Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine

The more things change...

Merry Christmas Everybody!

It sounds like we may have to reschedule most of Christmas due to impending Iowa Weather. No big surprise there- it IS Iowa, after all.

Figures that when I checked the Casper weather the other day, it was sunny an 45 degrees. (Grrr.)

(Hope you are enjoying it, Jack, Anna, and everyone else- you know who you are.)

Anyhow, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

(Gratuitous baby pics to follow, photos by Korey.)











Remember- Santa is WATCHING you!
(and so are some alphabet soup agencies, if you read this blog or any like it.)

I don't care what I "get for Christmas," Mary and Joseph got their baby, Jesus; mankind got a shot at Salvation, and Korey & I have The Awesome Eli.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

The Passion of the Volk

So, the Ultimate Awesome Photographer Oleg Volk has recently been shooting pics of some of my refinishing work. You gotta love this guy's passion, skill, & spirit:


Education at its FINEST.

Soon-to-be Supermodel Jessica


(Probably Eli's first rifle.)

A business would have to be all kinds of dumb to not hire Oleg and one of his fantastic models.


And Eli and I have been going over new skill sets:


(Eating like a Big Boy, crawling, standing, yakking...dueling is a ways off.)




(Funny thing is, he didn't actually crawl UNTIL daddy fired up the lightsaber- THEN we had to come see what the red blade tasted like, and scoot scoot CRAWL. The kid cracks me up.)

And Finally, here is why it might take weeks over the winter to refinish a SIMPLE 1911-
You have to be able to GET to the shop! Blizzards suck.



(Parkerized & primed with first round of DuraCoat; ready for fine sanding prior to gloss black)


Also, here is a Christmas Delivery for someone:





1-9 heavy barrel, Eotech 512 (AA Battery model,) MagLevel PMAG with ranger floorplates, M4 6-position stock, Rock River 2-stage match trigger, Midwest Industries co-witness rail mount, Phantom Flah hider, Yankee Hill Diamond-style freefloat forearm, and a midlength gas system for the whole package. Not exactly what Santa wants, but it beats waiting 6 months for an RRA TASC kit to be delivered, to be sure.

The lower is from SI DEFENSE- and they are hands down the NICEST lowers I have ever seen, finish wise. Fit is pretty damn good too.

If I don't post again until after the holidays, please forgive me- plenty going on and just catching up on emails & phone calls is a challenge.

so, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

Snow Day...

...it sucks. Glad to be home, but I know someone likely made it in today; I just seem to have an issue with the 2 feet of snow keeping my truck in position on the street out front. Couldn't even make it up the driveway last night, and was even stuck in the lot at work for about 30 minutes last night trying to leave before the storm really kicked in. SO, since I have time online...

fishing










chillin











chowin








Awesome Harley Outfit (Thanks Jane & Scot!)








2 seconds from trying to eat the camera








Chillin in the back of the Celebrity (pre-wreck)

Pictures of the Boy...

...some of you have been asking about the boy- the Mrs. has some more recent pics up at her blog- we both take plenty, it's just getting around to uploading them that is the trick...

Free to good home...

.. with purchase. Of COURSE you knew there was a catch!

Well, since this isn't my design, I refuse to sell these outright, but in December, for anyone that uses GunPal to purchase anything form my website (vinyl stickers included!) I will toss in a free Simon Jester logo at no charge (upon request.)

These are machine cut, about 4" tall, and there is no background- just red vinyl, easily applied with the included transfer tape.

If you are on my blogroll, just shoot me an email before 24Dec09, and I'll send ya one gratis for the entertainment value you have provided me with. Its not much, but hey...I read a LOT.

If you are one of the "honchos" at Simon Jester, that goes for you as well.

How do you not drown first?

It would take 31 bottles of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout to kill me

Created by Bar Stools

Sorry for the light posting lately. Busy, busy!

THANK YOU VETERANS!

And everyone, please pray that policies are changed so that Ft. Hood style incidents do not happen again.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Figures...the week I miss Castle...

H/t to http://iaimtomisbehave.blogspot.com/

Coolest. Thing. Evah.

I have waited SO long for something like this:
https://www.gunpal.net/gp






Thank you, Easter Bunny!
Now the (pending) vinyl decal section of the website won't have to rely on you-know-who.

