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The Path

I Got It Wrong

Not unusual for me but I don’t like it. I wasted a lot of time trying to be a minimum Christian. I wanted to be good enough to be accepted at church but bad enough that the fun people would like me too. It didn’t work and I failed with both. Then I kept waiting for a blinding flash of light and voice of the Almighty to tell me what to do. I thought that to become a Christian I would have to go through something Like the Apostle Paul when God struck him blind to get his attention. I figured the bigger the sin the bigger the event to change. I was wrong!
When I talked with many of my favorite Christians I heard a familiar theme repeated over and over. They changed their lives by doing one small step of obedience after another. Their lives didn’t change in a big bang but more like a long fizzle. Now I realize that following Jesus is what changes you. You don’t have to do anything spectacular to start, just follow.

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“But that’s not why I bought it”

You probably bought a bore sighter when you first decided to start working on guns so you could sight in a rifle without shooting it at the range. You might have decided that it wasn’t worth what you paid for it when you fired that bore sighted rifle for the first time. If you were lucky or had a big target you might have been on the paper but certainly bore sighting isn’t sighting in.

Even though the bore sighter or collimator won’t sight in your rifle it is still a big help and an ammo saver. I always bore sight first and then fire a quick shot at 25 yards to make sure I don’t waste time getting on target. When I say quick shot I mean just an offhand shot. It won’t be perfect and it doesn’t have to be. Just remember where the crosshairs were on the target and make sure your shot is where you expect it. Remember if the scope is high above the bore the bullet strike will be low at 25 yards. As a matter of fact if you use a good ballistic program you can find out where your rifle will strike at 25 or 100 yards when it is sighted in at any distant yardage. This can be a real plus when you are headed to a 600 yard match and you have a new scope on your rifle. My 308 match rifle will strike 4.5 inches high at 25 yards when it is zeroed for 600 yard shooting.

Your bore sighter will also be used after you have finished firing  and have a good zero at a specific range. Say you just shot at 900 yards, it only takes a few seconds to record the bore sighter setting so next time you can confirm that you really have the rifle adjusted for 900 yards.

Now you probably already knew about bore sighters but maybe there are some other things that you can do with a collimator that hasn’t occurred to you yet. Here are a few of the neat tricks of the trade.

Checking scopes– use your bore sighter to look at the repeatability of your scope adjustments and backlash. Backlash is dead space when you are adjusting in one direction and you reverse. You are clicking right and the crosshairs are moving the correct amount each click but when you go back the other direction it clicks maybe 3 clicks before the crosshairs move. This drives good shooters up the wall in competition.

It goes something like this— You shoot and get a 10 but it is on the right side. You click one click left and shoot another 10 in the same spot. You put on another click trying to get to the X ring in the middle of the target but still hit in the same spot. Now you decide to try 2 or more clicks and get a 9 on the left side. Disgusted you move right one click and get another 9 in the same spot. If you knew you had this much backlash you would know how to adjust your scope. The bore sighter is the quickest way to find out about these internal problems in scopes.

Checking iron sights– the bore sighter will allow you to align iron sights just like a scope. It just might be a little harder to see! It can also be used to find out how high a new sight will need to be by using the bore sighter with a caliper. By holding the points of the caliper on the barrel where the front sight will go you can sight across the rear sight and adjust the caliper to center it on the bore sighter just like the caliper is a front sight. Of course it can be used the same way in place of the rear sight.  If you use the same bore sighter all the time you should know where on the grid will be closer to being sighted in!

You can even use the bore sighter to check bedding–If the crosshairs move when you slacken and tighten the action screws you might need to pay some attention to your bedding. If you can push the barrel from side to side in the barrel channel and the crosshairs stops in different locations on the bore sighter it will do the same when it shoots.

Being a gunsmith is hard enough. Might as well save yourself some trouble when you can. Learning to get the most out of your tools can make your life a lot easier!  Your tools will help you “Do Good Work” but they won’t do it for you!

 

Timothy P. Whealton

 

 

 

 

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Springs

Springs

 

You probably took them for granted before starting a course of study in Gunsmithing. It’s easy to do, they are everywhere and cheap. They rarely fail compared to how much they are operated and are hidden from view. When you stop and think about it springs make a lot of thing possible that would be hard to live without. Before you can make one you have to know what a spring really is made of and how this little moving part works without moving parts.

Springs are made of carbon steel. The carbon has to be of sufficient quantities in the steel before the steel can be transformed into a spring. The best way to make sure of this is to purchase spring steel specifically for spring making. Brownells sells every type of spring making stock a gunsmith is likely to need and I’m sure there are others as well. The old blacksmith didn’t have a way to log on and order spring stock but you can be sure he would have loved to have the resources we have today. The old saying “they don’t make it like they use too” is true about steel and we should be happy. Steel quality was quite a headache for the old craftsman. Still there will be many times a small piece of steel left over from a job can be fashioned into a spring by a gunsmith if he has a basic knowledge that the old blacksmith learned through years at the grinder and anvil.

A quick way to find out if the steel has carbon in sufficient quantities for tempering is to grind a small section on the grinding wheel and observe the sparks. Grinding wheels cut out small cuts of steel so fast that the chips burn. If carbon is present the sparks will be more white than red, shorter than with low carbon steel and have a little flower bloom looking thing on the end. Try it yourself with a piece of cold rolled steel and a piece of spring and look at the difference. You will quickly get a feel for spotting the spring steel.

Ever wonder what the carbon does? Why it has to be heated? Why quenched? Well here is the short version as told to me by an old blacksmith. It might not be a good description for the chemist but it works for making springs and tools. The steel molecules are formed together in a matrix structure and the carbon is outside the matrix. The steel structures can slide past each other without the carbon being in the way. This happens when the steel is annealed or dead soft. When the material is heated to a cherry red heat the steel structures become very active and the matrix opens up enough to allow the carbon compounds to enter the matrix. Once the steel has the carbon dispersed throughout the matrix it is cooled rapidly. This can be a water plunge or other material that would give a little slower cooling than water. This might be quenching oil or even air. This will be important because some steel will form cracks if cooled too quickly. Now at this point in the process the steel is very, very hard. It will stand a lot of compression but no bending and will fracture with the slightest impact. Then the steel is heated a second time but this time the idea is to reverse some of the operation. This is called tempering or drawing. Actually drawing is a good name because your objective is to draw some of the carbon out of the matrix but not all. We want to leave enough so the steel structure will have some grab and resist moving and return to its former position when the pressure is released. This heat will be around 620 degrees F. Depending on the steel makeup. It can be done in a flame, on an electric element, in a heat treat oven or even in a lead pot. The temperature can be judged with color of the steel, oven thermostat, lead thermometer or temperature sensitive material painted on the spring. Quenching is not necessary but a lot of old timers liked to put it in dry lime or cold ashes (it insulates) and after the spring cools it can be tested with several compressions. You will know if you have a spring very quickly. Like I said it isn’t really what happens but it explained the process to me, maybe it will work for you. Or take a course in metallurgy and learn about austenite, pearlite and martensitic formations during heat treatment.

