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[HP_Lovecraft]

A month later, and lots and lots of failed attempts.

Honestly, I'm lazy, so my initial plan was just to get a 4" long 10/32 bolt that only has threads on the end. Chop off the top, give it a bend, and drill/tap the grip to take the 10/32. But I could not find anything smaller then 1/4" with that style, and I do NOT want any threads visible. I also didn't like this idea since the hole would have to be larger then 1/4" to acommodate the threads, and would look sloppy. SO I gave that up.

Plus I didn't want steel or aluminiun anyway. I kinda wanted brass to match the fittings. The selection of brass bolts was even worse. Nothing CLOSE to what I was looking for.

Then I bought some brass tubing. I planned to tap the inside for 10/32, then tape the grip a matching 10/32, countersink, and connect with a bolt. But I could not bend those friggen things without kinking the tubing. MY tube-bender was not the right sight. So I gave that up.

Then I bought some brass rods, simply because I could bend them without kinking. And they did bend just fine. SO then I carefully drilled into the ends, then tried to tap, but could never get the angle right, and kept screwing it up. (Drilling by hand will do that). So I gave that up.

I had some brass strips. They bent easy enough, but could not figure out an attractive way to attach to the grip. (Especially using only a drill and hacksaw).

SO I gave up and moved onto my Pump-Z project. I was looking to replace the pump rod, and had the idea to use and old brass rod from a FIREARM cleaning kit. It just so happens to be solid brass, and already tapped on the end. PERFECT for the trigger guard.

In fact, only took about 5 minutes. The threads were 8/32". Drilled for that, then countersunk to the size of the rod. Gave the rod a quick bend, chopped of the end, and this was it:



The picture is kinda murky, and the guard is not lined up perfect yet, but I'm pretty damn pleased. Feels great. Most double trigger guards are not big enough, so I went ahead and bend it enough for elephant man hands.

Here you can see its has some fine tuning. The round end obviously does not match up to the originally flat guard, but thats no big deal. My plan is to give the old "stub" of a guard a TINY drilled 1/4" hold. Just barely enough for the end of the guard to sit in, and look more natural.

[RatFink]

Nice work!

[B]

Hot tip HP fill tubing with salt, sugar ( 10X for small dia) or water and freeze it then bend to shape. ( remove contents when finished)

[HP_Lovecraft]

Originally Posted by B

Hot tip HP fill tubing with salt, sugar ( 10X for small dia) or water and freeze it then bend to shape. ( remove contents when finished)

I tried both the salt, and freezing method, but they didn't work.

In hindsight, the brass tubing I was using had paper-thin walls, designed probobly more for art projects and cosmetic trinkets, etc.

I've good luck in the past bending cooper-tubing. Probobly should have just used copper, but I wanted the colors to match.

[Target]

Nice work. Looks good.

Did they ever give you a hard time at EMR for not having a trigger guard?

I have two 'Mags that were cut for double triggers when to install the matching anno'd trigger shoes when it was in fashion and want to use them for Castle.

I have a guard that I can install on one, but need to correct the 2nd.
I can see it being a problem with an electro, but a mech is not as dangerous.

Dan

[HP_Lovecraft]

Originally Posted by Target

Did they ever give you a hard time at EMR for not having a trigger guard?

Yes and no.

Blue pointed it out when I was talking to him, and Craig (from Montneel).

In short, he said its not allowed. But since its a mech, with a vert tank, he would look the other way, as long as I did not draw attention to it. Which I didn't.

He did however bitch about my 15 year old barrel plug. When did barrel plugs get banned?

So just don't draw attention. The castle isn't a tournament. The refs are mostly there to make sure everyone has a safe, fun time.

nick