so waht ya doin today?

Ian

Notorious member
There's something rewarding about salvaging heaps of orphaned produce. Periodically a wrecked produce truck will end up at our shop and the remains of the load gets "disposed of" under LEO supervision, which amounts to them looking the other way while we make it disappear for a better purpose than compost it was supposed to become.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Started on a Star sized die in .431 diam. It will take a .430 gauge pin, so will polish that last .001 tomorrow. Also needs the entry taper and bottom back bore. Drilled to .421, CAREFULLY took it out to .430 with a boring bar.
We'll see if I can finish without going over.
Keith- what alloy do you make you sizer blanks from?
Bill
 
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KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
AISI 1144 steel, commonly referred to by the trade name "Stressproof". Machines nicely doesn't it?
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Yes, that is why I was asking. I got a nice surface finish with the carbide cheapo boring bar. Will polish
0.001.....today.
Thanks again for making these blanks available at a good price.

Holy cow.....looked it up, 100ksi yield! I see why they trade named it 'Stressproof'. For a lot of things
it certainly would be. Cheaper than 4140. I learned something today, thank you sir.

Bill
 
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L Ross

Well-Known Member
There's something rewarding about salvaging heaps of orphaned produce. Periodically a wrecked produce truck will end up at our shop and the remains of the load gets "disposed of" under LEO supervision, which amounts to them looking the other way while we make it disappear for a better purpose than compost it was supposed to become.
They ever wreck a bourbon truck?
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Bill, you can also quench harden 1144 if you want to, the .44% carbon content is plenty high enough and the sulphur content while present is low enough not to cause any problems. Not necessary for bullet sizing dies. I've heard but have no direct experience with its resistance to warping during heat treating, I do know it doesn't seem to warp when machining unlike a lot of drawn/rolled/extruded metals. My vendor charges about twice as much for 1144 as they do for 1018 but the cost of material is so low compared to the cost of machining that for small products the price increase is inconsequential.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
The site is almost prepped and the building is on its way. The weather has been raining off and on every day for about two weeks and its frustrating the excavators. But progress is being made. Meanwhile we are doing more work than we ever have, with a third guy on staff now. I'm busier than ever just trying to keep up with workload. Luckily I'm done with the class I was teaching so I have a little more time freed up.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Bought a box of Winchester White Box .45 ACP HP ammo, per Al's recommendation, for the Randall 1911 in its hopefully soon-to-be concealed carry mode. Already have stuff for the Glock 27.

Man, I gotta' say that having to buy ammunition hurts, even though the gun store owner gave me his best price.

That WWB/HP ammo is a lot less per round than are the mall-ninja uber-tacticool boutique stuff that the ammo makers try to palm off upon the unwary and undiscerning among the gunrag addicts--at close to $1.50 each. Gitouttatown. But I DO UNDERSTAND about "Buying ammo"--for us it is almost an unnatural act, like installing a camper shell on a Maserati. 462--chances are your local law agency uses that same ammo as their issued war shots too, since the WWB/HPs in 40 S&W and 45 ACP have been on the State ammo contract for a number of years.

I am not among the Enlightened And Anointed Cadre that shoot lots of Jello blocks and pontificate about subtleties and nuances of the bewildering array of defensive pistol chow that are out there. There are no "Bad Loads" among the serious defensive pistol calibers out there--357 Magnum, 40 S&W, 10mm, 45 ACP. FMJ vs. HP doesn't make much difference once speed gets past 1200 FPS or diameter reaches 0.4". It is "gravy" that the WWB/HP 40 S&W and 45 ACP bullets have looked like ad copy for Winchester ammo in the trauma centers and autopsy suites I once frequented, and that one to three per customer tended to send the message.

