Taurus Thunderbolt, .45 ACP!

[freebullet]

Well, at least there is enough barrel length to cut the chamber end off like 10 times if needed.

Prayer wouldn't even help my last Taurus. In fact the only one that's stuck around is the m85 ss ported model. Even that one can be manipulated into action lock by cocking the hammer while the trigger is half pressed. Not something that can really happen by accident but, proves Taurus incorporates broke in their designs as a standard.

 

[Ian]

Taurus incorporates broke in their designs as a standard.

I agree. This would have been an easy job for me if the basic rifle was in proper working order. Getting the barrel off, straightening it, cutting it off, cutting some proper new threads, and getting the shoulder turned for perfectly clocked fit was really pretty easy for me (keep in mind I've never done any of that before other than kid stuff like Savage bolt actions with pre-fit parts), but the complexity of a broken copy of a broken original design is getting frustrating. If I had a mill and a good kiln I'd re-engineer a couple of things and fix it properly.

 

[RBHarter]

A wise old IA once said to me (circa 1982) the only difference between you and the guy in the shop with $50,000 in tools and tooling is the shop and tooling .

Another said the difference between a mechanic and a technician is that a mechanic takes stuff apart and fixes it even if the engineer was wrong , a technician just keeps throwing parts at it until the problem goes away .

While that's no help here you are well on your way to being a mechanic .

 

[Pistolero]

Perhaps there is a good reason that Colt stopped making these pretty early on. I heard Winchester threatened
to get into the revolver biz and Colt backed off, but may also have been a fraught design, too. No kind of Taurus
fan, but starting with a blanket-blank design and then using Taurus' "cut every corner possible, and find a few corners
to cut that nobody even saw before" manufacturing philosophy won't get you much.

Also, not a fan of converting ancient designs originally set up for .44-40 as the biggest
cartridge, to .45 Colt. It winds up pushing EVERYTHING in the design past the limits,
and the damned cartridge was NEVER designed to be extracted by the rim, only by
pushing inside the case. The rim is too small to realistically expect no extraction issues.
BBl tenon will be too thin, all the feeding parts will be iffy on size, and ground out to
clear, plus the feed parts were designed to feed a bottlenecked cartridge, and a larger diameter,
straight case may really push the design over the edge in a million different ways, both
structural and kinematic.

I salvaged a friend's Taurus 1911 by replacing all the small parts except the mag catch and mainspring housing, and kept
bbl & link, slide and frame, grip safety, fp stop. New everything else, mostly Ed Brown parts and fitted a ambi safety (he is
a lefty) and it has been running flawlessly for about 3 years now, fair bit of IPSC shooting, too.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Funny you should say that. I have three ASE master's certifications, L1, L2, and some others, a diamond ring from Chrysler, half a lifetime of experience fixing engineering disasters, and an AAS degree in it. Also nearly have an undergrad degree in ME. I quit halfway through my senior year after taking a course oriented toward getting us ready for our engineering careers. Not my cup of tea, as it turned out, engineers and mechanics are two completely different kinds of people and I most definitely have the personality of the latter. I took a job with Boeing just to be sure, glad I did but when I quit after a couple of years to go back to school it for darn sure wasn't to finish my engineering degree.

What I'm finding in the current state is that what passes for "mechanics" are really just parts changers because they lack the technical training, tools, and experience to properly diagnose most of the issues that arise in today's vehicles. Technicians are the trained ones, but many are more nerds than mechanics and don't have the best common-sense approach to troubleshooting. Lots of guys with a diesel or automotive tech school certificate and no clue about anything, barely fit for an apprenticeship but think they're ace technicians. The best techs are a good mix of both "Mech" and "Tech", intelligent, educated, open-minded, methodical, and practical. The engineering must be driven by bottom line, politics, and lawyers, not necessarily quality of product, judging by what we see in the auto/truck/equipment world.

 

[Ian]

Perhaps there is a good reason that Colt stopped making these pretty early on. I heard Winchester threatened
to get into the revolver biz and Colt backed off, but may also have been a fraught design, too.

