So lets start at the beginning. Saturday was spent with the computer system that I could not get to work correctly [...]]]> First things first. I am dog beat tired. I will post pictures later about everything. Changes were made to the wood shop, solid models were done and a new rifle rack was worked on.

So lets start at the beginning. Saturday was spent with the computer system that I could not get to work correctly only to have my son come in on Sunday and not even find a problem. Make note to self to beat to death a computer for the computer gods.

I started redrawing for a new set of gun racks which will be finished this next week. The solid modeling just did not want to play nice. It took a number of tries to get it correct in an assembly. Pictures to come.

I also started working on drawings for a Volcanic pistol that I want to make some day. That also went to crap, it was just not a day for computer work.

I went to work on cleaning out the pantry and setting up the photographic area. It is amazing just how much junk I can accumulate on a single horizontal surface. With that completed I started on the rifle/pistol photograph stand. I have the remainder of the stand to complete this coming week when the missing components come in.

Sunday turn out a great deal more productive. I move out a great deal of equipment from the wood shop and installed a new CNC router. Wow, another machine to learn how to use. Half of dozen friends dropped by to say hi and it was nice to see them all. And the most exciting news, I made most of the new gun rack for the gun room.

This is it for now as I am done. I will be back tomorrow.

This is all that is that is remaining of the steel sheet that we started with.

All of this material will be used on the fluting machine.This is what [...]]]> The 1″ steel plate that we cut up last weekend has been cut down to size and then sized in the HAAS to actual specs.

This is all that is that is remaining of the steel sheet that we started with.

All of this material will be used on the fluting machine.This is what it looked like after its time in the HAAS and sized.

I also had a piece of rough ground stock that is the correct size for the chuck backing plate.

A quick look at the chuck backing plate solid model

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The major back piece which is 9″ wide and 48″ long is cut over size and set on the 3 axis cnc mill.

We did a basic mark up on the plate to show where the initial bolt hole and reamed dowel pin holes are going. Then it was time to place the blocks under the plate and clamp it down. This first set up is just for drilling 6 holes.

The design has been changed to allow it to be held and located easier.

This is the new back plate design.

We moved the bolts that attach the fluting press to the side of the hydraulic forging press closer together then we will also machine 3 reamed holes in it as well. The reason for moving the bolt holes together is that corresponds with the table on the cnc mill. Now with this design I can machine the 6 holes and 3 reamer holes as a first op. then bolt the plate directly to the table of the mill and machine the sides and drill, ream and tape the rest of the holes without fear of movement.

Most of Sunday was spent doing honey do’s  The fixtures are in place in the hall bathroom and it is ready for use again. A few small things left to do, but that is for another weekend.

Last night a heavy rain storm came through the valley.

This is a quick video of the storm.

In it’s wake it left 1″ or so of rain. That brings the total to 6″ for the last month.

My little rain gauge.

The project for the rest of Sunday is to build a new gun rack for my gun room. This is the solid model.

It is 4 foot across and will hold 15 rifles. Here is where it is going in the room.

This is as far as I got today. It is 5pm and time to relax a bit and I will finish it off next weekend.

That is it for the weekend update. Until Tuesday.

This weekend is also honey-do weekend as well. The tile needed to put down in the hallway and bathroom and the new lighting installed. This [...]]]> Well the fab shop new addition is now framed up and ready for a concrete pour. With any luck I will have the concrete completed in October.

This weekend is also honey-do weekend as well. The tile needed to put down in the hallway and bathroom  and the new lighting installed. This is by the end of Friday night.

This is the progress by Saturday night.

And the progress in the bathroom.

This is the end at Sunday night for the hall.

And the bathroom.

The hall lighting was installed as well.

The fun task is the solid works class that we put on for my friend from Texas. He is scheduled for a stop over here for a couple of days with his job, so it is time to learn and do a project. In this case we are working on the fluting press and a set of back grips for his semi 1919.

More work has been completed on the Japanese 99 magazine.

We are also working in the fab shop. There is a lot to be completed in here to allow me to go forward with the projects. The first item completed is the band for the bracket to hold up the vent exhaust tube for the forge area.

And a close up.

After the clamp the supports were made.

The complete assembly up and in place.

Now with the tube installed.

On to the next project. I have a section of 1″ steel plate that has a few supports welded on it. This will be cut up and machined for the necessary components needed for the fluting machine.

A little close up of the welded supports.

After all the supports are removed and ground the plate looks like this. A simple project that tool several hours and was way to much fun. This was accomplished with a cutting torch and a couple of grinders.

Then it was time to lay out for the necessary parts. This next phase of the project was completed by the world famous MacGuyver

A special welding guide was made up for a straight cut.

Starting the cutting operation.

All the cutting was done on my home made cutting bench.

The cut part way through.

A couple of looks at the completed cut slab.

From here it will be cut on the saw for the correct lengths and milled for proper size. That task will be completed this next week.

Here is a quick video of the torch cutting operation.

The rest of the honey do list was tackled. Last weekend we drilled hole in the frame of the walk in cooler and injected foam to act as a thermal barrier. I might have got a little carried away with the foam.

After a week of removing the excessive foam and sanding the frame we painted it again.

Once we got started with painting we just finished everything that needed to be done.

Time to go back to the fab shop for some more fun. More work was completed on the hot forging press. The hydraulic manifold was welded on.

And the brackets for the piping were welded on as well.

Enough fun for the this weekend.

So first on the list is the knurling tool. I have one that I bought form Shars. I just did not like it. It moved to [...]]]> Most of Saturday morning was spent on another solid model. The actual projects that were accomplished were finishing the knurling tool and get back on the VG1-5 knurling project.

So first on the list is the knurling tool. I have one that I bought form Shars. I just did not like it. It moved to much and made me very nervous when I was using it up close to the chuck on my lathe. It would move when ever it wanted and most of the time not when I wanted it to. So my neighbor and I design one, wrote the programs for the Allen-Bradley and then finished it off this last week.

Here are a few pictures of the build process.

This after the jaw was machined and we put it in the web milling machine to cut off the back side. I have a complete post for later in this week.

Sunday was spent playing with my new Nikon 5300 series camera. I have also started a night class at the local college on digital photography. I did a basic video with a voice over to test its capability.

The rest of the time was spent with working out the design of the chamber fluting machine for the VG1-5 and other barrels.

The design is in it final stages and I will post on this tomorrow.