Building concept.....Waiting for the turn

[54ball]

A few years back a fellow got rather upset when he sent a rifle to sell to Track of the Wolf.
The appraiser stated...

This rifle reeks of impatience.

The builder did not wait for the turn.

Probably the greatest mistake a new builder can make is impatience thus not waiting on the turn.
I’ll give an example of the “turn”. It’s not just rifles but their parts too.
Same, same but different.

I just went through several days of filing a cheap casting. That buttplate looked like it was cast in a litter box. It was cheap but it was Rough! My goodness, it was rough as a cob.
It was a generic kind of sort of based upon n a Lancaster. It had no “wedding band” at the heel extension.
I decided to file that feature in.
Big files
Little files
Tiny files
Coping saw
Hack saw
Then there was the filing
Filing
Filing
Filing
It looked like hammered poo poo.
More filing
Suddenly it started to look better.
It started to turn.
A decent wedding band started to appear.
It’s going to work.
After the wedding band it’s time to bring the flats down to match.
The junk part is now a decent piece.
I was patient and waited on the turn. There was a time, the issue was in doubt.
Now I’m putting it on the rifle and that has been most of the day. Just now. The BP install is starting to turn.

Wait for the “turn”.

 

[Brokennock]

A few years back a fellow got rather upset when he sent a rifle to sell to Track of the Wolf.
The appraiser stated...

This rifle reeks of impatience.

The builder did not wait for the turn.

Probably the greatest mistake a new builder can make is impatience thus not waiting on the turn.
I’ll give an example of the “turn”. It’s not just rifles but their parts too.
Same, same but different.

I just went through several days of filing a cheap casting. That buttplate looked like it was cast in a litter box. It was cheap but it was Rough! My goodness, it was rough as a cob.
It was a generic kind of sort of based upon n a Lancaster. It had no “wedding band” at the heel extension.
I decided to file that feature in.
Big files
Little files
Tiny files
Coping saw
Hack saw
Then there was the filing
Filing
Filing
Filing
It looked like hammered poo poo.
More filing
Suddenly it started to look better.
It started to turn.
A decent wedding band started to appear.
It’s going to work.
After the wedding band it’s time to bring the flats down to match.
The junk part is now a decent piece.
I was patient and waited on the turn. There was a time, the issue was in doubt.
Now I’m putting it on the rifle and that has been most of the day. Just now. The BP install is starting to turn.

Wait for the “turn”.

Pics?
Before and after?

 

[GriscomRun]

How right you are 54.

 

[IanH]

Sometimes that turn starts to happen right about the time I need to shut down and go to bed, but I stay up to follow it through to a stable point where I know I can pick it up again later. Also, don't work on anything you're not in the mood for at the moment.

 

[54ball]

Pics?
Before and after?

I’m still fitting it to the stock. It’s close. It’s just stuck on it for the picture.
Of course final clean up will be after it’s fitted and the stock shaped.

 

[54ball]

This after the band was filed in before the flats were brought down.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Sand cast parts suck compared to investment cast. I have a sand cast trigger guard that I've been pushing aside for a few weeks waiting for right frame of mind to arrive.

 

[1950DAVE]

And you took all them perty gold nuggets off that buttplate.

 

[IanH]

A 40-grit whizz wheel does have its place.

 

[Brokennock]

This after the band was filed in before the flats were brought down.
View attachment 258089
View attachment 258088

Thanks. An exercise in patience to be sure.
I worked briefly at a polishing machine in a brass shop just after high-school. We made brass door handles for the Dept of Corrections...
Small family owned shop, maybe 6 of us. There was a lady there who had been there for decades that could take a rough handle and have it finished perfectly with just a few strokes against the belt in what seemed like no time. I struggled to get even one done quickly enough without messing it up or digging into the wheel that supported the belt.
Experience saves time.
The original builders of these guns had the experience, as apprentices they started young working the basic skills. Also, they weren't being pulled in multiple directions by another job and other interests, what else did they have to do? I think some of our impatience is wanting to go use and enjoy the product of our labor for its intended purpose as well as knowing we have a meal to fox, laundry to do, kids to pick up from school, work to go to the next morning (or later that afternoon), a lawn to mow, etc, etc.

