Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2010 08:17PM by barnespneumatic.

WOW. That's cool, err, beautiful, err. Um, ya. WOW

It's now finished ... that was the previous stage.

Thanks.

Gary

If that engraving was any deeper, you'd be likely to trip over it when handling the rifle!

Nice work.

Thanks Sean,

Just for clarity, this technique would be termed as "relief carving". It's accomplished with rotary tools. When I engrave, it's with a single point steel chisel. There are many different styles. In this one, the background material is removed to a good depth. In others, the background is simply ornamented by stamping designs on it (small circles or crosshatch is typical).

In this project, I added depth to the leaves and texture to the vines, to make a more masculine design. For even higher contrast, the background and shadows could be colored. This has a nice richness. It will play against the aluminum bronze recvr.. The main tube is stainless steel, and the 62 barrel is blued.

Gary

Very beautiful work, Gary!

That is just gorgeous work. We need some more smilies here that substitute for superlatives! The gun is going to be another masterpiece for sure.

Might shoot nice too! haha.

Gary

Yeah it's going to be a shooter for sure! With the proven performance of the .62 barrel made immediately before this one, the slugs that worked so well and the power level of the Yukon, there's no doubt that this gun is going to be awesome. I can't wait to get her blasting away at things that blow up or fall fast. I'll bet the videos will be great.

That's a "wow!' alright, the detail is astounding! Do I get the impression this gun has your name on it Jerry?

Hi Neil,

That's one of Jerry's ledger spots - yes.

Here's a better pic of the detail. I took these last evening, and picked the wrong one for the finished show. You will note the detail applied after the first few rounds (first pics). The first pics are of a style that can stand alone - and look great. This degree of detail moves the whole thing along a few more levels. Hopefully it gives some idea as to why projects take so long to complete, and perhaps some will appreciate doing this work while you are stuffed with pain pills and dealing with various life issues. I know you are aware of those.

Thanks for your post. It's nice to communicate with one of the folks who understands, appreciates, enjoys the hobby, shares the hobby, and helps to create the atmosphere I've tried to build here.

God Bless,
Gary

Gary,

The carving is so deep there are shadows in there! It's still going to hold the pressure right?

No - you can't SHOOT it Jerry! It's to hang on the wall.

ssszzccchhheeeeesh!

Sort of like the Franklin Mint version, ya know.

Yes Neil, that's my baby being "birthed" before your eyes. I'm getting the feeling like I need to stand by the mailbox and wait for my new X-Ray glasses! Is that magnificent carving or what?

This gun will, like the other Yukons deliver huge power with great accuracy. I'm all giddy about it mostly because I know how well this is going to work. It will shoot great (and I'll post that here) but it will also be a spectacular example of art combined with function. How can one not be excited at that?

Among the other things I did today .... I was also slaving away on your rifle ...





Gary

Yeah!!!! I mean, "Don't over do it! "

In case it wasn't obvious, and it's not: the carved piece above is the "tower" for my Yukon. If you look closely at the first couple pictures you will see the holes that go through it for the airtube and breech. Those are 1.25" holes or thereabouts, this is not a small bit! It's about 4" by 1.25" and the carving is there as a result of the "artistic license" I gave Gary when/after I ordered the gun. I seem to recall saying something like "make it purple and green if you want, I'm sure it will come out great." I had ordered the carving for the trigger guard/grip area but in discussions I made it clear that any changes or improvements to the gun were at Gary's discretion. Mostly, that's a result of my realization that I don't know squat about building airguns nor do I have an artistic "mind's eye." I know art when I see it but I can't see it before it exists. Artists, like Gary can.

A lot of folks seem to think that any change from the "catalog" item they ordered will be some kind of short cut. I realized that letting Gary make the gun as an evolution of what I ordered would get me more gun than I bought and also bring out the innovation that Gary has running through his head all the time. I'm going to consider this a win-win!

This Yukon will not have pedestal mounts for the scope bases as Gary figured out a way to cut the weaver mounts into the aluminum bronze reciever. That's good as there are 2 less moveable parts to align and secure and the scope will be mounted closer to the barrel. This change eliminated some ornamental turning but apparently inspired some fantastic carving!

Other changes to the ordered gun include the caliber and the valve. Now, I never had much idea about the valve anyhow but when Gary suggested going to the .62 vice the .58 barrel, I was all for it. I did have the advantage of having shot the first .62 rifled gun and seeing it hard to miss with at 100 yards but even if I had not had the firsthand experience, I would have trusted the suggestion.

The fact is, Gary knows how to build airguns that are better than the last one and also masterworks of art and function. I'd be a numbskull to demand a carbon copy of the first or last Yukon built! They are great guns no doubt about it! But when the guy who designed and built those guns says he has another idea, who's going to suggest the last idea was the last great one?

just a plain stick would be plenty , nothing to detract from the carving , thats some of , infact id go as far as to say , THE nicest work ive seen you turn out gary , and i dont say that lightly , perfect ,
t

oh gary ,,,,, nuf said

That is simply gorgeous!! Can't wait to see the rest of the gun. The Yukon is one of my most favorite. Congrats Jerry! I know you can hardly sleep at night with the anticipation he..he..

Gary,

That is going to be stunning piece.