Springs will usually be preloaded (somewhat compressed) when installed in a firearm. Look carefully at the job the spring does before you try to “improve” how it works. Take the 1911 recoil spring for example. With the slide closed the spring is confined to 4 inches, at full recoil it is compressed further to 2 inches. Its job at full recoil is to have absorbed all the recoil, its job at rest is to close the slide and lock the barrel into the slide. If you cut a heavy spring it might still be strong at full recoil (2″) but too weak when the slide closes (4″).   I use a simple spring gauge to measure. A flat plate with a .250 hole is held in the vise. A long nail is inserted through the spring and the hole. The nail has a hole in the end that is hooked with a spring gauge and I can see how strong the spring is at 2″ and 4″. It also allows me to sort and tag all those springs that accumulate in the box.  I want my 1911 springs to have 6 pounds at 4″ and barely eject with the selected load for a target gun. Duty guns will be allowed to hit the ejector and eject with a snap to insure positive functioning.

Just remember if you cut a spring that you made it shorter but stiffer and more prone to breakage.

The Brownells catalog and most gunsmithing books have directions on making springs. After reading you can see it isn’t really technical, however nothing makes up for knowledge and careful work. So trying making a few practice springs before you make that special spring. Remember that spring will have your reputation on it when the customer pulls the hammer back on opening day!