We miss out on a lot when we rush through something, "just to get it done," as well as end up with disappointing results that "reek of impatience."

 

[54ball]

 

[54ball]

I posting off my phone so that’s why posted some pics with no comment. I have not quite mastered the phone thing.

I’m proud of that trigger guard.
The buttplate....Echhh.
It’s now usable but no it’s no masterpiece. I think it’s going to work out.

 

[Old Oak]

I think the turn can apply in multiple disciplines. A few years ago, I also received the dreaded "reeks of impatience" on some of my paintings I sent in for evaluation from the Society of Animal Artists. After much reflection, I spent 400+ hours on my next painting, forcing myself to slow down and consider how I treated every line, shape and transition. I must say it was the most valuable lesson I have recently learned because it taught me to see things that I had never seen before and opened up a whole new world of observation and understanding.

 

[longcruise]

I'm working on a project now that I'm really not liking and just want to get it. I've missed some "turns" and struggling not to miss any more. Patience is an off and on virtue with me!

 

[hawkeye2]

Sand cast, it looks more like it was cast in crushed rock. You have far more patience than I. Your finished pieces look great.

 

[sportster73hp]

Building a Rifle Shop kit right now. Don’t know if I am procrastinating or waiting for “ the turn” . I do know the idea of building the lock from castings is intimidating. I also know i have learned more on how a Baker carbine is supposed to look by stretching this build out.

 

[54ball]

Above I’m testing the rifle to see how it shoulders.
It’s fine.
After that, I did the final fit.

Then.....
I blew it. I blew the turn.
I drilled the BP off center....
The hole in the stock was too far back.
I broke a bit off in the stock. (Got it out)

Now I have to fix all this.
Last night before I touched the drill....
A voice said....you need to go to bed and do this tomorrow. You need to do this fresh.
I should have went to bed.
Now I have to fix it.
Reeking of impatience.... yep.
I knew better.

 

[Brokennock]

View attachment 258859

Above I’m testing the rifle to see how it shoulders.
It’s fine.
After that, I did the final fit.

Then.....
I blew it. I blew the turn.
I drilled the BP off center....
The hole in the stock was too far back.
I broke a bit off in the stock. (Got it out)

Now I have to fix all this.
Last night before I touched the drill....
A voice said....you need to go to bed and do this tomorrow. You need to do this fresh.
I should have went to bed.
Now I have to fix it.
Reeking of impatience.... yep.
I knew better.

It takes a lot to invite all of us on this ride with you and have to share your own mistakes. Especially when they are the result of not following the point of the main lesson.
But, by doing so, your pain will.set an example and may help others avoid that same suffering.
Thank you.

 

[rich pierce]

I’m interested in what’s being shared but everyone is wired differently. If waiting for the turn means taking time to look and evaluate as the build progresses, I get it. If it means fighting impatience, I get that too. If it’s something else, I’m lost. It’s not a common phrase.

 

[Cruzatte]

From a musician's perspective, (mine) there's a great deal of cross-over between gun building and the practice of music. It can take hours and hours of practice to be able to play a musical selection. And ultimately, fatigue will set in. Further practice isn't going to get our musician anywhere. Best just to hang it up for a while...maybe an hour, maybe until tomorrow. This is especially true for singers. The voice and the body tire, Concentration flags.

I know the same feeling from building two guns. Concentration flags, Frustration sets in. That's when mistakes happen. It's also possible that's when injuries with sharp tools are likely to occur. Time to hang it up, go for a walk, make a ham sandwich, put the tools down and do something else. The turn might come when our hypothetical musician or gun builder is refreshed.