If you want to use light tackle on big fish, you need to be more particular about rod quality, the reel's drag endurance, and the terminal tackle's temper and sharpness. Same story with 38 Special and 9mm--ya gotta be more selective and discerning. Yes, I am opinionated and my views run counter to those of the Cadre, and that's OK--I lack their Echo Chamber advantages, they lack the trauma room and autopsy suite experiences I have.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Gary - that is not good to hear. I will increase my tick vigilance. Our standard routine after mowing is
to take a shower and examine closely for ticks. Often we find them before they have attached.

Bill
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Planted the red and green bell pepper starters, we bought Friday. Drove my wife to the daughter's house, so they could spend Mothers' Day together watching women-type movies. The dog and I made Crock Pot beef stew. Oh, boy, yummy stuff!
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
did my normal Sunday stuff.
missed a target today, still a bit miffed about that.
went and had some food and some sherbet over at Littlegirl's place afterward.
she decided to smoke a pork roast but missed the internal temp some, I put it in the microwave to get the inside up to proper temp then rested it back in the smoker for another 20 minutes.
it had a nice crust and good smoke flavor throughout without being overbearing.
she really likes using my new smoker with the adjustable temp and timer and kind of struggles with the old one that just makes smoke.


Lowe's was insane, I never seen that many people there, but I guess from what the new asst. manager said it's busy like that on Mother's day every year.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Mom got a long call from College Boy. Future Veterinarian and I went in together on a batch of sushi for Mom for Mother's Day.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Had the family together for Moms day. Barbecued some chicken and brats, nice day. Had distressing news at church, but that's internal politics, policies and personalities. Makes it unpleasant from time to time. Gray and cool here- still.

Not sure whats on the list for today. Any of a 3 dozen projects need tackling. Picked up a Bostich coiled roofing nailer, battery type, at that auction, Not sure why, it just looked handy and it wasn't expensive. Batteries are good and it works. I do have some shingle work to do, although I hate shingles. Also got a manure bucket for my skid steer that's likely going to need mounts fabbed. Got to try and check on a tractor the so called auctioneer didn't even try to sell, Horrible auctioneer this guy, but he's the only game in town anymore. I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy.

Al, there must be an area where charging blocks of Jello are a real problem. Funny you never hear about Jello gang violence on the news. I'm sure glad all the experts have determined what puts them down best. Some of us older folks may recall when water soaked newspaper and telephone books (do they even make them anymore?) used to be a problem. Back in the day a lot of effort was expended figuring out which bullet performed best in water soaked newspaper. I bet one of those boxes could really mess you up if it jumped on you from a 3 story or higher building!
 
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Intheshop

Banned
Getting the Buick cleaned up for it's annual safety inspection. Which it will pass,no problem. I swear, if I'd known this Park Ave was going to make it this long with just minor TLC......

We used to laugh about killing it off running the doo doo out of it going to bow shoots,loaded to the bumpstops running,"10 over" in the fast lane.... well,that didn't seem to even phase it? Then came the period of don't even look at it for months on end hoping,it would succumb to negligence or sumthin? Nope,that doesn't seem to matter.

So maybe this new tack of cleaning it up and throwing money at it will cause the Ju Ju karma scale to mysteriously kill it? Wash/wax.... detailed interior....maintenance parts.....
 

Intheshop

Banned
I "want" an older BMW station wagon..... got a friend's son who's sort of made his mark building BM track cars. And I have uhhhh,way too much time vested in BM motorcycles so known how to speak German...

Between me and his,practically unlimited racing parts connection,which see's him with probably the "best" BM junk yard in the state..... and I've known the little hillbilly since he was just out of diapers. This is an easy slam dunk,street rod,go tear up the pro 3D bow circuit car....

Stupid Park Ave has to go first.... dang it.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
After church and brunch for her at the local bistro, the live oak roots in the front decided to beak the underground sprinkler pipe so I had wate running down the street. Need some relief so off the shoot the 30/30 again. Then I'll make some calls to get the cost of removing the tree (16 yr old) and fixing the pipe.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Hmmm. I'd prefer to remove a sprinkler before I'd remove a 16 year old live oak, but that's just my bias
towards trees, esp live oaks showing I'm sure there is more to it than that.

Bill