2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Aug 30, 2007 14:40:08 GMT -5
To everyone waiting on a finished gun. I am way way behind primarily because of a rediculous delay in tiny parts deliveries (needed to finish off a bunch of guns that are otherwise ready to go.) I was repeatedly promised delivery and then they either didn't arrive or the parts orders were short the very items I most needed.
I have secured what I need from a supplier in Portland (150 miles South of where I live) and I am driving down tom orrow to pick them up. My sincerest apologies. Otherwise your guns look great and once I get these promised parts will be all caught up and ready to finish more guns.
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Post by gunfreak on Aug 30, 2007 15:24:02 GMT -5
eh, no sweat, but nice of you to let us know. I have a CYMA thompson on they way and some goddies for it (and the garand) from sof military.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 5, 2007 21:43:03 GMT -5
Actually prior to staining them I rough the stock and wood hardware up with sand paper a rat tailed file and usually put a couple choice small gouges until the stock matches the actual Garand wood I'm using or to create the overall look the customer asks for. (Field used weapon or new recruit) I then apply the coats of stain which naturally fill in the gouges and grooves created more extensively elsewhere. I also heavy up the darker shades where they naturally would be on the stock and handguards. The effect looks quite good and helps make each gun unique onto itself so no two look exactly alike. For me it's the funnest part.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 9, 2007 23:13:52 GMT -5
Here is the latest batch pretty much ready for shipment. A few small details to attend to but otherwise all done. All four rifles were shipped last Saturday morning. The Garands were way over due as I had been waiting on front sigths and stacking swivels of all things. Naturally I'm now up to my eye balls in those parts! Note that I deliberately age the finish when requested to do so. Each gun is stained according to the request of the customer and the metal finishes also vary according to the customers request. From bottom to top Dark Walnut, Medium parkerization. Blonde wood with Dark Parkerization, Dark Walnut mixed metals and the 1903 is Dark Walnut with the otional leather sling. (All my rifles come standard with a period correct OD web sling)
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Post by gunfreak on Sept 10, 2007 7:04:39 GMT -5
you realy can't see were the wood ends and the plastic starts. How do you age stain the platic, do you just slab the paint on there or is it very amticules(sp) I want to do the same on my CYMA thompson
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 10, 2007 14:38:09 GMT -5
I commented on this as a tag on to Guinesses treastis on aging the plastic wood. It's actually fairly straight forward. I hope you like it in person and expect you will. It's not perfect of course but it looks quite good and people usually think the guns are all wood.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 18, 2007 12:08:23 GMT -5
Here is another nice PM from still another Finnish customer
Hello John
I just got the Garand. It looks and feels amazing. I will try to take some pictures at weekend. Also, I must thank you for excellent service. It has been a pleasure making business with you. I will recommend you to all re-enactment airsofters. Thank you.
Yours, very satisfied customer. - Assar K.
About the time I decide I'm tired of building these, a note like that comes in and it keeps me setting aside my evenings to get more of these done. Thanks Assar!
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Post by gunfreak on Sept 18, 2007 12:33:55 GMT -5
No need to take this in PM
I Have played around with the Garand now, taking some test shots and just getting the feel of it.
the thing is as solid as a two by four and you are not afraid to use it(something you are with the marushin) it's just under half a kilo lighter then the marushin but it feels in no way "light and cheap" even with the thing in hand you can't realy see whats wood and whats plastic. I had one guy who from a pic maniged to see it was a M14 stock and not a Garand, but I doubt that many can do that.
I hope I can get more people to order this gun so we have more good garands in the norwegian fields.
this is easly my favoritte gun now
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KRaddatz
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Post by KRaddatz on Sept 18, 2007 15:44:42 GMT -5
the biggest thing in telling an m14 stock from an m1 is that an m1 has the curve under the mag part, and the handle is more "defined"
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YankeeDiv26
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Sept 18, 2007 17:53:15 GMT -5
agreed. It's really not a big issue for me though, I, or anyone else, rarely sees the gun from an angle thats a direct side-view, or below the gun, When its slung that part of the gun also kinda gets lost amongst the webgear.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 18, 2007 19:24:30 GMT -5
In isolated profile it is of course noticeable but it's subtle (I actually have always found the profile of the M-14 more attractive artistically) but feel it is the rare individual that can spot the differences. Until something better comes along I feel it's wortwhile to have a functional, effective substitute M1 Garand available to skirmish with.
I'm still tempted to step up to the plate and have a CnC shop produce a closer, fatter stock in real wood but just don't know if the added costs could be justified (probably 270 to 280.00 per stock) With set up spread out among limited sales. It of course would be real wood and the shape though still not perfect would be very very close.
However, I think the ability to keep the costs down on these is the smarter way to go.
