Ahhhwww .... It's a barrel clamp ....



Haha. Hey - how long do you think it takes to make this from bar stock ? How many tools?

I once told a writer ... Hey, I can give you a full article on the building of a barrel clamp! They said .... Don't think so .... Haha. It's one of the invisible parts. Nobody sees it unless they are a new builder. But - you wouldn't have much of a rifle without this part. In fact - you couldn't load it, couldn't hit a hub cap at 20 yards, would bend the barrel, egg out the barrel mount, and in this case - no ramrod hole.

One more of the parts that's just supposed to be there. Like the "Action" .... Just there to hold the stock! . Right Bill??? Haha.

More coming. Second part of the ramrod mount too.

Gary

I like it!

Scott

Gary, did you use your new powdered metal printer to make that? Oh wait, you said bar stock...

Hmm how long and how many tools...

My guess is about 5 to 6 hours to make the part. As for tools, possibly 8 to 10.

The part as you suggest is very critical.

Will be great to see another rifle complete.

Pedro

Hi Pedro,

Hope you are well.

Half the time and four times the tools. Thanks.

Today slipped into a Worm Hole after I posted this. I'll get back. I began "Prepping" ahead on things I needed to take care of. One thing led to six more. Etc.

Best,
Gary

Ok, let's be clear ....

I also think the action helps to protect the stock and reinforce it....and to provide a nice texture contrast to the WOOD!

LOL

the clamp looks very nice....for "soul-less" metal

I imagine that Gary COULD make one out of highly figured walnut. The fact that he doesn't is probably saying something...

Hi Sean,

What a can of worms would be opened "IF" I were to take the bait on this question! Ha!!

I'd get into things like ... 1). When I'm honoring an old obligation to make a gun I got 1,548 dollars for ......

Now ... on other rifles where I barely make a living for the effort spent on the action ... is there a thousand dollars in the numbers to buy an extra pretty stock blank .....

But, but, but .... the gun would be worth soooooooooo much more. Maybe even a thousand dollars more! Or eleven hundred ..... and everyone would be so much happier.

I'd have to eventually admit that is just offends my last artistic brain cell to accept the premise that we have to "dress up" the machine work which bridged the span from an idea to a half MOA target. Because most people will not have experience with working steel, they will not really be able to appreciate the fifty steps which takes 3" of bar stock and turns it into a Reservoir end cap holding several thousand psi, and contains a smooth acting intake valve. If experience could allow viewers of the completed action, to realize the absurd undervalue of the accomplished machine work ....

The example which comes to mind is this: Have you ever seen an Iconic Mercedes 300 SL, painted a purple metal flake? No ... 99% of them are Silver. Why? Because the attraction is the concept, the mechanical wonder, the engineering. No Crushed Velour upholstery. No chromed welded chain steering wheel.

You find a different set of items completing the package of a Hot Rod. Mainly, based upon my 42 years of Professional Craftsmanship, because the Iconic Hot Rod is a compilation of catalog items. Crate Motor, Brembo brakes, Dropped tube front axle, 23 T Bucket Body, etc. Wonderful fun creations ... but assembled from catalog items.

By the same token, MOST modern "Custom?" Rifles are assembled from Catalog items. You pick an Action, buy a factory barrel, install a commercial trigger block. The gun is "Assembled", not "Manufactured". And then, to kick the "Custom?" Rifle thru the Goal Posts, they set the action into as mind blowing a blank of wood as they can buy.

Can you see the difference? Try this ... for your Dior photo shoot, what would you pick for Charlize Theron? The magnificent elegant handcrafted Gold Gown .... or maybe that Egg Thing Lady GaGa wore .... Or ... the lovely Swan gown Bjork rocked at the 73rd Academy Awards .... Point being .... Ms. Theron didn't need any help ... the "engineering" was already in place.

When I add "more" to a stock ... I tend to go in the direction of Classic Deep Relief Carving. Something that has been used for thousands of years. Something which takes dozens of years of intense training to master to a point where it "adds" to the value of the work, rather then detracts.

I like beautiful wood. I just do not need beautiful wood to "help" the eye get past all the commercial parts which are being sold as "Custom" work. My actual "handmade - single authorship" custom work, speaks for itself.

Thanks for considering my thoughts. Those are the basics of many choices I make.
Gary

Whoa, didn't mean to open ANY cans of worms, what I was implying is that not everything needs to be carved and ornamented and made out of exotic materials to be functional and attractive.