The fable I've always read was that Colt produced the excellent Burgess rifle and Winchester immediately had a conniption fit, so Colt quit and at some point a little later produced the Lightning as a sort-of competitor without being so direct.

Something about Colt designs not done by John Browning: Always overly complex, laborious to manufacture, and expensive.

 

[RBHarter]

Funny you should say that. I have three ASE master's certifications, L1, L2, and some others, a diamond ring from Chrysler, half a lifetime of experience fixing engineering disasters, and an AAS degree in it. Also nearly have an undergrad degree in ME. I quit halfway through my senior year after taking a course oriented toward getting us ready for our engineering careers. Not my cup of tea, as it turned out, engineers and mechanics are two completely different kinds of people and I most definitely have the personality of the latter. I took a job with Boeing just to be sure, glad I did but when I quit after a couple of years to go back to school it for darn sure wasn't to finish my engineering degree.

What I'm finding in the current state is that what passes for "mechanics" are really just parts changers because they lack the technical training, tools, and experience to properly diagnose most of the issues that arise in today's vehicles. Technicians are the trained ones, but many are more nerds than mechanics and don't have the best common-sense approach to troubleshooting. Lots of guys with a diesel or automotive tech school certificate and no clue about anything, barely fit for an apprenticeship but think they're ace technicians. The best techs are a good mix of both "Mech" and "Tech", intelligent, educated, open-minded, methodical, and practical. The engineering must be driven by bottom line, politics, and lawyers, not necessarily quality of product, judging by what we see in the auto/truck/equipment world.

If I could count the twisted ground wrenches .

The new tech ensures that if you have a fuel presentation like issue that you should look at the ignition system and visaversa . I chased bugs all over the firewall forward ....... finally got it down to a switch that actually has nothing to do with any of the problems but that caused the whole system to crash ..... Nobody knows what the switch is or where to find it except that it is probably built into ....... Ta da , the electric part of the ignition switch ....... Great I'd rather have vapor lock and burned points than a vehicle velocity indicator switch ......

On the other hand I have 2 later siblings with way more miles on them that don't seem to want for anything but fuel and oil changes .

I just smile every time I think about spending the last 22 yr in rough construction knowing that I have a license to build a new 747 around a data plate I found in the desert and get it signed off for trans oceanic service but this employer won't let change oil in lawnmowers ........
Yeah I've worked on a quad valve , wet blown , double overhead cam , dual ignition ,V12 with self regulating induction . I've worked on blown 9 cylinder drive train with 5 lobes on the cam and dual ignition . I don't know how I'll ever get that oil plug out of bugs and strappin' .

Oh well big changes who knows maybe that D18H Beech will follow me home yet .

 

[Ian]

Speaking of bugs & strappin' and engineers....I've had to re-engineer every oil drain on every lawnmower I've ever owned. Lawnmower engineers are experts at building a mower around an already-complete, known, and chosen engine system in such a way that not one, but BOTH of the oil drains are either inaccessible or pour oil all over every square inch of frame and deck when the plugs are removed. Seems like they'd do it that way if the right way was cheaper. That's ok, I can screw pipes, fittings, and ball valves together just fine. Don't forget to Teflon tape and screw a plug into that valve, Murphy never rests you know.

 

[Ben]

Speaking of bugs & strappin' and engineers....I've had to re-engineer every oil drain on every lawnmower I've ever owned. Lawnmower engineers are experts at building a mower around an already-complete, known, and chosen engine system in such a way that not one, but BOTH of the oil drains are either inaccessible or pour oil all over every square inch of frame and deck when the plugs are removed. Seems like they'd do it that way if the right way was cheaper. That's ok, I can screw pipes, fittings, and ball valves together just fine. Don't forget to Teflon tape and screw a plug into that valve, Murphy never rests you know.

AMEN ! !

You speak the truth Ian !