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Balanced Life

Balanced Life

We all want it. A balanced life. Everything in the right proportion. Work, play, family, God, money, private, public, etc. We look at friends, relatives, TV and Facebook to find the people that can do it so we can copy them and finally get the balanced life. We know if we can find balance it will bring happiness, security, wealth and envy. The perception is that a balanced life is perfection.
At times it almost seems like the universe has conspired against us when it comes to finding balance. Each segment of our lives have to be balanced before we can balance the whole thing. Like balancing a stick we have to know a few things before try. First we have to know the center of gravity. It’s the first law of balance. If the stick is straight the center of gravity is the center but life is anything but straight. There are always humps lumps and twist. Constantly changing, growing being pruned it almost defies being balanced.
When we try to balance a crooked stick we have to know where to look or what to focus on. We call it the focal point. It’s the second law of balance. If we aren’t watching the right thing we won’t know if we are balanced. Somethings need to balance as far to the left or right as they can go without falling. Others need to be dead center. A carpenter might be happy if the shelf he installed looks straight. The machinist is horrified if the part he made is a human hair (.004”) bigger on one end. It’s all in the focal point.
When it comes to balancing life it will be dynamic rather than static balancing. This means as life changes the balance point moves. It’s the third law of balance. Balance requires constant correction. If you are old enough to read this you already know it is true. Whether it is job, money, family or health it will be changing. You must adapt to change in circumstances or you will be changed by circumstances. It requires constant corrections in the balance point to stay in balance.
If we are balancing a simple stick we are subject to the law of Pinocchio. You remember the story. If he told a lie his nose grew. It didn’t grow the next year but right then. When consequences are immediate we make corrections immediately. Sort of like the dog with a shock collar.
So what happens when we let life get out of balance? Nothing! Or at least nothing immediately. We don’t live by the law of Pinocchio, we live by the law of the harvest. We reap what we sow but not immediately. The law of the harvest is you reap later and greater. A farmer plants one seed and hopes to reap 1000 seeds next year. Our success and failures show up just like the farmers, later and greater, good or bad.
The law of the Harvest is dangerous. It gives us the illusion that maybe we won’t suffer consequences for foolish deeds. Maybe what we did will slip by unremembered and we will be fine. But the Bible says God will not be mocked, we will reap what we sow.
One of our most important areas of life that we have to balance is our finances. Finances have a way of affecting so many areas of our life. Most of us work 5 days so we can live better for 2. If money is going to be that important we need to be knowing where our money is going!
I have an advantage over a preacher when it comes to talking about money. Most say “Oh no, it’s time for the tithing sermon”. As a layman I don’t have to worry about my income from the collection but I do have to worry about how my church will pay its bills.
Tithe is a religious word. You won’t see it anywhere else. It literally means 1/10. You know how it works, you have a dollar you give a dime. You have 100$ you give 10. You have 10,000 you give 1000. Wow, now that is a lot of money! I can see a lot of things I could get with $1000. Besides if everybody else would tithe they wouldn’t need $1000 from me. Why do I have to give more than the other people? I’m paying their way. That’s not fair. It’s my money! Money can make you greedy and wreck your life if you don’t know how to balance.
We use money to get stuff. We get some stuff and we want more stuff. If getting something made us happy then it only stand to reason that getting a lot will make us real happy. We fill up the house and then move it to the garage to make room for more stuff. We fill the garage and get a storage building. Some of it was stuff from other people that died. We die and a huge pile of stuff is left behind. Someone else sorts through and throws most of it away. Some they add to their stuff until they die. We die but stuff never dies.
Did we own the stuff or did it own us? We worked hard and gave up precious time to get the stuff. We had to move it, clean it, repair it, replace it, protect it and even insure it. Stuff is money. It brings the same problems. Greed will never leave us. It’s part of our legacy. Mine, mine, mine.
We need to understand that we have an appetite for stuff. An appetite is a term that we use but I’m not sure we understand. When we have a desire for something and get it we are satisfied but an appetite is not like a desire. If you feed an appetite it only gets stronger. I have an appetite for ice cream. After I eat it I’m not happy. I don’t have any more to eat. It is the consuming that feeds my appetite.
If we got in the middle of the Church and God came and stood on one side and Satan stood on the other and we had to choose we would get it right. It would be so easy to know who we wanted to go with. But if God was on one side and all our stuff was on the other side it would be a little more difficult. That’s the power of stuff!
Where did stuff come from? Stuff was here before I was so it belonged to someone else. Where will stuff go? When I die it will be divided among those left behind so is it really my stuff or is it more accurate to say it is mine while I’m here. If it is only mine while I’m here who does my stuff really belong to?
It’s obvious that the real owner has to be God. Since he alone has the power of creation and is from everlasting to everlasting he owns everything. So where does my ownership fit in? It is one of the most important principles of life and that is the principle of the steward. A steward has ownership temporarily until the master calls for his property. That fits the description 100%.
A good steward uses the resource exactly as the master would. He does what his master would do. Now it is important to realize we aren’t talking about the 10% we tithe we are talking about everything we own. It is God’s stuff. It is entrusted to us for a short time and we are directed to use it to honor God and fulfill his plan. The steward is paid by the master when he returns to take possession of his property. Every Christian is a steward!
Jesus gave us a fantastic view of what God wants us to do with his stuff with his parable of the three servants. It starts in Matthew 25-15. If you are a Bible person you remember this one.
A master is going on a journey so he leaves his money (stuff) with 3 servants (stewards). With one he leaves 5 talents (a large sum of money), another receives 2 and another 1. This division was not by chance but according to the ability of the stewards. We know that all of us don’t have the same ability, especially when it comes to money!
Both the servant that had 5 and the servant that had 2 used the money like their master would have and doubled it. The third was afraid he would lose the money so he buried it. He knew he would not make any gain but at least he wouldn’t lose any.
When the master returned and asked for his property the first two were rewarded and praised for using the property of the master. By using it like the master would have used it they had honored him and increased. Their work was part of their masters plan.
The third servant gave back everything the master had given him. You might think the master would have been satisfied that nothing was lost but it is obvious that this master had a plan for growth. He was furious that this servant had opportunity and let it go. Because he was afraid to act he had changed the plan of the master to fit his wishes.
It is a real change in our way of thinking to realize you are a steward. I’m not looking forward to telling God how I spent his money! I’m glad his grace abounds. Stewardship is our center of gravity. Our first law of balance is realize Its God’s money. All of it!
I lived most of my life in debt. Seems it wasn’t what I wanted to do I just sort of drifted into it. It wasn’t God’s plan, it was mine. I lived on 110% of my income for years. I was sure that at some point I would get real busy and focus on my income and pay off my debts. It was always easier to wait and do it later. The problem with debt is it’s always more when you wait.
We live in a unique time. When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land Moses gave them a couple of long speeches. It’s called the book of Deuteromy . He tells them If they follow Gods plan they will prosper and never need to borrow. They will lend to others but never have to borrow. The mindset was that you borrowed when you were not doing well. It was a sign that things were not right.
That mindset seemed to survive for thousands of years. I remember my parents agonizing over getting a loan to get through hard times. I remember when credit cards first appeared. I was a telephone man and my wife was a school teacher. We could not qualify for a credit card and they were only used at gas stations. Now I get offers at least twice a week. The offers say “congratulations” you are doing so good you can borrow more! You have so much buying potential! My how the times have changed!
I use to think that Jesus slipped up and got it wrong when he said you can’t serve God and money. He used the word mammon which translated to mean your “treasure” You will either serve one or the other. Its Matthew 6.24. I wanted to say “Jesus I think you meant God or Satan”. That is the classic struggle but now I see he made that statement for us in our present day. It fits us better than any people since time began.
You get your credit card for convenience. It makes it easy to pay. It safer than cash. They give discounts, points for free tickets and cash back. No wonder we want them. But at what price?
The average interest rate is 17%. If you make the minimum payment you will pay it off in 14 years. That means you will pay 500% more. You go out to eat and put it on the card. Your $50 dinner for 2 will cost $250. Do you remember what you had for dinner 14 years ago?
Once you get a balance on your card you realize it is climbing. You decide not to charge anything else. You get $300 from Aunt Jane and you buy something really cool instead of using the card. Its just a deception because you have to look at how much better off you would have been if you had paid it on your balance. You know who loves deception?
The average American that has credit card debt owes 16000 in credit card debt. That’s just the card. There is still the car, house, student loan, etc. How does that affect his balance of work, family, God, church, health, recreation and everything else. To correct the imbalance he created he has to focus on making money to pay the bills. He can’t turn down anything or anyway to make enough money.
If you are out of balance in your financial life you are also out of balance in every other area. You have marriage problems, family problems and more. So how do you correct it? Second law of balance is I need to be knowing where my moneys’ going. Bad English but good finance.
You can spy on your money for a couple weeks and get a good idea. Keep a list on your phone or a piece of paper. Write down everything, you will have surprises!
Your job, family, health and money will always be changing. To keep it in balance we must constantly adjust. Once you have a spending plan (don’t say budget, budgets constrict and stop you from doing things so you will abandon a budget) it will come down to math. Not complicated square roots and reciprocals but just adding and subtracting. Spending plan is like eating plan. It’s all in the verbiage but eating plan sounds better than diet.
My old method was to pay my debts then spend on the things I wanted and what was leftover could be used for giving. We all know what leftovers are. Look in the fridge in the Tupperware. Was it beef or kidney? Yea, let God have that cause I don’t want it! Since it was money I could have used spending I really wanted my giving to be noticed so I could at least get some recognition. I hate to admit it but that was me.
You have heard it all your life, “You can’t take it with you!” If you study your Bible you will find out that’s a lie! When you manage your wealth in a way that honors God you have treasure laid up for you in heaven. Now, for some even better news. Treasure laid up for you in Heaven is an annuity. You will draw dividends forever and never use any of the deposit. It just keeps paying and paying
Maybe a 10/10/80 plan or whatever numbers work for you would be better. Give 10 save 10 and live on 80. Whatever numbers you use do your giving and saving first and then your living. If you are thinking like a steward you are realizing that that 100% will be used to honor God, not just the 10% you give. More good news, It’s God’s money but you get credit for spending it!
As Christians we realize we were created by God for a purpose. When we connect with God and honor him we receive hope and joy beyond understanding. The hope is that God will find our efforts to honor him pleasing. The joy is our reward when we do.
Heaven’s bank is open 24×7. Open your fruit account today.

