Odds and ends

[Vaino]

Don't really know where "odds and ends" came from but it surely does describe my LR building stage just prior to the final finishing. After "going over" my current LR build, a list was compiled of all the "have to do things" and as usual, the things on the list are way too many, but oh so necessary, to me anyways. At this stage of the LR build, it's quite easy to become impatient but this urge should be resisted unless one wants to produce a LR w/ "impatience" written all over it, but this is purely my opinion. Perhaps I'm too fussy caused by my tool and die making background which instilled a mindset that whatever is being built, should be as perfect as is possible. I'm intrigued as to how the pros treat this "stage" or if they even have this "stage" in their procedure because from what I've seen, their MLers are excellent so they must have a "trick" that isn't common knowledge and which enables them to make a living at a very difficult business. Perhaps this is being written in protest to my "own impatience" caused by past training, but the "quest for perfection" still dominates and there's little I can do about it. Of course "perfection" is open to interpretation. By now you've probably recognized that this is, in reality, a "low volume rant".....Fred

 

[Lonstar]

I am no pro by any stretch but Understand where you are coming from. Started my LR build in October and not near far enough along. I started a list but quit. It was too overwhelming. I thought I was farther along that what I am. The pros got one up on us. I would call it experience. They do not have to think much on the little things that I fret over getting right. The pros have another advantage. They know there is no such thing as a perfect gun. They understand that mistakes will be made. The biggest advantage is they know how to fix them. Building a LR is the most frustrating, exasperating, demeaning and humbling experience a craftsman can undertake. It is also the most rewarding once all is done and you see that the little mistakes are only noticeable to you. Have fun with it. It’s hard to do when you are seeking the impossible perfection not achievable by man. How about that for advice from someone that is having the same rant and raving you are having? Blind leading the blind. :rotf:

 

I am sure anyone you call a pro had the same experiences you are haveing when they did their first build. I also bet they learned alot from their mistakes and remembered them in their next build.
Toad Hall Rifleshop, which states, "a person who assembles a gun with store-bought components is a "gun-stocker". Conversely, the person who makes lock, stock and barrel and all the little stuff in between is a "gun-smith".
IMHO a gunsmith takes much more time as an apprenticeship and climbing the ladder up to journeyman to master, than a parts fitter /gun stocker.
In other words, makeing mistakes is how you learn. If you think you can make a perfect piece, I would think you are looking way beyond your realm.
So enjoy doing what you are doing and take it slow if need be and try your best is all anyone can ask of themself.

 

[JOHN ZUREKI]

Fred,from the pictures of the rifles you have built and posted I never noticed that you skipped any " odds and ends" before. They all looked pretty special to me. Being retired now, I am learning to slow down and take care of those "odds and ends".