Recently, I had a chance to get an old gun. It was an old Springfield/Savage model 87A. The thing I liked the most about it, you could lock the bolt closed and use it as a single shot, or use it in semi.
After some internal debate, I ended up threading the barrel on it so I could attach a muzzle device if I wanted and made a steel thread protector while I was at it.
Being a tube fed mag, does take some of the fun out of it having to take off the suppressor during reloads, but I usually only load up the mag before going squirrel hunting anyway and I've never blown through all 15 bullets in a hunting trip.
After seeing how well it does, my youngest son asked if it was possible to also thread an old marlin model 60 too. That was his first little gun and what he learned to shoot on.
So, of course I used that as an excuse for a hands on learning experience for him and let him thread his own barrel on the lathe.
I helped him take it apart and was there to help through the process and admit that I took over the last few passes to get the right major diameter when turning it down so he didn't go too deep on the final pass, but otherwise, he did the work and threaded it himself.
Ordinarily, I would have had him do more threads, but the location of the front screw for the front sight ramp, would have been in conflict so I only had him turn it back 7/16", which truthfully is enough to screw something onto the barrel.
After threading the barrel, he was feeling really comfortable with how it was going on the lathe, he wanted to make a "tactical bolt handle". After I looked at it for a minute and figured out what he had in mind, I got a piece of scrap aluminum and let him make some cuts in it and counterbore it. After he finished, epoxied it in place onto the original handle.
So, now he's feeling more like John Moses Browning Jr and very happy with how his work ended up enhancing the gun LOL
After he was done, he went squirrel hunting and got a few and he was proud as a peacock of how well it worked. I may have created a monster though because now he's wanting to use the lathe for all kinds of projects, but he's having fun with it, learning stuff, using his hands to create things. So, I'm grateful for being able to take that opportunity to do that with him. Maybe one day he'll look back on that time with fond memories.
After some internal debate, I ended up threading the barrel on it so I could attach a muzzle device if I wanted and made a steel thread protector while I was at it.
Being a tube fed mag, does take some of the fun out of it having to take off the suppressor during reloads, but I usually only load up the mag before going squirrel hunting anyway and I've never blown through all 15 bullets in a hunting trip.
After seeing how well it does, my youngest son asked if it was possible to also thread an old marlin model 60 too. That was his first little gun and what he learned to shoot on.
So, of course I used that as an excuse for a hands on learning experience for him and let him thread his own barrel on the lathe.
I helped him take it apart and was there to help through the process and admit that I took over the last few passes to get the right major diameter when turning it down so he didn't go too deep on the final pass, but otherwise, he did the work and threaded it himself.
Ordinarily, I would have had him do more threads, but the location of the front screw for the front sight ramp, would have been in conflict so I only had him turn it back 7/16", which truthfully is enough to screw something onto the barrel.
After threading the barrel, he was feeling really comfortable with how it was going on the lathe, he wanted to make a "tactical bolt handle". After I looked at it for a minute and figured out what he had in mind, I got a piece of scrap aluminum and let him make some cuts in it and counterbore it. After he finished, epoxied it in place onto the original handle.
So, now he's feeling more like John Moses Browning Jr and very happy with how his work ended up enhancing the gun LOL
After he was done, he went squirrel hunting and got a few and he was proud as a peacock of how well it worked. I may have created a monster though because now he's wanting to use the lathe for all kinds of projects, but he's having fun with it, learning stuff, using his hands to create things. So, I'm grateful for being able to take that opportunity to do that with him. Maybe one day he'll look back on that time with fond memories.