 

 

 

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Real Freedom

Freedom

 

 

This was a sermon from Palm Sunday. The real Preacher was gone that Sunday and I got picked to do the Sunday Message. I am not a Preacher but I love any chance to tell a story and there is no better story to tell than Jesus.

Some of the things I found out

The future will not be what you expect but it will get here sooner than you think.

Don’t make fun of preachers.   (The bad kids that picked on Elisha got eaten by bears!)

We are approaching a holiday! Yah! Paid time off if you are lucky enough to have it. Maybe a long weekend to do something special. The holiday I’m talking about isn’t Easter. It’s Good Friday. Something special happened on that long weekend around 2000 years ago. Jesus went to his death for my sins. Yes he went for all but I don’t ever want to forget it was for me. Most of the time this special day passes without comment but I think it deserves our respect. It was on Good Friday that the sacrifice was made. It was not a done deal till Jesus died. He was both fully God and fully man. He could have cried out from the cross “They are not worth this, let it end” and it would have been finished. That Friday was anything but good for Jesus

You hear a lot of things being attributed to the Bible. Are they really there?
1. Spare the rod and spoil the child? (nope)
2. I saw the handwriting on the wall? ( Yep)
3. God will never give you a burden you can’t bear? (nope)
4. The truth shall set you free? (Yep)

Jesus said the last one but like so many quotes it is best to know the whole conversation than to only remember one line. John 8:31
He was speaking to his followers that were Jews. He said
“If you continue in my ways then you are my disciples indeed; And (some say then) you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” What kind of freedom was he talking about? Jesus talked a lot about freedom. He made it possible on that day we call “Good Friday”

Then the Jews said something really dumb. They said they were Jews and they had never been in bondage to any man. Rather than giving them a history lesson:
Slaves to Egypt
Slaves to Babylon
Slaves to Assyria
Slaves to Greeks
Currently slaves to Romans
He simply said “Verily verily, I say unto you. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” We know that sin is anything outside of God’s will. We know we are born in sin and will die in sin without God’s grace. We know sin is an appetite. An appetite is never satisfied. A little sin won’t ever satisfy anyone.

And we know it’s the truth! Nothing is easier than staying like we are. We ask God for change but we don’t want to be transformed, we want everything but us to change. Change is scary and forces us into the unknown. So how do we learn to trust God and be what he would have us to be? Maybe we have to learn what we are and how we work.

Millions of dollars have been spent on research into how the human brain works. There is a good reason for this. It might make you rich. What researchers found out is that you have three levels of consciousness going on.

First you have a conscious mind. If your brain were an iceberg this would be the tiny part that sticks out of the water.

Second you have a subconscious mind. This would be under water but you could look down and see it if you think about it (or something makes you think about it).

Third you have an unconscious mind that is on the bottom of the iceberg. It is everything that ever happened recorded and stored that you can’t remember, but it shaped who you are and it’s still there affecting your decisions.

Researchers also discovered that only 20 percent of the decisions we make are done with the conscious mind. That means that 80 percent of our decisions are made outside of the mind we stay in! Think you are in your right mind most of the time? Think again.

Remember the wizard of Oz? There was a man behind the curtain pulling levers and pushing buttons. When the man was revealed they knew the truth. It wasn’t pleasant and didn’t make them happy but once they knew the truth they could change.

Researchers have cataloged 40 different mechanisms that we use to deal with the problems we don’t want to face. These are called defense mechanisms. They have a long definition but the short version is “The way we lie to ourselves so we can live with ourselves.” Here are some of my favorites

1. Denial- No not the river in Egypt. This one gets used all the time.
IM NOT UPSET! THAT’S NOT WHAT I SAID! IM NOT SHOUTING! I was listening. I never thought of that.
2. Projection- This is putting your faults on someone else. Why are you being such a jerk! I will be glad when you get out of that crappy mood!
3. Rationalization- Tries to justify unacceptable behavior. I did it for your own good! It was payback! I took it from work but they don’t pay me like they should!
4. Distraction- Probably the Grandaddy of all for our generation. How long do you sit before the phone come out? Could you go a day without the phone? TV? Internet?

Others includes sexualization, deferment and lots more
The researchers say all of us are doing some of these.
Why do we do this ? For the simple reason that a lot of things are just too painful or dangerous to discuss or even think about. How many times have you seen a married couple argue of trivial items because the real problems were too scary? As long as we lie to ourselves our problems will stay with us. These old problems prevent us from the rich freedom God wants us to enjoy.
How can we ever escape the problems of the past? If it is just a memory then why is causing problems? It has already happened!
First with God’s help we have to own the problem. We have to admit the problem is ours and then we have to look deep to see what the problem really is and how it got there. Easier said than done. We lie! How many diets go from Monday morning till lunch? We lie not just to others but to ourselves. Use this quick test. If your answer gets you off the hook it’s probably a lie.
The Jesus quote of “Then you shall Know the truth and the truth shall set you free” is part of a conversation Jesus is having with his followers. The word “then” lets you know something that makes this statement true was said earlier. Jesus said “when you continue in my word Then”. You are not set free when you become a follower, you are set free when you continue to follow. This was the reason Jesus didn’t ask people to change, he simply asked them to follow like he did Matthew.
The conversion to the freedom God wants for us doesn’t happen at the snap of a finger when you become a Christian. It comes when you continue to follow and as Jesus said Then you will know the truth and the Truth will set you free!
The truth that will set us free starts with the truth about us. It starts with awareness. Awareness is knowing why. Why I feel the way I do. Why I react like I do. It requires us to look far beyond the surface and to be absolutely honest with ourselves.
Problem is we don’t like being absolutely honest when we look at ourselves. We will lie like a rug when we self-assess. Don’t do it! If your answer lets you off the hook for anything it is probably a lie. Oh you can call it a “defense mechanism” but in truth it’s just a lie.
We have certain things we need to get done by a certain time. April 15th is looming in my future. I know I have to get that check in the mail by then. Other things I need to do this week, some this month and some this year. The last category has always been the before I die category.
Just like I know I have to get that check in the mail April 15th I know I have to make my life right with God before I die. Sobering thought but it comes with good news. You don’t have to wait! Do it now and start on the path that will give you a life of freedom! You will become what you were meant to be and know the true meaning of joy! Do it now. Talk to Jesus. Accept his invitation to follow. You don’t have to change, you don’t have to tell anyone, you don’t have to do anything but listen to God. He wants you free from all that baggage you have been dragging around your whole life. There is no one that can accept the invitation for you and no one that can stop it. It is up to you.
The Real You:
Not the person they see at work. Not the person your friends see but
The person that talks to God. I call it the secret person. This is the
Person God wants to set free. When you change the inside you don’t
Have to worry about the outside.
I believe the real you is so much better than you realize. You have
Formed this image of a person inside Formed this image of a person
Inside you that you think doesn’t measure up. From the time you
Were a small child with every failure, every scornful jest, every
Rejection this personality you created to get you through life was
Damaged and changed by the lies you had to tell yourself to survive

