

Part 6 is making the barrel

Clinton has put together a nice set of videos describing his journey and he has made a very nice pistol.

Part 3 of the Volkspistolen

Chuck — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 08:00:13 +0000

In this post we will be covering some of the small parts as well as the assembly and dis-assembly and operation of the Volkspistolen.

First a series of picture of this really nice looking pistol as completed.

This first video is of assembly and dis-assembly of the slide and showing the fire control group.

Now on to more pictures of the individual components to show how they are made.

The first set is of the disconnector.

The trigger

Magazine catch and back strap

The majority of the parts ready to be assembled

This next series are some more pictures of the frame.

It is interesting to see how the magazine well was made.

The cover for the magazine well is also the guide for the trigger

This photo gives a better view of the trigger as it sets in the frame

This last video shows the operation of the fire control group and how this pistol works.

Part 2 of the Volkspistolen

Chuck — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 08:00:21 +0000

In this report we will be writing about the frame and fire control part of the pistol. Again the pistol was made with out the use of an actual milling machine of lathe. It was made from hand tools, welders, and a drill press. Once again to get an idea of the final product here is a picture of the completed pistol.

The first step was to draw out a basic concept of what you wanted the shape of the frame to be. Next using this paper pattern trace it onto the sheet steel and then start drilling a number of holes to make it easier to cut it out.

Do this step 4 times two right and 2 left

With all the patterns cut out the next step is to make them all the same.

An idea of the basic concept to work toward to.

Four steel metal patterns completed. Notice the match holes that were drilled in the four patterns.Welding the front radius on to the grip panel.

The front grip radius after filing and sanding.

This shows the relationship of the magazine to the front grip radius and the barrel extension/barrel.

A look at the inside on the right side frame panel.

The front and back magazine guides welded in place.

Cutting out the inner grip panel for the trigger mechanism.

The cut out complete.

A look at the out side grip panel withe the barrel support screwed on and the inner grip frame welded in place.

The other frame side showing how the inner panel is attached and positioned to the outer frame panel.

The basic assembly put together with the trigger guard.

The pistol as finished with out the wooden grips installed.

A couple of pictures showing the fir control mechanism disassembled and assembled.

In part three of this series we will have a few video’s of the trigger mechanism and of the pistol cycling manually. So stay tuned.

Building a small Volkspistolen

Chuck — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 08:00:57 +0000

Our friend Axel was here a while back and in one of our many conversations I mention that what was needed was a small 32 acp pistol that could be built with a minimum of tools, something like a WW2 German volkspistolen. Also being a fan of Impro guns, https://homemadeguns.wordpress.com/, I knew that it was a doable task. So leaving with nothing more then a magazine Axel was tasked with designing and making a non-firing prototype pistol with nothing more then the tools he had on hand. Those tools being a cheap table top drill press, a disk grinder, a dremel tool, a cheap tig and mig welder, a vise and a variety on hand tools. I want everyone to understand that this project was done as a non-firing prototype pistol only thus keeping with in the laws of his country.

This is what the final product ended up looking like.

This is his story. He wanted to come up with a Volkspistolen that was simpler then existing ones and adaptable to a variety of calibers.

Starting with a piece of steel pipe he cut the basic opening in the slide with a disk grinder.

His milling operation was completed using a drill press. With this set up he finished cutting the opening of the slide to the proper size.

This set up was also used to open up the ejection port. Hand fitting is the word of the day when making a pistol like this.

This is his press set up to form the bends necessary for the rear barrel support.

Using a drill of the correct size he was able to press the upper portion of the rear barrel support

Then using his tig and mig welder he welded to the lower block which would later become the completed lower barrel support and feed ramp.

After a number of hours of filing and clean up work.

The piece of material shaped to be a dummy barrel support.

The complete rear support after a great deal of filing and fit up.

A basic concept of the pistol design.

The making of the bolt for the slide. Again a piece of steel was fitted to the slide to start the making of the bolt. The bottom of the bolt was flatten with a die grinder and the grove cut into the bottom was done with a dremel tool.

After all the work is completed this is what you have.

Next the bolt face is made.

And welded on.

You can see how well the cartridge sets into the bolt face.

More hand fitting and it is set into the slide.

Test it against the barrel and rear support for proper fit up.

The next step was to weld the rear of the slide on. This fixture insured proper alignment prior to welding.

With the bolt welded it was time to hand fit the extractor.

A picture of the extractor and spring.

Part 2 dealing with the frame and parts of the fire control mechanism will be tomorrow.