Bane Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 I havent posted much on here, but i figured i'd post my most recent project. Now, i know there've been a few around, with the fella from Air-Sharp making some very convincing kits. However i figured i would post this anyway as its a little different. I was basing it off a specific model of 1919, the Post-WWII A6 model (The A6 during the war had a shorter barrel and a different bipod) the Post-War version also had an aluminium grip and a few other goodies. Oh, also, its entirely steel constructed. ] Pretty much what i started with, Some 2mm steel sheet and a bandsaw. The cover thats in that photo ended up warping during welding and was remade. Barrel produced, was one hell of a time drilling all those holes by hand, but the milling machine at work helped I sort of got side-tracked at this point, realising before i go any further, i should find a mech to squeeze into it. Now, the P90 mech i didnt particularly like because of difficulty to locate parts, and the M14 mechbox wasent strong enough for my liking. So, the only solution? Custom make one - out of a V3. Hop unit is custom made aswell. Rotated the motor back to sit like a P90, and i had to rotate the bevel gear towards the back of the mech aswell. The ensuing brass mass made the bottom half of the mech rock solid and quietened it down hugely. I had blued real gun parts before, but nothing of this sort of quantity or size. I wanted to get the best finish i could on the barrel as a trial, and i am quite happy it came out the way it did. Fitted the mechbox And its beginning to come together Then, after a long hiatus, i pulled finger, attached rear sight post, locking block, finished off a few niggly details and did the first trial bluing. Now the work setup for bluing gun parts wasent designed for whole receivers, so the blue varys over the gun. It was the first trial blue and i intend to re-blue it then age it with the same brown patina you can see on the barrel shroud. This isnt 100% finished. I still have to stamp the markings on the side and top of the receiver, and i have a few lugs to machine. Also, i need to make a stock, and a front sight, aswell as the rear ladder sight & diopter. However, for all intents and purposes, the gun is in a game-able state. Note: I'm from New Zealand, so the gun has to be semi-automatic. Hence the creative difference in the trigger position. The original trigger was intended to be lifted up, however i realised early on you couldnt possibly get a good fire rate on semi out of that, so i went for a more conventional trigger. The benefit here is the entire grip assembly is threaded into the receiver so you can unscrew it and attach a different grip, or even spade-grips (Which i intend to make one day) All parts are steel, exept the inner barrel, and the actual grip. The barrel lug is brazed in for reinforcement, and the grip lug is welded in. Link to post Share on other sites
DesertFoxRomel Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Damn, that's some fine craftsmanship right there. Awesome build, can't wait to for the final result. Question: How did you drill the holes for the bearings on the gearbox so precisely? I'm thinking of building a gearbox from sheet metal *like what you did for the motor mount* but need a way to get those bearing holes right. I toyed with the idea of using a V2 gearbox shell as a guide for a center punch to get the distance between each axle right then drilling. Also, can you give us some details of the bluing? Also, consider parkerization since that is what most military weapons of the time was finished with IIRC. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
BigEd Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Beautiful work. Building 1919's are a labor of love. or even spade-grips (Which i intend to make one day) Spade grips were never mass produced for the 1919a2,a4,a6. There is a fantastic book which has the entire history and thousands of photos with all the variants of the Browning 1919. It goes into depth on why the military chose mounts, ditched spade grips, and switched designs. The Browning Machine Gun by Dolf Goldsmith. http://www.collectorgrade.com/bookshelf2.html Note: I'm from New Zealand, so the gun has to be semi-automatic. I did not know that, now I why you modded the V3 box. In which you did absolute fantastic work on!! I was able to stuff a Star M249 gearbox into a demilled 1919a4. ///ed/// Link to post Share on other sites
Bane Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Damn, that's some fine craftsmanship right there. Awesome build, can't wait to for the final result. Question: How did you drill the holes for the bearings on the gearbox so precisely? I'm thinking of building a gearbox from sheet metal *like what you did for the motor mount* but need a way to get those bearing holes right. I toyed with the idea of using a V2 gearbox shell as a guide for a center punch to get the distance between each axle right then drilling. Also, can you give us some details of the bluing? Also, consider parkerization since that is what most military weapons of the time was finished with IIRC. Cheers Thanks, i'm a Machinist/Toolmaker by trade, and i spend all my time now dicking around on a CNC Milling machine. However i'm still pretty handy with a lathe and a mill. If you have even a cheap drill-mill machine you can do it accurately with a bit of careful marking out by hand. Having a digital read-out on the machinery helps too. The bluing was done the simple but effective way of bead-blasting the receiver, then heating it with a gas-torch to the desired color, and then dipping in a oil solution. If you've heated the steel evenly you will get a even color of blue that is quite hard wearing. I was considering getting it parkerized but the price to do it put me off Beautiful work. Building 1919's are a labor of love. Spade grips were never mass produced for the 1919a2,a4,a6. There is a fantastic book which has the entire history and thousands of photos with all the variants of the Browning 1919. It goes into depth on why the military chose mounts, ditched spade grips, and switched designs. The Browning Machine Gun by Dolf Goldsmith. http://www.collectorgrade.com/bookshelf2.html I did not know that, now I why you modded the V3 box. In which you did absolute fantastic work on!! I was able to stuff a Star M249 gearbox into a demilled 1919a4. ///ed/// I have that book in my collection, its right next to "Cartridges of the World" While i am aware of the rarity of the spade-gripped version, it adds a little nostalgia. Besides, it allows me to toy with the principles of the spade-gripped design while i tinker with a .50 cal after this finishes Link to post Share on other sites
Kenworth W900 Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Well, its very well constructed indeed. And that converted V3 is some damn fine work. Infact, that modified box sounds/looks so good its just a shame that you aren't allowed full auto . Cus' that looks like the perfect platform for some powerful covering fire. Link to post Share on other sites
