The Silicon Graybeard mentioned me (link here). How awesome is that?
“Adaptive Curmudgeon said he loves it when I say things like this: the barrel measured 0.368, so I thought a 3/8″ (0.375) drill bit would be too big. I was going to get a reamer in .373 (.005 oversized), but thought I’d measure my “best” 3/8 drill bit. It was .370! So I tried drilling out the holder, figuring that it might end up being a “test cut” that ruined the piece, and it came out more like 0.371 (it was still warm, so maybe I’ll recheck it in the morning). I’ll eventually stake the barrel in place with either red LocTite or JB Weld. I’m not sure if I’m going to cut it shorter and crown it. Da bomb would be to cut it in two equal pieces, crown both and cut a chamber in the new half!”
Yes! Drill diameters and JB Weld! Be still my beating heart, for tinkering is afoot… perhaps even… dare I say it? … Fabrication! Everyone go to Silicon Graybeard and thank him for noodling around with drills, mills, and skills.
You might ask “what is this particular mad scientist building?” Why the GB-22 of course.
Simple doesn’t have to mean crude. It seems rather elegant to me.
The GB-22 is specifically designed to be just about the simplest firearm possible. Aside from a few pins and a spring, it has 5 parts and (while they exceed my skills) they’re presumably rather simple for a hobby machinist. (OK, the image above does have a few “ringers”. The optics on the top one isn’t coming off anyone’s bench anytime soon, the metal surfacing is top notch, and the grips add to the part count. Even so, it’s a cute lookin’ little bugger.)
This one might have come from Royal Nonesuch.
The one on the left is more like the kind of crap I’d make. A bit too scruffy for my tastes. I don’t buy the “P-cord means it’s a tactical grip” argument. Also I hate Philips head fittings.
It’s entirely functional; it’s not going to take off your thumb or melt after three shots. For those clutching at their pearls it’s entirely legal! (With caveats of course. If you’re reading this from occupied socialist lands like California or Massachusetts you might as well set your computer of fire and go to the constabulary to confess your sins of wrongthink after readings this.)
The plans are $12 and free citizens can buy them here. To me, the GB-22 is appealing because it’s simple but doesn’t look like an ape hewed it from a stovepipe.
Full disclosure, I’m not building one of my own. I can barely keep a tractor running and I’ve been distracted by my pretty new block plane. So I know nothing more than ogling the photos.
Silicon Graybeard added this:
“And not a single lesbian squirrel was even inconvenienced in the making of this post.”
To which I respond “why the hell not?” Lesbian activist squirrels are running amok and someone must do something. Think of the children (or Boo)! Perhaps the universe cries out for an exquisitely fabricated single shot .22 in the hands of a hunter?