The real you was formed by Almighty God in his image.
Think about that for a second! God want you to know the freedom like
You have never experienced. Freedom that is more than doing what
Want but the freedom to become what you were designed to be by God!
The Challenge:
Try this for just one day. If that is too much do just ½ day. This Friday
Don’t say anything negative about anything or especially anybody. I
Know there are lots of things that you need to point out but just wait till Saturday!

 

 

I Heard God Praying!

I met a man that needed help. He had lost his wife and was facing many challenges. He was depressed and it showed in his face and in everything he said. I listened to his story and told him I would keep him in my prayers. He didn’t seem impressed but I really pray for people and believe in the power of prayer.
This was my prayer: God only you are all powerful. With words you created all that is. God I know that there are no miracles for you because you can do anything with a whisper. This man needs your special touch. He needs to know he is not alone. He needs to feel your love and to know he is not forgotten. Please do something. Amen
After I prayed my prayed I sat in silence and I heard the voice of Almighty God in my head praying. God said: Tim I have given you far more power than you know. I had you raised by special people that taught you to love. I brought you through hard times so you would know to never place yourself above anyone. Everything this man needs I have given to you. Please do something.Amen

 

 

 

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Ackley Improved

Ackley Improved

 

Maybe you heard the term but are not exactly familiar with the Ackley conversion but it has been around over 50 years. A brain storm of the famous P.O. Ackley, it is a unique way to increase performance from many of our favorite calibers.

The Ackley Improved conversion is essentially an enlarged chamber that by clever design will still allow the parent cartridge to headspace and be held tight against the bolt face. Upon firing the brass will be blown out and forward to conforming the brass to the Ackley Improved dimensions.

The Ackley Improved case will have dimensions that are straighter in the body with less taper. This increases capacity which makes for more powder and increased velocity. The most notable feature of the improved case is an increase in the shoulder angle. Usually the new shoulder will be a 40 degree but not always. This sharper angle shoulder contributes to more consistent headspace and less case stretching. It also seems to improve barrel life by reducing throat erosion.

So if the new case is so much better then why aren’t they made this way to start with? Simple, you can’t form the sharp angles with the forming dies used to manufacture cases. The only way to form the brass is by fire forming. This means firing the rifle to make a piece of brass. It isn’t complicated, you just load a factory round and pull the trigger. It even shoots fairly well with the factory load! Matter of fact this is another of the really bonuses of the Ackley Improved. If you are out of ammo you can shoot the parent case. This can be a large thing if this is your favorite rifle and you are on the hunt of a lifetime but your ammo runs out or is lost. If you were using one of the other wildcat cartridges it would be all over but with the Ackley, no problem!

For most hunters and casual shooter this is nothing more than a minor inconvenience but if the shooter happens to be a competition shooter that uses a lot of brass it might be another story. Consider a Highpower Rifle competitor that need 300 pieces of brass. Now if this same shooter is using a 243 Winchester that has a barrel life of 1200 rounds that might mean giving up 1/4 of the barrel life to make brass. This isn’t to say that shooting the parent cartridge wouldn’t be accurate enough to shoot the 200 yard portion of the match but after these shooters drive 500 miles and pay entry fees to shoot they don’t want to have any variables like a case that doesn’t fit the chamber perfectly. Some are even hesitant to use new brass that hasn’t been fired in that particular chamber before!

It seems the most asked question about the Ackley conversion will be how does it group when fire forming. I have tested several through the years and most did better than expected. In the last few years I rechambered these in 3006, 7×57, 22-250 and 280. I don’t remember any shooting larger than 1 1/2 inch at 100 yards and the 22-250 grouped under an inch.

So after you answer all the customers questions and he reads some of those articles about Ackley Improved and how much better it shoots he decides to have you convert his favorite rifle. Now what do you need to know and what do you need to buy? The knowledge part is basic barrel fitting and headspace along with a good understanding about what happens to a cartridge when you pull the trigger. The buy part is easy, an Ackley Improved reamer and one headspace gauge. One headspace gauge? Yep, one gauge if you already have a standard set of go and no go gauges in the parent caliber size.

Here is what happens when a high power rifle cartridge fires in a chamber. First the firing pin is released by the sear and travels forward striking the primer. The case is pushed forward as far as the available headspace will permit. The primer crushes and the compound explodes sending flames through the flash hole and igniting the powder. Powder burns and pressure increases inside the case. The increase in pressure speeds up the rate of burn tremendously and the pressure skyrockets. The bullet moves out of the case and goes to the end of the throat. The thin case walls are held against the camber walls by what ever the working pressure of the load generates, maybe 60,000 pounds. When this pressure pushes back it stretches the case back toward the bolt face. With the thin walls held tightly against the chamber wall the thin brass just above the head of the case stretches until the head of the case rest on the bolt face. Hopefully everything is square and true and the bullet enters the rifling straight and exits the crown spinning true and on center.

To make sure this happens with an Ackley Improved we have to know how the parent case in going to headspace in new chamber. If you study the chamber drawings, reamer, parent case and fired case you will see the parent case only contacts the new chamber in a small circle at the base of the neck. With such a small area to headspace on the cartridge has to fit tight. For this reason an Ackley Improved should be set up with headspace less than a standard chamber. When converting to A I the go gauge should be used as a no go and a special gauge ordered or made that is .004″ short for a no go gauge.

