Gimmie a Brake..... the Journey of Bubba Part Deux

[FJ540]

My headstock is about 2' long, so using a spider (I make nylon/plastic bushings custom to the task instead) wasn't happening. It's a 7.5hp tool room lathe, not a little south bend.

I wanted to chuck up on the barrel, but the lugs on the receiver wouldn't clear inside the spindle when centered. I ended up turning a mandrel to hold the receiver via the bolt channel and used the three jaw as a drive plate. We never broke 90rpm with this set up.

The only thing I wish we could've done differently was the crown. Without having the end floating, there was no way to dress it, and ended up turning a nipple down for Strad to then file square. I wanted to put an 11 degree crown on it, even though it probably makes no difference given the brake.

[JJ]

Depending on your steady rest, and your welding brazing capabilities, I have used rests that the owner just TIG'ed up some silicon bronze tips to the length needed. Screw them in, chuck in an endmill close to the diameter you will be resting on. Drive the screws into the cutter to dress the ends making radial surfaces.

Move the rest out, and use a healthy amount of grease on the tips. If its a blued finish you probably are gonna have to do a touch up, But in a pinch it works well.

[FJ540]

I could do all that - but when you have two people standing around waiting to work on their guns it's not all that feasible. I also don't have bronze or brass rod laying around. Grease is a given on steady rests, that's kind of obvious isn't it?

I could've machined a collar to bring the OD of the barrel out to the working diameter of my steady too, but then you'd also need a way to center the bore inside the collar, and that would take even more time... There's thousands of ways to do this.

This is bubba - I should've put one groove in the barrel with the threading tool and made him file the rest of the threads.

[JJ]

Good points. Just saying it might be a good cheap way in a pinch. It works, and a lot of guys with TIG setups have Silicon Bronze rod around because it works well for cast.

[Stradawhovious]

Ok. Preliminary range report from the line itself.

This thing is freaking awesome. 3ft balls of flames in every direction, it sounds like a .338 going off, and has about half the recoil of a 20ga Shotty.

I'm simply amazed at how functional that brake is.

[Sorcerer]

That poor guy on your right was flinching alot.

[timwarner]

This kind of fun, is why I love my job.
7 mills, 2 lathes, 3 cnc machines, 50 presses from 20-440 tons...

Can make just about anything I want.

[Stradawhovious]

That poor guy on your right was flinching alot.

Tee hee.

At least I warned him.

[Anokamnman]

If you need some stainless steel for making muzzle brakes I have some bar ends here. I have one in my hand that I was going to experiment with. It's 1.375" 316 stainless steel. Its about 12" long. I also have a bunch that is .750"dia.

[Stradawhovious]

Muzzle blast still from a video today.



Effin' giggle.

One of Shippy..

[tim]

Seeing that fireball makes me want one.

[Keith]

[Stradawhovious]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XchwE9zVdnw

That was just about the long and short of it at the range.

No less than 3 people asked... and I quote..... "What the **** is that thing?!?"

[JJ]

I would love to see it in comparison to my AR pistol. I get similar comments on the range and its a much lower powder capacity.

[Jeff Bergquist]

Re: the "carjacking" incident, was he perhaps yelling something about "Pod People"?