I think we can all agree that there is a certain elegance to items that are made simply to do their job. Just the right shape, just enough of just the right material, nothing extra need be added and nothing can be subtracted without making them less...optimal. Minimalism for its own sake isn't always desirable, but minimalism combined with elegance of design and optimal function is a goal that is almost universally admired.

Hi Sean,

Interesting. Hey - no can of worms. You and I get a bit deeper into the threads. It's good. Takes time and thought. Makes the day interesting. No raw nerve hit here. However; funny ... we still are not on the same page. And, I find it so hard to imagine that the point I make is so hard to appreciate. But - it really seems to be - based upon the 42 years of "Barnes Enterprises". Let me try again.

I heard that GROAN in the back of the room .....

Sean ... my "take away" from what you responded was that .... "Minimalistic" art forms are universally appreciated. Something along the lines of "Not needing to gilt the Lilly". The machine, in it's essence. Purity of form. True .... but not the points I was making.

If there's an aggravation I've lived with throughout my career, it's this: I "DO" go above and beyond .... but most of it is overlooked as just "the action", or "the component parts" of the gun. And, during my Custom Knifemaking Career - there was precious little difference between the maker who ordered his parts rough cut, had them commercial heat treated, hired an engraver, etc., and/or the Craftsman who did absolutely each and every step of the project himself .... what we called "Sole Authorship". With Custom Air Guns, I thought the vast, vast, vast number of segments of the craft would be all the more obvious. Down to the point of designing the projectile, making the Cherry Cutter, making the casting mold, making the sizing die, etc.

I honestly think that the typical Custom Air Gun Seminar could began with a bare table. Upon the table, would be laid out a commercial production Air Gun Action, and beside that; would be laid out a Custom Built Barnes Air Gun Action ..... during this time, the crowd would be chatting, stirring creamer into their coffee cups, and choosing donuts. At this point, the Moderator would tap the mic, and say .... "Ladies and Gentlemen ... NOW we are ready to begin!". To which the onlookers would begin viewing stock blank choices, optional cocking stud knobs, custom trigger guards, scope mounts, and all manner of the real items which define a CUSTOM Air Rifle.

I suspect you see, but allow me to be boarish. Each and every part of my Air Gun Action begins with a "chunk" of something. There is a full Apprenticeship Program just in making the barrel, alone. The collection of parts in my functional Air Gun Action is not "Minimalism" .... it's "Maximum-alism". But the only thing that really draws the crowd, is a darned piece of wood! Of course, I've fussed about it since day one. But - it's because the obvious just seems to blend into the wallpaper. There's probably 65 steps in making the firing valve. But - well ... "ya had to have one ... right?" .... but ... LOOK at that WOOD!!! .... "Attention, attention ... will somebody please get Bill a glass of water .... "

So; back to my examples above. The Mercedes 300 SL, the Porsche 356 C, the Jaguar XKE .... they do not want murals of skulls (to go to an extreme). It's not Minimalism, that makes each a Classic among Classics. It's the fact that the manufacturer went to such lengths to build them to exacting detail and quality.

I appreciate having a couple of exchanges with you Sean. I know you realize this stuff. I marvel and lament, at the same time. OK ... 99/100 readers will say they get it, got it decades ago. And, it comes up when pressed .... well ... sure .... all of that is what we "Just Expect" ...... ......... but ............ look at that WOOD!!!!! Probably most of the reason for my Migraines



Gary

I understand completely what it take's to make this from bar stock. Great work Gary.

Thanks Don,

Exactly.

LOOK at that wood....brings up a point.

Have you noticed that the makers of some of the fanciest, most expensive mechanical watches have gone to a double crystal system, where the back of the watch is a piece of transparent sapphire? That way the owner can see all the intricate mechanical systems that make the whole thing work. The level of complication, the precision, the incredibly tiny size of the parts involved literally has to be seen to be believed. Accordingly, they go to considerable trouble to makes sure that you CAN see it, despite the fact that it makes the watch thicker, heavier, less water resistant, and more easily damaged.

Unfortunately, (for reasons you've covered earlier) it's not in your best interest to show the internal parts of your airguns. All the fine machining, all the clever design work, it's all absolutely necessary, yet your customers can't see any of it. Yes, we know it's there. No, the rifles wouldn't shoot anywhere close to the way they do without it all working together just right, but...it's invisible. Fancy engraving and beautiful wood grain, yup, full credit for your workmanship. Decades of experience leading to evolutionary improvement and constant fine tuning in the lock-work internals...not so much.

Kinda leaves you stuck between a rock and a hard place that way, but it does help explain what draws peoples attention and what gets overlooked.