About Me: A certified yet non-professional gunsmith learning the trade through trail and inspiration

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

10/22 Project updates

A quick update on past projects and introducing some new ones.

Spencer Carbine Project 



Since finishing my Spencer Carbine project I had done a few more modifications and because this is March, the month of the 10/22 I figured I would share the progress.

If you missed the project, click on the links below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 

I swapped out the plastic trigger group for an older aluminum one, looks more authentic in my opinion.

I also blued the bolt, having a shiny bolt just didn't look right, so I disassembled it and while it was apart I polished the internals.




Finally I built a new sling. I wasn't happy with the way the 1" sling fit the 1.5" Enfield sling mounts, so I took an old leather belt and made it into a sling


Here is the belt


I cut the threads to remove the loop and then cut the belt where it went from two ply to one


...and rounded the end


I then drilled holes for the Chicago bolts using a #1 drill bit (.228"). The end where the buckle was will be folded over and connected to the front sling. The rear will use one new hole and have the old belt buckle holes for adjustment



done...






 Before and after




In case you are wondering, I did get to shoot the gun on a few occasions over the past year. It shoots as good as any of my 10/22s, I am really liking the peep sight.



10/22 Target Rifle Project


I finally got a chance to take Ava out to the range to see how she shoots. Everything functioned perfectly, unfortunately we ran out of time and I was not able to sight the gun in and see what kind of accuracy/precision it was capable of, perhaps this summer I can spend some more time with it and report back to you.


Link to the final post of the project, click here

Project Pink 10/22 Stock 1.0




My daughter decided she did not like the pink/fuscia color of the stock, so I am working on a new version using a lighter pink dye (see details below).

Here is the post on the first version: Project Pink 10/22 Stock 1.0


In the mean time I painted up some Butler Creek clear Steel Lips magazines with some Tamiya Polycarbonate translucent pink paint



You may remember my attempts to dye a Butler Creek Steel Lips magazine a pink color. The magazine is made from Polycarbonate and doesn't take dye or even paint well. Fortunately we have the R/C world to thank for the special polycarbonate paint, it is translucent, so we will still be able to see the how many boolits are left. 
I picked up a couple more of these mags with one of the 10/22 project rifles I purchased, so I cleaned them with a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol and taped up the tops.



I'm sure the question will come up about the durability of the paint. While it is too early to tell, I know a bit about the R/C hobby and those R/C car bodies take a beating and this Tamiya paint seems to hold up pretty well. Either way the little lady is pleased with her extra magazines she now has.


I also purchased one of these extended bolt handles


While I had the gun apart (it also needed a good cleaning) I decided to drill and pin the bolt



I upgraded to the stainless firing pin stop pin while I was at it






The Hoplophobe Project



If you missed this project, follow the links below:

Part 1
Part 2




Ruger 10/22 LTR Project





My First 10/22

This is the first 10/22 I owned, I got it as a birthday gift from my wife one year. One of the first modifications was the stock (see my post on that here).

The rifle is a hoplophobes nightmare:
  • Collapsible stock that also folds to the side 
  • Pistol grip
  • Forward grip
  • Bayonet lug to take an M7 Bayonet
  • High Capacity magazines clamped "jungle style"
  • Scope
  • Picatinney rails
  • It's Black


Over time I upgraded various parts, and recently upgraded the bolt and trigger parts to some units from JWH Custom (look for a review coming up)


 

New Projects


Some more 10/22 projects (you didn't think I was done did you??). 



The 10/22 Hawken Rifle
 
This first one is a retro/tribute similar in vein to my Spencer Carbine project. This one will be a tribute to the Hawken Rifle. It will be similar to the one below
 


I will be using a brass crescent butt plate and brass forend tip from a T/C Hawken rifle. I will keep the stock full length, but taper the forend from the mag well to the barrel band notch, then fit the forend tip. I may even add a faux ram rod...I may even attempt to build a custom mag release like the one shown above.


Project Pink 10/22 - 2.0

The next one will be another Pink rifle stock for my daughter, this time I will lighten the forend (and balance the weight better) by adding vent holes like the stocks below





I will use RIT Petal Pink dye


The 10/22 Project Ute

This last one will be a youth stock, I will cut vent/lightening holes in the forend (like the examples above) and use either aluminum for the forend/butt plate or maybe form some kydex into a curved butt plate like the "Joebobber" stock made by hipshot.




 I may go with a different dye or maybe a custom paint job...