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YankeeDiv26
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Sept 18, 2007 21:13:02 GMT -5
a wood stock would really make me do backflips. Ever try using a wood m14 stock then modifying it essentially the same way as you would a plastic stock? It would obviously be the same shape as a regular m14 stock but imo the feel of the wood alone's worth a little extra dough, for the rare occasion of someone wanting full wood its a good option.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 19, 2007 14:21:50 GMT -5
I bought some M-14 stocks way back when as they were quite cheap. Unfortunately like the Garands they were so thin in through the neck that it was real real hard to get the motor assembly to fit without weakening the neck of the rifle too severely.
I have modified the after market M14 AEG stocks (which are increasingly hard to come by incidently) and they have worked well. Again, like everything it's a matter of cost. If I do ever decide to CNC a truly accurate Garand stock I'll use one of these after market M-14 wood accessory stocks as my base buck, bondo the outside shape and the butt plate area, attachment points and everything to what I want and then send it out to be CnCd. An earlier attempt at this failed however so it's a case of trial and error and costs and time. Quite frustrating
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 21, 2007 23:52:23 GMT -5
A little explanation about some of the things I do to insure consistency and quality with my conversions. First off there is a bit of grinding and dremel work to the base gun. Whenever possible I do this with parts seperated from the gear box so small metal shavings or grit won't get into the precise parts and cause trouble during ownership. When this isn't possible I tape off the areas where the small metal filings or dust might get into the nozzle or fine metal parts. Also to further the illusion of the conversion I remove the butt plate flap from the M-14 and carefully fill the areas with resin paste and once dry I file sand and paint or finish so the stock and butt plate resembles more closely that of a Garand. I also sand and treat the stock seam so it is less apparent (Preliminary work on the butt plate area) In addition I fill the M-14 stock areas where they obviously look more M-14 then M1 Garand. Same effort on the receiver group where I fill the scope hole, remove the M-14 stripper clip guide and file and fill the area to Garand sepcs. In addition lately I have begun grinding away the Made in Japan or Made in China on the side. On foreign sales I understand it is recommend I leave them for your countries Customs inspections? There is more that could be done here but I leave the bolt release catch in place. I've grinded some off but haven't been especially happy with the result vs the effort I mask of the stock and treat all the metal parts to a finish according to the customers request Flat Black Parkerization, (New, unissued weapon) Medium Parkerization (Like a new field issued weapon) or mixed aged metal like a field used weathered weapon. I then do stock work to match the lower stock to the Garand original wood bits and again to match the customers request for stock shades. (This rifle has been sanded and filed but awaits treatment, staining and fake parkerization for the metal parts.) This usually requires 2 or three treatments to get it satisfactory. I then over spray the entire rifle with a Dull coat sealer, allow it to dry and ship it out. These details seem to make a big difference and are steps that evolved in the course of making so many of these. If you're making your own they are in my opinion worthwhile steps and beneficial things to consider for both effects and long term durability. Here is an example of the three available shades of finish. Dark Walnut is the closest with Blonde finish in the middle and Medium finish the farthest away. Good luck and have fun.
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Post by gunfreak on Sept 22, 2007 6:37:48 GMT -5
one guy over here has expressed intrest in the Spirngfield, what do you take for one of those?
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 22, 2007 10:57:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the interest. It's not a market I'm particularly going after. Pricing would be $500.00 to $750.00 but very limited by availability of parts and time. I could send details on what I have at a given time and what the specific guns price would be. I suspect that most of the time I won't have anything pre-built other then my own personal use guns. (Like right now)
I did manage to find parts for two more complete guns and as time permits I will go ahead and build them up.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 25, 2007 1:17:20 GMT -5
I have done a couple 1903A1s and a couple M1903A4s and am currently doing a Springfield M1903A3 version set up for a use with a scope. I am discovering some interesting challenges with this version that I hadn't anticipated but it's all part of the learning curve. The Springfield M1903A1 straight stock conversion set up with a 400FPS spring powered base, hop up and custom barrel would be $700.00. ($28.00 extra for the leather sling) The rifle includes a OD web sling and two spare 30 round magazines.
I'll post pictures of some of the other variants in a separate thread. Thanks for your interest. The bolt action rifles shoot quite nicely. The spring action is such that you can cock from the shoulder but they still have excellent power. They shoot ribbon straight and are definitely skirmishable in all weather.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 28, 2007 1:28:52 GMT -5
Here's that same rifle almost all done and ready to be shipped
Dark Walnut finish with Medium Parkerization finish
The "parkerization" is gun metal mettalizer paint which is then coated with a dull clear lacqur. It protects the finish although with use it will take on a very cool patina that looks better actually with age.
This gun was shipped off to Spain earlier this week.
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Post by dookieboy on Sept 30, 2007 14:06:25 GMT -5
Hey 2nd Batallion,
How much then would it be for a kit to be shipped to me or a full rifle? And what gun is included in the rifle as in AGM or TM. And Where do you put the battery if you bondo the back part? Also is it a somewhat easy take down because would if my gun goes down and I need to take it apart? Thanks man!