This means rechambering to A I will not be as easy as sticking in the reamer for a couple turns but will require setting the barrel back at least one thread to get headspace too tight before you start to ream. If the barrel is a Remington or Winchester one turn will be .0625 inch so you will have plenty of room to work.

By the time you have removed the barrel, cut back the barrel shoulder the correct amount so the barrel will tighten up with the sights or lettering in the right place, cut back the face of the barrel so it won’t be hit by the bolt, recut the cone breech, deepen the extractor cut so it will work and reinstall the barrel in the receiver without leaving any marks on the barrel or receiver you will have earned your pay.

The Ackley conversion is not a small job and should not be attempted till you are competent in all phases of barrel fitting. Just remember “a happy customer will tell a friend but an unhappy customer will tell ten so do good work!

 

Timothy P. Whealton

 

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Slings and mounts

Slings and mounts

 

 

While this job might not have the glamour of scope mounting it certainly holds the seed of disaster. I can’t count how many times I have seen a high quality firearm disfigured by off center sling mounts or beautiful wood split and damaged by a screw that was wedged into an improper hole. It reminds me of the golfer that has attempted the 60 foot putt with great care and deliberation but missed and then when the ball is 10 inches from the hole he casually walks up and taps to miss again! He thought the job was so simple that it didn’t need his full effort!

It looks like an easy job. The customer might even add to the illusion with terms like “just pop me a couple holes for a sling”. Might be more accurate if he said “I need two holes with a two step diameter drilled center on a curved sloping surface that has an easily damaged surface”. Bottom line is you won’t get any credit for doing a sling mount job perfect but you sure will catch a lot of grief when it is anything less! Luckily most guns come from the factory with some provisions for a sling these days but the occasional stock still turns up that will need to have sling swivels installed. Understanding the pitfalls of this underrated job might keep you out of a lot of trouble so learn these few tricks of the trade. It just might keep you from waking up nights screaming!

You can do this job with regular tools or save yourself some trouble and buy the specialty tools offered to the trade by some of the gunsmith supply businesses. Drills designed with two diameters that speed up the job will pay for their selves if you are running a full time business. In addition to the drills there are countersinks for the nut required on thin for end installations and drill guides that can help you center up the pilot hole. Brownells sells a tool that resembles a screwdriver. It has a pin that will engage the sling swivel hole and turn in the mounting screw allowing you to keep pressure on the screw to help it resist pulling out of the hole. These tools don’t make the job foolproof but they do speed up the time it takes to do a good job.

It will be the mount for the rear swivel that will cause the most problems. This is normally a simple threaded stud that screws into the stock a couple of inches from the toe. The mount for the forend is normally a 10/32 machine screw with a nut that has to be mounted in the wood below the surface inside the barrel channel to prevent disturbing the accuracy of the rifle. With the forend being relatively straight and flat it is simpler to layout the hole location on center. Examine the threaded portion of the rear stud and you will get a few clues as to what will be working against you. The threads start very abruptly unlike most wood screws. Normally a wood screw is designed to pull itself into soft wood without a pilot hole but one glance at this threaded shaft should be enough to let you know this task would be impossible on a gun stock with this type of threaded screw. This screw is designed to give maximum strength but will require a special pilot hole or it will pull up the wood around the threads before it pulls itself into the hole. This is hard to repair without going to drastic measures so plan ahead to minimize the risk.

The pilot hole is really the critical part of the whole job. It must be large enough to accommodate the shaft or main body of the screw but allow maximum wood for the threads to hold. I usually measure the minimum diameter of the screw with a dial caliper and use a drill only a few thousandths smaller to make sure it is tight but without danger of splitting the stock. If you don’t want to buy a special drill with a two step diameter you will need to drill a second step the diameter of the threads about 1/4 inch deep to prevent the wood pulling up as the leading thread pulls itself into the hole.

Finding the correct location for the rear swivel and making sure it is centered can be a little tricky. Brownell’s sells a neat little tool that is a piece of angle stock that has a drill bushing mounted through the center. In use it is simply pressed against the stock and held square while the hole is drilled. Lacking a drill jig you can hold the stock in a padded vise and level the stock front to rear. Next a center punch is used to mark the location for the hole. Something around 2.5-3 inches from the toe works best. Be alert to any special problems that might cause a problem like the working parts of an adjustable recoil pad or something similar. After the location is marked back up a couple of steps and give it a critical look. If all is well proceed to drill or correct it by moving over and center punching another mark. This is the value of marking the location, you can move it before it is too late! On very thin hollow stocks or synthetics it might require a machine screw and nut to secure.

The front swivel mount is normally a machine screw with nut because the slender forend will could split if the wood screw was wedged into a too tight hole. This mount will also receive the most stress since the gun is carried barrel up and if the sling is use for shooting the bulk of the stress will be on the front. It can also be located with the drill jig or easily centered with measuring using a dial caliper. This hole should be the size of the machine screw and allow it to pass through easily. The recess for the nut can be made with a mini grinder or a counter sink mounted on a drill. Don’t try to use a hand drill with a larger drill because drills are designed to pull themselves into the material and you will probably end up going too deep or pulling up surrounding wood. I like using a drop of thread locker to make sure it never comes out accidentally. This can be disaster since the gun is on the back and hard to grab when it pivots around and the muzzle strikes the floor. If your luck is like mine it won’t happen unless you’re on concrete!

It really doesn’t take that much longer to do a professional job and even though you won’t make a lot of profit it will be another of those crowning touches that make your work a little better than the norm. Do Good Work!

 

Timothy P. Whealton

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Revolvers

Revolvers

 

When I was a youngster just learning to work on guns the gun writers were spitting out articles proclaiming the end of the revolver. They said the informed gun owners of today would no longer accept the failings of revolvers when they could have a modern automatic. I think most of those writers are dead now but the revolver is as healthy as ever in spite of being over 160 years old!

It’s no wonder when you look at what the revolver has going for it. Safety is a primary reason many handgun owners pick a revolver. While you and I might live and breath guns and spend all our hours getting better acquainted with guns a lot of folks only want a gun for an emergency and feel more comfortable with a revolver. With no place for a cartridge to hide and built in safety features like hammer blocks the modern revolver coupled with the fact that a revolver will never cock itself many new gun owners are more confidant they can handle a revolver safely.

