Damn Chinese raw extrusion!!
👿 Okay, back story for those that don’t know about these evil, idea inducing extrusions:
China put out these AF- like extrusions… they look good, as near to exact copies of them, but the I.D. is off… at the top, it’s egg shaped. I wouldn’t have noticed it but for Doug’s work with one. Well, like an ass, I have two. A short length (Talon sized) and a longer length (30+ inches). Of course they’re out of round too. I checked mine with the blast baffle of the Sound Loc kit. The rest of the tube is fine, but for that slight egg shape on top… well fuck 👿 . So, after many nights of thinking of how to fix it (or toss them), this idea pops into my head:
I’ve been looking at glass bedding recently, and got to thinking: get a rod, machine the O.D. to make sure it’s good and straight, and the size and length I need, and use a good bedding compound to fill the gap at the top of the I.D. of the tube… wait for the epoxie to dry, and voila my tube is round again, and if I can find a good enough epoxie, it can be machined w/o the fear of chipping… I wanted to run this by you guys to see if it’s completely crazy or what…
I really don’t want to scrap these extrusions, not so much because of the cost.. I’ve got less than half of what a single AF frame costs into two of them so far… But other than this little flaw (that hopefully gets fixed at the factory) they’re a great basis for a .257 or bigger build… machine the frame how you like, and it’s uber stiff… My idea is for the extrusion is this:
Right side feed only
Side cocker (of course)
M1913 rail on top, as low as I can go w/a 20 (25?) MOA angle built in, running the length of the frame (but does not extend onto the shroud).
Leave most of the lower rail in place to further stiffen the frame, and to mount a better looking fore grip (pretty much looks like the one from an EBR though made
for this rifle), and a short length of M1913 for a bipod
A WOKGard15… Gotta have some of Adam’s work on this thing too!!
I really don’t want to give up on this idea!!!!!
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Caboose?
Where did you get the extrusion from?
Thanks, Rick
Getting an old frame to copy, and am going to start sending out “feelers” to local machine shops to see how much the next stage of work is going to cost me…. cross your fingers!
Just got my extrusion back from the machine shop. Here’s the measurements. Take these with a grain of salt, all I have is a Harbor Freight digital caliper.
O.D. : 1.27″
I.D. : 1.01″
Wall : .13″
but keying the internals defeats the ease of disass/reassembly. I don’t want the I.D. being mostly round (i.e. egg shaped), I want it round- it makes it easier to make the bushings and such- plus, there’s more surface for everything to ride along, instead of bouncing around or wearing weird.
Any reason not to just reduce the bearing surfaces on the internals, such that they ride on the circular portions of the extrusion? I’m thinking the way an AR bolt carrier rides in the upper receiver. Heck, you might even consider keying the internals to a fixed key in the tube, which would increase rigidity and eliminate having to find radial alignment on re-assembly.
GsT
Well, I got the long extrusion done, the bore is now round. I haven’t picked it up yet, but when I do, I’ll get the new O.D. and I.D. If the specs are good, I’m going ahead with the project. Since the tooling has also been made to make the I.D. round, I might be able to have them correct more extrusions- I’ll ask when I pick up the extrusion. If the machinist says yes, the work will be a lot cheaper than what I paid, since I also paid to have the tool made. How much? Not sure- I’ll ask when I pick up the extrusion. One thing for sure, the machinist won’t want to re-bore the longer extrusions.
I’m also going to be working on a 1 piece grip/stock for the old style trigger. Here are the grips I’m starting out with:
If they don’t look familiar- this is the chassis the grips are from, that I’m kind of copying:
It’s the whiskey-3 chassis from KRG. It’s simple, ergonomic, and I feel it’s a very appropriate chassis to mimic. I’ll either be shooting from the prone via bipod, or from a tripod with a shooting saddle. The flat forend will go well with the shooting saddle. Of course, I wont have the butt stock, but from the grip forward my stock will be similar, if not more plain. It would mount to the AF rifle much like a maddog stock. I didn’t want to re-invent the wheel, and the way his stock mounts just works!! I’m not making these for sale anyway. My stock will be plastic though, molded in 1 piece. One thing I’m also doing is: the part of the extrusion that the trigger parts go into? That is going to run the length of the stock, and will only be machined down, just at the very end. That way, I’m hoping to get a little more weight, and rigidity from the extrusion. Maybe accuracy? Who knows. But that’s the plan. With the stock on, no one will be able to tell the difference anyway.
I just wanted to keep you guys updated- I still haven’t given up on these extrusions! 😈 😈 😈
EDIT: Looking back at the thread, I’ve really got to start checking my past work before posting… I’ve already posted about my stock… 😆 🙄
The machine shop took on the project!! Ill let you know how it turns out!! 😈
On a side note, I got my 62ci tank today.. holy crap this thing is big!! I mean, totally manageable, but geeze!
That might be an idea too… I wonder if Doug will chime in on that?? I actually like the idea…
Well , you said the problem was the frame was out of round, if you press a perfect bushing into the frame or bushings, problem solved.
pull barrel out the front , the rest out the back.
havent had my condor apart in 5 years , but i am thinking it could be done that way.
bushings stay, they would have to be pressed out
If I’m understanding you right (please, correct me if I’m wrong), the bushing would stay inside the frame? If that’s so, how would I get the rest of the guts out? I’m not understanding. Doug makes a custom 1pc bushing, but it works just like the factory bushings- it comes out w/the barrel, when you disass the rifle. What would the purpose of the “permanent bushing” be?
could you not press a correctly sized bushing into the frame , with correct hole for barrel. then drill thru frame and bushing for set screw for barrel.
bushing would stay in frame , you then just pull barrel instead of bushing and barrel. ????
My ideas are:
-M1913 rail, 20 MOA built in, the back of the scope rail is at the factory height (Doug- would you raise this a bit, to work better w/a 62ci tank?)
-Right side feed only
-Spin Loc
-Old style trigger w/o safety
-Side cocker
-1pc stock, similar to a maddog hunter, but looks more like a Whiskey-3 chassis. The stock would be polymer, and inlet would be deeper than the maddog stocks. Cut-outs where/if needed- i.e. load port/power wheel. This will be a one-off, not production! I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, least of all someone who makes an awesome product for us!! Idea:
-The bottom section where the trigger parts are, match the length of the fore end of the 1pc stock; the remainder of the bottom rail is then machined down like a on normal AF frame
-2 screws for the end cap (which is the mounting area for the LDC)
The whole point is to stiffen the frame as much as possible. Even the raw extrusion isn’t that heavy… It’s ugly for sure, but not heavy. I personally don’t mind the extra weight for a .257
Many thanks to Doug- it seems I won’t have to make a sleeve for the frame- the Machinist agrees- we should be able to get away with only having to bore the extrusion a little to make it round. Sooo, it seems the project is a go! Also- they will be able to do the machining for the spin lock collar w/only one side of the loading area open… SWEET!! Looks like my ideas are finally coming together!! 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈
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http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Section-DIY-materials-free-processing-Pcp-AirForce-Condor-Gunpower-Shadow-Gunpower-Storm-Aluminum-profile/1467616525.html
Only problem is, you don’t know if you’re going to have to machine the I.D. to correct the egg-shape or not until after you buy it. I’ve got a shorter length here that I haven’t used… PM me if you’re interested.