Lon

Now I know Jerry is just kidding. He is going to wrap this piece in cottonwool when he gets it, for sure. Gotta preserve that art.
So I may have to plan a covert mission to liberate it

Looks like I need to beef up security around here! Why don't you just send me the plane ticket and I'll pop over for a hunt? I think the Yukon ought to be good for one shot kills on those possums!

Better take some Tech Support Jerry.

Ya might decide to adjust that trigger pull ... or somethin' ...

Point out deer ...

Set out some targets ...

Build a snowman??? ...

Ya just never KNOW!! And you need me! Don't leave home without it ... "Airgunsmith" - check

Gary

Yup, how could I forget tech support! Thank goodness you reminded me!

Neil, I'll be needing two tickets for me and my tech support to come hunt. You'll be allowed an appropriate number of shots with the Yukon of course...

OK guys, I'm getting those tickets organised, they should be ready "when the ship comes in" ( as my mother used to tell me when I asked for something expensive). And I'll clear out the spare room too (to store the guns in of course, tent on the front lawn for you guys).
Now that should be worth half a dozen shots...?
Cheers
Neil
PS Can't wait to see the finished product!

Posted here with permission:


It's hard to comment on something like this. I'm just delighted with the progress and how this is all turning out. That carving looks to me to be an order of magnitude (maybe 2) more intricate than what I was expecting. This is going to be one fine gun.

Don't worry though, it will get LOTs of lead and not be locked away!

Gary, That's a great looking piece of art. I'm glad it's going to be used and cherished by a real "gets it " guy like Jerry. I agree 100% with Jerry. Why commission a piece of art and then tell the artist what it's supposed to look like? Jerry, you'll be getting a true original when Gary decides that it's done.

Thanks for the peek,

Kent

More:
This one with the exposure adjusted for fun...


Close-up:

Are you SURE it's a good idea to keep posting these pics? The drool marks are gonna be hard to buff out if you're not careful!

AWESOME.

Welcome aboard florida! You should see the pieces all together now that they're done being carved!

WOW !, i need some more paper towels to clean up the drool off my keyboard.

Gary, you Still Continue to AMAZE!

Rick

Thank you very much.

You need to go to the other thread ... what was it .... More Yukon Parts ... something like that, for the completed pics.



Gary

No .... it's called "NEW CARVINGS - YUKON 62" [www.airgunrendezvous.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2010 10:44PM by barnespneumatic.

Jerry:

That is going to be one fine airgun when Gary is finished. The relief carving on the metal alone is breathtaking. I can only imagine the fine piece of carved wood that will wrap it all up.

Karl

Carved wood?!? Why clutter up such nice metalwork with a bunch of firewood? I'm sure Jerry will be happy with some old 2x4 from Home Despot as a handle for that thing.

We were actually talking last evening about that. I recommended Spruce. Planned to get a couple of Platinum rings from a pawn shop, grind then up ... rub the dust into the wood grain (ya know Infinity brags about rubbing silver dust into the woodgrain trim ... figured we could do better). Then, finally, spray the whole thing flat black.

He was laughing too hard to comment. I took that as a yes.

Gary

Ah yes...the "tactical" look finally overtakes Barnes Pneumatic. I guess it was inevitable, given Jerry's high-speed-low-drag background.

Why don't you just slap it into an Uncle Mikes plastic 10-22 stock and just "dip" the whole thing in Realtree Camouflage like all those shotguns I see in the catalogs? Save you a lot of work compared to all that work carving vines and oak leaves and such.

Really now, Jerry ought to feel downright guilty making you carve all that camouflage directly into the metal bits when you could just spraypaint it with some olive drab or something. For shame!

You know, this gun is going to look fantastic no matter what the stock is! I mean, look at that carving. A bed liner stock with platinum dust under the paint would still look good as there is a clear focal point to view the art.

Personally, I don't think the gun needs any carving on the wood at all or special grain. Any bit of wood besides knotty pine will look good. Some guns need a zebra grain super stock to look special but this one will stand out because the metal bits are all precise and carved with artistry. The function of the gun is what will make it special though. I'm familiar with the bits on the inside and that's where the really neat stuff lies!

I can't wait to get out and shoot this monster. I've been lucky enough to see all the little bits made and be told what the design changes and criteria are. It's one thing to order a gun off a menu but to know everything in it and why it has been changed or modified or kept the same is really neat. Shooting the gun for the first time will be a pleasure but it has also been a lot of fun to talk about and see it come together from raw materials.

I keep checking the gun sites because I want 2 scope set-ups for this one. I've got the NF 5.5 x 22 scope in hand for the long range at the range shooting but I also want to get a lighter low magnification set-up for hunting. I've looked at everything from holographic sights to 1x4 variables to 4x simmons (a real contender) but have not decided yet. My criteria is low weight, short range parallax setting, picattiny mounts, and not breaking the bank. With the picatinny mounts, I ought to be able to just snap one scope off and the other on without too much change in preset zeros.

Based upon your criteria, I'd suggest my Aluminum tape and foil Ghost sights. Parallax free - quick target acquisition. Wouldn't break the bank unless you wanted me to SIGN THEM ....

Glad you are excited about the gun. Nice try ... but I'm still not working on it between 2 and 6 am, as you suggested ....



Gary

I'd never suggest between 2 and 6 AM as I know that's when you get your best ideas!

Having just noticed how broke I am, I'm warming up to unsigned foil and tape sights though... Anyone want to buy a kid? I've got two minors left that know how to cast slugs!