I might combine the threads later. But, I post a new thread here so folks don't just think there's a new comment - but not realize there are new pics of the finished carving.

These pics are of the wood in the raw state. I'll start the finishing process now.









THAT, was a lot of work. Now, to the oil finishes.

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2009 09:56PM by barnespneumatic.

What more can one say.


Rick

Thank you Rick. I appreciate it very much.

Gary

From now on I shall think of you as either 'The Mahogany Man' or perhaps 'Lumber Lung' !!

Superb work Sir. How many hours in total did it take?

If I can choose ... I think "Mahogany Man" is quite a bit better than "Lumber Lung".

I don't keep track of the time. Too depressing. Can't quit until it's finished, so it's of no help to watch the clock.

Glad you like it.

Gary

Gary
Here is my Ruger 10/22 which has a Hand Carved stock and a Hand Rubbed Boiled Linseed Oil Finish. (took me 3mths of on & off rubbing to get that). It's now 23 yrs old!. it was done while on T/A in Raleigh NC. Wish i had kept a pic of Stock in Orig Form.( Was Butt Ugly )

Rick

There ya go Rick! That's a nice soft glow to the wood. Good job.

And ... HEY!! Is that a SIMMONS scope???? I love them. Honest. Jim rags me to no end about mine ... but he pays about $150 EXTRA to have Leupold put the mil-dot in their scopes that they forgot when they built them. That's on top of the million dollars or so for the scope! haha. I'm a cheap glass man. Simmons makes a fine product.

Gary

Heheh . . . I had to laugh when my aunt pulled out a little pair of Simmons binoculars to take to the Steelers game last weekend.

I know . . . I'm an optics snob. I think more and more it's because I CAN tell the difference between the pictures a $200 camera takes and a $2000 camera takes. The difference is more subtle between a $200 scope and a $2000 scope, but it's still there.

And no, I don't have a $2000 scope. Although, if I were to spend a lot, I'd get this one (72mm objective!). I used to work for an ex-Seal who taught his local SWAT part-time and he swears by the big Zeiss glass.

-- Jim

Well Shucks Jim ....

That's right. Folks like me can hardly tell the difference between a $2000 camera, and an Etch-a-Sketch.

But ... I just keep shooting those little tiny groups with cheap glass ... and don't know no better. Or is that ... don't no-no better? Is that a double negative?

hehe

Hey Jim, don't let Gary get you down on those fancy scopes. Pretty soon we'll learn how to shoot like he does and then the scope advantage will kick in! We just need to develop some talent. As soon as we learn to shoot well, he'll be begging for a decent scope to keep pace!

I'm certain that huge 72mm objective scope gathers light like nobodys' business but I've got to say that I'm delighted with the performance of my new 10-50x60 Nikko Sterling. It only has a 60mm objective but I swear at 10-20x it looks brighter through the scope than it does just looking at the target! Even at 30x shooting at dusk is no problem. I've compared the picture through the scope with my Leapers and Bushnell scopes back to back at the same magnification and the big Nikko wins hands down.

I even waited a while to let the "new purchase" bias wear out and the scope still looks so much better than anything else I own it must be better! Since 60mm isn't a huge increase over 56mm like several other scopes I have, it must be that the glass is just better.

I'll have to figure out if I can capture the difference in pictures and post it here.

I mounted the Nikko on the Prairie III because it deserved a decent scope. The previous Chinese glass scope looked OK until the slightest bit of light reflected back or shone into the scope. Then, it fogged up horribly, worse than Leapers! Too bad because the internal level was a great feature. I miss the lighted reticle on only rare occasions but the fine cross hairs on the new scope make up for it in spades.

Shhhhhhh Jerry . . . we don't wanna give Gary a "cheap scope" complex! Heheheh!

I've read good things about the big Nikko sidewheelers. I have a Leupold 6-24x with a mil-dot waiting in Gary's shop to be mounted on the Alpine. It was pricey, but I love the little Leupold 3-9x I have on the Scout and this is basically a target version of that with even better glass. And even Gary likes the old Japanese Tasco Custom Shop spyglass-on-a-rifle target scopes.

I will say this: the Simmons 4x shotgun scopes get the job done for anything but groups beyond 50 yards, and they have unbelievable eye relief.

-- Jim

Gary
Yupper it's a Simmons 4-12X44. What more does one need for a 22!
and Hey, can ya get me one of those fancy cameras too?
Jim, i'm in with everyone else here if ya need a tester for some Expensive glass,
Course would probably help if i got my eye glasses first.

Sure can Hornblower.

Sony DSC-W120 .... $129.00 At BJs warehouse club. List of $169.00 Sounds like alot more, doesn't it?