 

[fiver]

I just drilled a hole in the frame for a funnel with apiece of tubing pushed on the end.
then lift the mower up on a pair of milk crates, and let the oil drain into a milk jug.

you'd think as a former pipe fitter I would/could come up with 3/8ths pipe and valve out of the plumbing parts bucket.

 

[Ian]

I thought you were gonna say you fixed your Tbolt by drilling a hole in the frame and filling it up with 2F........

The thought has occurred to me, but it would work better to weld a few of the existing holes up first.

Yeah, I get not wanting to re-engage your pro gears when you get home to tinker with your hobby stuff. I'll do just about anything to avoid inventorying my stuff or working on my own vehicles.

 

[fiver]

that thought did occur to me while I had it.
if I could have figured out the priming thing I might have went ahead and done it.

just about that same time I was trying to convince the local game warden that by pushing the bullet down the barrel of my model 94 it technically fit the legal description of a muzzle loader by Idaho's rules.
it clearly has an exposed hammer that must be cocked to fire.
he wasn't buying it.

 

[freebullet]

that by pushing the bullet down the barrel of my model 94 it technically fit the legal description of a muzzle loader by Idaho's rules.
it clearly has an exposed hammer that must be cocked to fire.
he wasn't buying it.

Sounds legit, but in Ne you would be arrested.

 

[Pistolero]

Speaking of brilliant oil drain plug location.....


Why wouldn't a flush set Allen pipe plug be the perfect oil drain in that location?
Good grief. First thing I fixed, before I filled the gearbox with oil.
Add a piece of clear vinyl hose and drain away without running it all over the end
gears and wiring.

This engineer learned to weld, fix chicken farm auto feeders and was a mechanic before he was an
engineer and worked on other people's cars for money to pay for part of my grad school, so been
on both sides and very comfortable either way. Like there are ACE certified mechs who are parts
changers, there are degreed engineers with all the common sense God gave a turnip, too.

Also, Teflon tape will get you killed on an aircraft, never ever use it. Those damned
strings wind up in everything eventually, and in the carb or FI is a potential fatal accident
on tap.

Bill

 

[RBHarter]

Pints of copper kote .

 

[Ian]

K&W brush-on and Indian head sealer are pretty good, too.

Teflon tape will get you beaten to death by a trucker if you use it on their fuel system. One tendril getting through to an injector and it's game over. We're still sealing most fuel connections with Permatex 3H.

 

[Ian]

Maybe not all is lost yet. Wifey and I finally got enough rest after baby that I could sneak out to the shop and work on this project a little more. My goal was just to cut the chamber and see if it would shoot, so that's what I did. It worked out great, I went out and put half a box of my favorite zombie-stoppers through it single-fed, great fun! I don't have the magazine tube affixed yet, but since I went ahead and broke the edges of the chamber just a tiny bit it elevates, feeds, fires, and ejects perfectly.

In order to make the bolt line up, I put the bolt raceway blocks in backwards (thick side to the inside) and will need to make some proper new ones yet because when the bolt is all the way back they fall inward. It's too loud to shoot without ears, but in the field it wouldn't be totally deafening. The chamber seals up like a bank vault and I get NO blowback whatsoever, very very happy about that.

I'm happy enough with it at this point that I might actually follow through and finish it.

 

[Pistolero]

WAIT ONE MINUTE!!!!

Is Ian a Daddy? And trying to just slide that by without telling us?? Little sideways mention......

If so, congratulations sir, and to the lady.

As to a trucker beating you to death for teflon tape on fuel system......clearly justifiable homicide, IMO. Same thing on aircraft,
but a lot harder to "pull over" when the engine quits.

Oh, yeah, congrats on the rifle. If you need some mill work, for those blocks, let
me know.

Bill

 

[Cherokee]

Congratulation on good progress with the Taurus, sounds like half the battle is won.

Uhhh, need a little clarification on that baby thing but sounds like another congrats is in order.

 

[Pistolero]

Hope I wasn't out of line with those baby comments.

Bill