One-man shops

[targetshootr]

Seems like some of the best work comes out of small shops and one-man shops may be the best of all. It took a while but I finally found a one-man welding shop and another one-man machine shop who don't mind if I stay and help in order to piece together some guns I always wanted. One is a #5 I thought I'd show off. The grip frame is longer than Elmer's and fit my hands as well or maybe better than any gun I ever handled. Today it made small groups of 45 sized holes which made me think maybe I can still shoot despite aging fast. The front sight is the only thing that wasn't done locally. It's no big-name beauty queen but it also wasn't gone for months or years and the diy satisfaction is hard to quantify.

[Blackwater]

Nice work. sir! Ya' done GOOD!

[1_Ogre]

Nice to see that there are still some of us that don't mind jumping in and helping to what "WE" want and not what the mainstream processing plants "THINK" we want, Good on ya

[targetshootr]

Thanks guys. I like it so much I'm doing the same on a new model which I'll take a pic of. About ten years ago I took Hamilton Bowen's course but forgot most of it. Taking things apart hundreds of times is the best way to learn your way around, along with the Ruger shop manual.

[Shawlerbrook]

Very nice ! Nothing like shooting a gun you customized yourself.

[GL49]

How exactly did you extend the grip frame? That looks like something I need to do to mine.

[targetshootr]

How exactly did you extend the grip frame? That looks like something I need to do to mine.

It's actually three grip frames I pieced together. I made the same shape using a ss Bisley backstrap with a standard front strap. I could trace the grips if anyone would like to match it. The bottom rear has yet to be welded and it'll have a nice big hump on the hammer. The other day I was amazed watching the machinist flute the sight ramp and then turn his milling machine 8 degrees to ramp the blade. Then he turned the shoulder just enough to fit the frame. A trophy shop etches calibers on the barrels.



A better pic of the sight on the first gun.

[Walla2]

A little jealous here.

[targetshootr]

lol. This one will be 44 spl and more like Elmers. Been tinkering with it for several years. I believe I got the hammer and backstrap from VTI. If you compare Bowen's repro, you can see he must have used the same type of hammer which is slightly different than the original. To get close to the same shape I copied a page out of his book and enlarged it until the barrel was 5 1/2".

[Messy bear]

Nice guns and work! I noticed the trigger guard was cut and reshaped. We too have cut and welded grip frames to suit our hands over the years. Some have been lenghtened and reshaped. Trigger guards as well. Some times we move the trigger back to make more room for a gloved finger. The ruger parts are easily welded and we find the results well worth the effort. Keep up the good work! Thanks for the pix!

[targetshootr]

I'm fond of those too. Feel free to post pics. I'm trying to think of a way to use magnets on bisley grips instead of screws.

[izzyjoe]

Man that's nice, I love those custom wheel guns!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I am a one man shop, and have been for my entire Machine Shop Ownership Career.

I never have an Employee show up late or call in sick.

I don't have to pay Workman's Comp Taxes or fill out W9's.

I have never had an employee completely screw up a run of parts of crash one of my machines.

And I could go on and on, and on and on about the joys of NOT HAVING EMPLOYEES!

Been making a decent living this way for 30 years now. Probably won't change anytime soon.

Randy

[bigdog454]

Me too, Randy
BD

[targetshootr]

I had full time employees up until the '02 recession and then went back to doing things myself. Since then no tools or materials have disappeared. The previous 13 years I made more money of course and it was kind of nice not crawling under houses.

[Jake70]

Seems like some of the best work comes out of small shops and one-man shops may be the best of all. It took a while but I finally found a one-man welding shop and another one-man machine shop who don't mind if I stay and help in order to piece together some guns I always wanted. One is a #5 I thought I'd show off. The grip frame is longer than Elmer's and fit my hands as well or maybe better than any gun I ever handled. Today it made small groups of 45 sized holes which made me think maybe I can still shoot despite aging fast. The front sight is the only thing that wasn't done locally. It's no big-name beauty queen but it also wasn't gone for months or years and the diy satisfaction is hard to quantify.

Very nice! Well done sir!