Another reason they select a revolver is simplicity. This is not a small thing to many owners. When you listen to the stories of people that have been involved in a real shooting it becomes apparent that simple is better. These people didn’t have time or thinking power to spare to find a safety latch, search for a magazine or pull back a slide. They needed a safe gun that they could put out and get into action with one hand. This simplicity is also on the mind of casual shooters and people that purchase a gun for someone else that might not be of a “mechanical mind”.

Really it doesn’t matter why they picked a revolver, it’s your job to repair,refinish or improve so you have to know how it works and the job each part plays in the functioning of the gun.

Here is how a revolver works. The cartridges are held in a cylinder that revolves as the gun is fired. Instead of cartridges being moved from the magazine to the chamber each cartridge has it’s own chamber. When you see how many malfunctions happen during the feeding cycle, extraction and ejection you realize making these manual operation that are done before and after firing can make revolvers very reliable and quick to get into operation ( especially if it is already loaded).

Like every thing else in life there are a few drawbacks for revolvers. The obvious is with several chambers and one barrel there has to alignment issues, reloading will be slow and all the parts that lock the cylinder in position and unlock it will have to be timed to work together perfectly.

When a revolver fires the cycle of operation goes something like this, the trigger is squeezed to the rear and as it moves the hand attached to the rear of the trigger pushes upward and contacts the cylinder to begin rotation. The front of the trigger pulls down on the locking bolt and unlocks the cylinder before the hand moves the cylinder. Now the cylinder starts to rotate to the next chamber. After it moves out of the locked position the cylinder lock slips off the trigger and a spring power it up where it slides against the cylinder until it rotates enough for the next locking notch to arrive and then the lock snaps into the locking notch. The hand that pushes the cylinder has slid off the notches in the rear of the cylinder as the lock slide into place in the bottom of the cylinder. While the trigger was moving rearward the back of the trigger was traveling upwards and pushing against the hammer cocking it rearward. When the cylinder reached the position where the hand pushed free, the lock snapped into place and the new cylinder was in alignment with the bore the hammer was rotated far enough back that it slid off the trigger and fired the cartridge.

This understanding of the timing of parts is crucial to revolver work. It is not enough that the part be the correct shape and work smoothly, it has to operate at exactly the right time. This timing is achieved by the part that operates or powers the part being operated. Most of the time the parts are rotating on a pin going through the action and small amounts of wear and damage close to the pin will result in large timing changes further away from the pin.

The best example of this might be the hand/ cylinder lock relationship. The hand is engaging the extractor very close to the cylinder pin and the cylinder lock notches are on the outside of the cylinder. Just a few thousandths stoned off the hand will keep the cylinder notches from alignment with the lock.

Revolvers are fascinating guns to work on. They require a through understanding of the cycle of operation and interdependence of working parts.

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Fatherhood

The Big Hammer

I went to church on Father’s day like so many others and listened to a Father’s Day sermon. It was a well-crafted sermon. The preacher used a small toolbox and related how a father needed some of the qualities of each tool. He explained how a father needs to be level headed as he held up the level. He needed to be able to measure out his love as he held the ruler. He went through every tool in the box and had a message for every tool.
As I sat and listened I naturally thought about working with my Dad. He was a mechanic and I spent my early years working in his outboard motor shop. He was a patient teacher and we worked together well. He would add in a few life lessons along with how metal parts work together as a motor. It was a simple time without things like cell phones or internet so distractions were few. I was blessed.
I inherited my love of unorganized life from my Pop. His work bench looked like a junk pile. Several jobs disassembled at one time and mixed together with broken parts and tools made it look like an impossible task to fix anything. People would look and shake their heads. Organized people would feel so uncomfortable they would leave after a few minutes. I can clean my workbench every morning and before lunch it looks like Pop’s.
My sister is a retired college professor and she explained to me how different people are the way they are. She explained that Pop and I are what researchers call a “random” personality. We don’t plan, we don’t do things the same way and we don’t organize things. We tend to be smart and adaptable. We also tend to drive organized people (called sequentials) to use strong drink and bad language.
In spite of Pop’s disorganized workbench there was something you could find. It was the big hammer. Maybe it was because it wasn’t used that often or maybe just because it was big but it was always there. I don’t exactly how big it was but it was big enough you didn’t use it for a regular hammer. You could tell it was old but it was solid. Pop joked and said it had belonged to George Washington. He would tell this to people and tell them he had replaced the head twice and the handle 6 times but it was still George Washington’s hammer.
I remember working on an outboard motor and having trouble removing the flywheel. Pop had already cautioned me about hitting the shaft with a hammer too hard and swelling the shaft. When I asked Pop what to do he studied the job for a few seconds and said “get the big hammer”. I went in the shop and retrieved it from its place of honor. I remember walking back to the job and wondering what was going to happen. Maybe we were just going to beat the motor apart. This wasn’t the type of hammer used for precision work.
Pop was waiting and took the big hammer when I got back. He put a pry bar under the flywheel and with one soft tap the flywheel was loose. I was surprised. I had already hit it as much as I dared and it hadn’t budged but one tap with big hammer had it loose and it wasn’t damaged.
When I asked Pop how come it had worked so well he had another life lesson. He explained how it wasn’t how hard you hit but how much you had backing you up when you applied yourself to a problem. The other hammer has to hit so hard it damages the part before it makes it move because it is a lightweight but the big hammer has momentum so it only takes a tap.
Like a lot of things he said I understand them better now than I did then back then. I have struggled with many things that would have been easier if I had a big hammer backing me up. Things like making a living are easier if you have a great education backing you up. Getting someone to believe you is easier if you have a reputation for telling the truth. Seems like almost anytime you set out on a task you need something backing you up to give you the momentum to succeed.
When I look around I see other people, businesses and even countries with the same problem. I watch as parents threaten children who scoff because they know they have never been punished before. I see a new business open with wild claims about what they can do with inexperienced employees. Sadly I also watch our leaders as they run for office make promises we know they will never keep. I call it magical thinking. We can borrow money to pay our bills and have enough left over to give money to everybody. If we borrow enough we can buy everything we want and live in paradise. This course of action isn’t backed up by anything but lies and fantasies. We know it won’t work but we want to believe in magic to solve our problems.
As I listened to the preacher’s sermon I thought about how much my Pop was like the big hammer. First he was always there. Not in the way but if I needed him he was close and ready to help me. Second he was a powerful tool. He had the experience of many years work and study backing him up. And third he didn’t overwhelm when I asked him. He could show me how to get it done with without screaming and flailing like a drowning person. He was a great Dad.
When I count my resources I see I have a few big hammers myself. A great family, a lifetime of experience and super friends. But my biggest hammer has to be my faith that it was God who put me here and all my “hammers” are on loan from him. When I have to give them back I want them to be in used condition.