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 1, 2007 12:42:40 GMT -5
I don't do the kits anymore. The finished guns are $560.00 for the AGM version plus shipping. $750 plus shipping for the Marui based guns. The battery still goes in the butt stock (Through the trap door) The gun is easy to take apart for upgrades or repairs. With each gun I ship a customized Owners Manual that I have done up to look like a 1943 War department Garand Manual. It shows how to care for the gun, full operation and breakdown.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 12, 2007 0:49:38 GMT -5
I had a PM today asking if anyone has installed a Blow back mechanism to any of my conversions or the M-14? My response was that I don't think so.
If so, somebody sound off and provide a video. There is no doubt that such a thing would be very, very cool. I've noticed that the guns where these have been installed are weapons where the bolt action is in sync with the piston travel. (The M-16, Thompson, AK etc.) With the M-14 and the Garand, the bolt is quite large, quite heavy and not at all in sync so I suspect it would be difficult to do and probably produce a number of durability issues.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 16, 2007 3:30:49 GMT -5
I have made countless revisions and improvements to the Garand AEGs since I started making them (Almost three years ago!) Most were based on recommendations and ideas from my customers. Here is a change that I started incorporating on most all of the guns starting about 25 guns ago. This works best on the AGM guns as when I cut the lower stocks right at the sling swivel the lower stock provides a perfect bulkhead to attach a ferrule to. This bulkhead once exposed is filed and shaped to be as flat as possible (Note the last picture with the exposed bulkhead to the right) I then use a piece from the M-14 gas reservoir assembly and modify it. I cut the rim so as to provide a flat surface (Three ferrules shown, one being cut the next one over unmodified and the one in the top right corner that has already been cut) I grind them smooth and drill mounting holes for the screws I'll use to attach the ferrule into the lower stock. This ferrule will fit over the M-14 barrel into the stock and provide a channel for the gas tube. Once attached into the lower stock it will effectively hold the handguard and lower stock flush and tight while still being removable should you need to disassemble the rifle. Once cut smoothed and drilled I align it with the M-14 barrel and M1 Garand lower handguard. (Heat shield) and screw it into place. Once in place I remove it, paint it and once dry re-attach it. I mention this revision for anyone with an early kit or early produced Garand conversion that did not utilize this process. If you'd like to do it and need the ferrule part let me know and I will ship it. For Marui guns that don't have the natural bulkhead I now use a modified actual Garand Ferrule. It has to be filed and shaped to accomodate the conversion. These parts are available on Ebay but are a little tricky to install. This suggestion came from Mercy and is much appreciated. It provides a more finished appearance and is very, very solid.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 16, 2007 3:40:49 GMT -5
Latest group of guns (All nearly finished when this picture was taken) Four of them went out this week) Widely varied stock finishes and metal finishes according to customer requests.
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Post by gunfreak on Oct 17, 2007 8:45:06 GMT -5
which one in mine?
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 18, 2007 2:03:39 GMT -5
I believe the one closest to the camera. Dark Walnut, Medium grey parkerized finish on the metal, minimal aging effects. The back three are Maruis cause you can see the trademarks on the receiver groups. Third and forth one in are medium wood (The stock on the third one in wasn't finished yet.) and the last one was a blonde finished wood going to an Australian who isn't a reenactor, he just wanted a "rat gun" and loves Garands. The picture was taken at night with a flash so they're not the best pictures in the world.
I wanted to get a shot while I had this many all in one place. It's been a while since I have.
Right now I have guns pretty close to being ready for shipment to Russia, Finland (another right after the last one) and Hawaii. I had to order more base guns today so I have two boxes of four enroute. I also have a group of hand guards ordered. I'm running low on front sights again!
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Post by gunfreak on Oct 18, 2007 10:10:01 GMT -5
purdy gun
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 19, 2007 1:10:06 GMT -5
Mmm... Garands. Hawaii would be me, then? ;D
P.S. Dave from Poweredge says hi.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 19, 2007 12:10:53 GMT -5
Hawaii would be you. It's well along in production actually but I need to get in some more handguards which are enroute. I also am way behind on shortened clips so I have to do a bunch of them. Dave is a super nice guy. I'm glad he remembered me from way back when. I had a large client in Hawaii and spent 60 days a year there for a couple years.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 23, 2007 22:45:02 GMT -5
Just was informed that my Garands cannot be imported into New Zealand. It seems even with airsoft replicas no fully automatic rifles are allowed. The only AEGs allowed in are guns that do not have a selector switch and a fixed on semi auto. Even with the slector switch removed and bondo'd over and everything stating semi automatic apprently there could be problems.
Is that bizarre or what? Obviously my Springfields would be fine.
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Post by grinch on Oct 24, 2007 8:19:30 GMT -5
Whats the cost as sended to europe? Heh are u making any Springfields? As they look great but if it would be cheaper than builded into M14 i would consider buying immeadiatly
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