DFM56 Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Seems like it would be easier to just heat it evenly in some type of oven or kiln perhaps? how hot does the steel need to be for it to take? Also, great work! I'll always admire someone that can chop a gearbox like that and still have it work at the end of the day Just curious, if I ever happen to need a gearbox chopped like that, would you be interested in making one for the right price? Link to post Share on other sites
my_plague_666 Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 very cool indeed. same about your semi auto laws in NZ though i'd possibly re-blue it to get a deeper, darker finish then weather it. Link to post Share on other sites
DesertFoxRomel Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Parkerization doesn't need to be expensive http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=29 Link to post Share on other sites
DesertFoxRomel Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Too late to edit, but where did you get those brass sheets and how much did it cost? Link to post Share on other sites
Bane Posted July 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I know, i had a quick burst at home holding the cutoff-lever up to see what it would've been like and it made me drool I intend to machine up a cylinder-replacement and use a shortened piston "Striker", a modified sector gear, and a HPA tank to give me a hybrid mechbox. Because we're semi trying to spam/lay down cover fire on semi puts hellish strain on the mech, especially if your running a high FPS. the solution to this was to make the mechbox do as little work as possible -Desertfox The brass was just offcuts from work. Its about 4.75mm thick stock brass sheet. Total cost of the materials actually is quite sad. Sheet for the receiver $25 NZD Ali barrel $5 NZD Steel for shroud $20 NZD Brass/etc = Free Best place to get bits of ends and stuff is an engineering shop. If you go around to any and explain to the boss/foreman and ask for a few offcuts i can damn near garuntee they'll either give them to you, or charge a small fee. Most engineering shops will be willing to cut the material to length for you aswell. Link to post Share on other sites
Docv400 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Superb job Bane It's great when something that cost so little, turns out so well. Keep up the great work. Link to post Share on other sites
zentaurus Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 ditto that! love the converted mek Link to post Share on other sites
Bane Posted August 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Ok, i need some inspiration. After gaming with it on the past saturday (Four kills, not bad for a 3 hour game, considering the rain set in after 12 and we had to get outta the forest before the road washed away) i noticed a few things that needed tweaking, one was quite obvious from before the game even started. The magazine Its cumbersome and over-balances the gun to the left. The thing is, the gun never originally had a mounted box-magazine on the side. They just used loose belts of 30-06, and latter .308, and fed them through. I was considering building an internal reservoir of bb's similar to that of a P-90 mag, sitting ontop of the mechbox. The space available allows me to fit about 600-800 rounds (Which is fine for me, because we play with mid/lowcap magazines in assault rifles, no hicaps) I have room for a box approximately 20mm deep, 250mm long and 45mm wide. The question is, how can i acheive a reliable feed-mechanism to feed directly downwards into the hop unit? Electric-wound, or something that will empty the full magazine.. already looked at spring-loaded plate and kept coming back to the bb's clumping the feed hole.. Link to post Share on other sites
Danke Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Could you use a longer feed tube and a BB reservoir similar to the one you have now behind the mech box? Link to post Share on other sites
appslapp Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Some more V3 gearbox custom....and i didnt do it;) it come with one of my m60 many years ago. Link to post Share on other sites
Wege Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Bane... have you seen any vids of the TOP M60 series? I think the earliest AATV vids have a review of the TOP and they show how the feed happens. Which pretty much is a sloping tray inside (like a gravity feed) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AKeAmbraC4 that is not their video but briefly shows the "reservoir" area Link to post Share on other sites
my_plague_666 Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 yeah but the TOP M60 was *suitcase* i reckon an internal resevior with a motorised feed would be best. line it with thin, dense foam and it'll be a bit less rattly too i assume you're a bit of a milsimmy sort (realcaps etc) so having the resevior under the feed cover could emulate battlefield reloads too. Link to post Share on other sites
Wege Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 I wasn't about to go into the Bellows system.. i was just pointing out the ammo feed. Hmm. What about that KHC Maverick shotty.. doesn't that have a top tray loader too? Link to post Share on other sites
Kenworth W900 Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 @Bane - If you rest the gearbox on a flat table top whats the distance between the table and the nozzle? And what is the overall height of the gearbox? Link to post Share on other sites
BigEd Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Its cumbersome and over-balances the gun to the left. The thing is, the gun never originally had a mounted box-magazine on the side. They just used loose belts of 30-06, and latter .308, and fed them through. There were several feed cans that attached to the side of the browning, the D7460 and D38571 were the most common. Another book you may want to pick up is: Weapons Mounts for Secondary Armaments. https://secure.longmountain.com/product_inf...b4920e898433e... I use the D7460 ammo can on my 1919a4, and copied the Mk1 emergency response tripod on pages 272-273 of Dolf's book. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i110/edt...4/1919a4_37.jpg The feed is a modded angled hicap with a servo and is wired to the gun. The Mk1 ER Tripod allows the gun to be mobile with one gunner. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i110/edt...4/1919a4_39.jpg IMA sells the ammo cans in short (D7460) and tall (D38571) versions: http://www.ima-usa.com/index.php/cPath/4_2...d07c6fd8ed3e516 ///ed/// Link to post Share on other sites
Bane Posted January 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Well.. figured i'd update it Dun Dun Dunnnnnnn Image update!! Tired as sin, but will say something Used it today, rained high ROF Hell on everything on the opposite team. Its great, Stock is a little big though, will be shaving some meat off it soon. Internal magazine holds 700 rounds, worked perfectly. Will update more later.. tired.. Link to post Share on other sites
BigEd Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Nice work on the feed. Does it use a hicap or servo fed? ///ed/// Link to post Share on other sites
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