Gary

A couple things:

For those of you looking around for cameras (cheap point-n-shoot thru expensive), note that Circuit City just last Friday announced they're going out of business and are shutting down all of their 500+ stores. We stopped by yesterday and right now their cameras are all 10% off -- you can still do a lot better online if you know what you want. Wait a few more weeks and it'll drop to 20-30%.

Also -- while I applaud the advances now available in point-n-shoots, you still can't cheat the physics. There's no electronic substitute for a mechanical shutter, a high-quality glass lens with a mechanical iris / aperture, and a honkin' big (that's a technical term) image sensor! E.g. Gary, Kelly's Nikon DSLR (D40?) is the best thing going right now in terms of the quality of image you get for money spent, anywhere. It's, perhaps, the Simmons of DSLRs. You have to spend a lot more money (at least double) before you see a significant improvement in the quality of images.

Just my .02 . . .

-- Jim

Hi Jim,

I'm aware of how good Nikon cameras are. That's why I bought my wife a $750 Nikon for Christmas last year (07). She loves photography, so I bought her the best I could afford.

But ... your technical term "honkin' big" is exactly why I bought another Sony for me. If you have a camera in your pocket, you get the picture. If you didn't lug along your lunch box sized camera with the honkin' big image sensor ... ... no pic. Boy ... it would have been a good quality pic though. hehe.

Jim, I'm just pullin' your leg. You buy all the quality products you want. I just have to spread my peanut butter alittle more thinly over the bread. Same reason I don't have any tool in my shop that a professional "machinist" would be caught dead using. Because ... I don't need just one
trophy Bridgeport mill. For the same money, I need two mills, five bandsaws, two lathes, two surface grinders, and a dozen calipers.

Some purposes are met by lesser tools, in the hands of a good craftsman. However; I think it would be great if everybody would get together and buy me a proper shop, filled with proper name brand machine tools! Wow. There are some FINE German lathes .... now where's that catalog ....



Gary

Hey -- we're all spreading our peanut butter a little thinner these days. I wish my business were immune to the current economic climate, but unfortunately that's not the case.

Oh yeah -- those "physics" take up physical space (and weight!) too. I've lugged my Nikon all over Neil's country, and to the game last weekend, and even up Mt. Rainier, but there's something to be said for point-n-shoot. "Real" lenses and camera bodies are heavy. I can't talk my wife into taking my Nikon with her overseas tomorrow -- she's taking her little point-n-shoot for the very reason you cite.

Ironically (for what I do as a profession), I buy commodity computer stuff and electronics whenever possible now (usually at Newegg -- I find they usually have the best prices available anywhere and ship very quickly). Part of the reason for this is that the "state of the art" is advancing so quickly that I'm virtually guaranteed that whatever I buy will be obsolete in a year. I'm talking hard drives, flat panels, memory, you name it. E.g., I just got an Acer 22" flat panel (true 1080p HD, with an HDMI input for a BluRay player or HD tuner) for $189. That's just astounding to me. And when you're staring at thousands of images all day that someone is paying for, it makes a huge difference, especially compared to my four year old flat panels which are smaller and were three times the price.

However -- if someone wants to pony up and buy me a 24" Apple Cinema Display for $900, I'll be happy to live the high life.

-- Jim



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2009 06:28PM by Jim.

Jim,

You could get one and we could test it for you. I sure Gary would be willing to put it through some tests to see how it stacks up agains the normal scopes, but it might a while. I'm sure Jerry would also be willing to help and I know I can assist also. Just let us know when.

Keith

That's right! I need to do a little comparison work anyhow, might as well add one more quality scope to the mix!

Next time we're out, I want to take a pic of that thing with my Etch-a-Sketch. I bought a new one today ... nice little Sony Cyber-shot that gets lost in the pocket. My last one was doing great, til something caught and broke the shutter button/zoom lever. Bummer But ... they are now better and stronger ... AND ... get THIS!! When you review the pics you're taken, it will run a slide show ... morph from slide to slide ... AND ... it will play you background music while it does so!! I can't STAND it.

And, it was about 25% the price of my first Sony Cybershot ... ten years ago. Comodity manufacturing. Let's you save your money for Barnes guns. hehe.

Oh ... it also has a "smile shutter" setting. I swear, it does. You turn to that, and a small orange box finds and tracks the subject's face. When the subject smiles, the shutter trips ... without you doing a thing! It's the Matrix Dude. And, you can set a threshold scale, as to how much of a smile will trip the shutter. AND ... if there's two subjects in the scene, you can set it to take priority from the CHILD in the scene.

Now ... get this ... I've completely made friends with the thing ... and never read a word of the manual. It's been completely intuative. I can't STAND it.

Super Steady Shot ... nearly takes pic in the dark without flash ... and takes a macro pix so close you have to be careful not to scratch the lens on the subject!

Good choice Gary!

oh no ,,,, do i need an update , both my eyes , and my ears are still the mk1 annalog versions ,,, seem to be ok though ,,,