 

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Feeling Vs. Seeing

Presence of God

I’m not addicted to TV but recently I watched the Olympics with interest. It was certainly better than standard TV but that doesn’t say much. I watched the opening ceremony just to see what they looked like and the outfits. Then each night we watched a different event. It took a while but I finally decided the end of the events were the most interesting part. Just to see the look on their faces as they realized their dream had come true. Even the ones that didn’t medal seemed to be happy. Some showed disappointment but all projected that they were glad to represent their country and be a part of a great competition. You would think our highly paid professional athletes would show even more appreciation but I guess money changes things.
There was no doubt about it, the outpouring of emotion by those athletes could be felt through the television. Seems we have the ability to pick up emotions even faster than the flu virus. Many cried, unable to handle the flood of feelings. Many spectators cried for the same reason (especially the parents!). Seems people really like to get emotional about something they can see. Maybe that was why God was so focused on keeping his people from worshiping idols. It was a hard task to keep people from idol worship. It still is.
Long before Indiana Jones I was fascinated by the stories of the Ark of the covenants. It was a box built to hold the stone tablets inscribed by God with the Ten Commandments. Ten rules for his people to live by that would make them different from the rest of the world. The rules have never changed. While we have never lived by them in earnest have you ever wondered what the world would be like if we could?
Incredible wealth- No need for armies, tanks, planes and missiles. No need for Police Departments, FBI, SBI, CIA, Homeland Security, IRS or any enforcement of a law. As a matter of fact if you could follow the 10 you wouldn’t need the millions of laws written by man.
Incredible Health- All STD diseases gone. When a virgin marries a virgin they don’t have STDs! With so much wealth other diseases would be wiped out by fantastic research.
Incredible peace- No locks needed. No alarms. You live without fear of your fellow man. There is nothing to fear, you won’t be hurt by anyone and when you die you will live with God forever.
Incredible happiness- With so much health, wealth and peace it would be hard to not be happy all the time.
These are not vague projections but facts of life. We all know it would work. We all know we can’t do it. What a shame.
The Ark was used as a symbol of the presence of God. The presence of God is a powerful thing and the Ark reflected that. It was so powerful that they never knew how to handle it. Of course when anything has power someone will want to use it as a weapon. It proved to be a double edge sword.
Joshua used it as the Lord instructed and stopped the waters of the river Jordan to cross into the Promised Land. He used it again to defeat Jericho.
Years later the Israelites were in battle with the Philistines. Israel had sinned greatly and lost the favor of God. They were defeated by the Philistines and fear was in their hearts. They didn’t turn to God but went and got the Ark to use in battle against the Philistines. The Philistines killed thousands and captured the Ark. It was a bad time!
When the Philistines carried the Ark home they got a nasty surprise. God sent a plague against them. Those that didn’t die were struck with hemorrhoids. Now I’m sure if almighty God gives you hemorrhoids they are not going to be little! No surgery, no preparation H, no ice cubes. Eventually the Philistines send the Ark back to the Israelites. They even sent it home with an offering attached. The offering was 5 golden hemorrhoids and 5 golden mice. You can’t make up stories that good!
When the Jews receive the Ark from the Philistines they were happy. So happy they opened it and looked inside. 50,000 died for this transgression. Then they took the Ark to the house of Abinadab. It stayed there 20 years.
After King Saul died David became king and wanted the Ark to have a resting place in Jerusalem. He goes with a military detachment to retrieve the Ark. They load it on an ox cart and parade in front of the Ark. When the oxen stumble Uzzah reaches to steady the Ark and is struck dead. Parade over! David is scared to go any farther and decides to leave the Ark and go back till he can decide what to do. He leaves the Ark with Obed Edom the Gittite.
Obed was a Gittite which meant he was from the Philistine city of Gath. It also means he would have known about the Ark. I can only imagine his feeling knowing the same Ark that had killed thousands and plagued his hometown with hemorrhoids was going to be left with him!
Obed means “worships God” and it must have been a name he earned. Our Bible only says Obed and his house were blessed. Sources outside the Bible say all the women of his house gave birth every two weeks for the 3 months he kept the Ark. That would have been a blessing then in a world that ran on child labor. Obed honored the presence of God and worshipped Him.
David hears Obed is being blessed and decides it is safe to go get the Ark. This time he dances his heart out while musicians play as the Ark is moved. They stop every 6 paces and offer sacrifices. The Bible says David was dressed in linen. Linen was underwear and David’s wife was not happy to see her husband dancing in public. She tells David with great sarcasm that he has exposed himself in public and is a disgrace. David is not impressed by her and explains that he was dancing before God and worshipping him.
David stands out as someone who really worshipped God. In the true sense of worship he put aside his life and honored God. His example of worship is still valid. Even though he was flawed he still worshipped. He maintained a wonderful connection to God. A worshiper puts aside the self-centered life and focuses on the true greatness of God.
But what happens when we worship God. It seems counter intuitive but we have improvement in our lives. It would make sense that if we get what we want we will be happy. It also makes sense that the more we get the happier we will be. Only problem is we aren’t wired that way so it doesn’t work. We are designed to connect and that connection we get with God when we worship far outshines anything the world can offer.
Need proof? Look at the most devout Christians you can find. You will have to look because they don’t stand up and wave but they are there. Usually working away in some church program or maybe a soup kitchen. You might find her working in the church nursery. You might find him painting the church or raising money to help someone. They will tell you the source of everything good in their life including their happiness is God. They will take no credit for their success. Their fruit will be abundant.
We don’t have the Ark but we have the Holy Spirit. It is the presence of God in our lives. If we take time to worship we will be blessed. It may not be with childbirth every 2 weeks but if it is from God you know it will be good!