Happy Halloween!

View all Des Moines events on Eventful

Quick Survey - Link & Update

Richard Mann is doing research for an article on the suitability of the .22 LR for personal protection. The article will appear in an upcoming issue of the National Rifle Association’s Shooting Illustrated magazine. This survey is part of that research.

Four questions and takes just a minute to complete.

Please check it out.

As an aside, the website has recently been overhauled. More coming in the future, when I can pass webdesign responsibilities over to someone else. I FINALLY have a few of the sa-weet Oleg Volk photos of a couple of refinished items of mine up there. Just been short on time & long on grief since October 2- and more on that in another post later.

Motorcycle Helmet and Remington R25

So, here is what ACU looks like on a bike helmet...







And here is what a well used Remington R25 in .243 looks like, when the unsealed factory camo finish meet wear & tear-



You get to see the underlying white paint (Very DuraCoat like, by the way.)



Too bad the "Dipped" decal camo finish received ZERO post treatment at the factory.
And a previous owner tried to fill the letters, making the problem worse.

Luckily, the officer that owns this knew someone that knows me.



So, Before & After!







Never a dull moment, just a dull black finish.
Happy shooting, Trooper!

Post #101 - DROWNING HOPE

(Soon to be) spotted on eBay (Until they shut me down.)

Apparently, I Have too much time on my hands, a vinyl cutter, and some mirror chrome all weather adhesive vinyl. Approximately 4x5 inches.

Remington 700 in .300 Win

Submitted for your approval is the Eastridge Gun Company's Eliminator 700.

Tactical Tim loves the Eliminator!

This is one badassed rifle, folks.

The stock is machined out of aluminum, with an AR15
pistol grip. The stock is 3 sections bolted together, and is adjustable for
length of pull and "comb" height. Very nice!



Tricked out the bolt...

The BDS-92

Here is my buddy Tim's first shot at a full disassembly/finish strip/ refinish & reassembly custom job on a Beretta. (I am calling it the Boondock Saints 92- note his celtic cross, "veritas" & "aequitas. " Nice!) I am VERY proud of him.

Well - Bye!

SIC SEMPER HYANNIS

Toddywood Signs

So it turns out my friend Todd is a really profiicent local woodcarver/burner and signmaker.
As a commission for the Boy, he did the following on Poplar, a piece around 12 x 16 (too lazy to measure right now.)

$45 plus shipping for a similar (but not identical) design, or $65/shipping and it will be "worked up" for you based on your idea, and then created on your approval based on your approved design.
A variety of woods are available, as are framing. Todd has not had time or inclination to put up a website, so after we get a photoshoot done, examples will go up on the Galt's Guns website.

Flash photo:


No flash:



Email or comment with questions.

Hile, Gunslingers

It has been quite a while since I had a few moments to actually contemplate, let alone MAKE, any grips. While I am not the most proficient gripmaker by ANY means, I do happen to have the material, tools and persisitence to knock them out, from time to time.

I wish my favorite material were a bit "cleaner," - that is, a bit more free of what are visual defects.
It is a type of hardwood that takes 60-80 years to mature, if you want any substantial amount of wood, and even then, 90% of it (or more) is ground up, chipped, or steamed for its valuable oil. Much of the rest goes for funerary purposes. Currently, when it can be found, it goes for about what ivory does- in fact, ivory poachers have been known to give up whacking elephants in favor of obtaining this hardwood.

Of course, I am talking about the wunnerful wunnerful world of Sandalwood.

I do NOT mean the Tamboti that some folks eBay, calling sandalwood; nor do I mean the dark-streaked hedgewood that is made into grips, although it is pretty too- I mean the Australian variety (most of which gets exporeted to India, since they so tightly regulate and quickly consume their own.)

(Tamboti is awesome in its own right, but the sawdust needs a darn MSDS sheet, as the wood contains some sort of neurotoxin.)

I wanted to be able to have a set of Sandalwood grips on a nice .45 wheelgun one day- a "Big Iron," so to speak, in a "hard caliber." I am a recovering "prop nerd," and LOVED the Dark Tower series (thanks, Korey!) So when I stumbled across the chance to obtain what was probably the only substantial quantity of Yellow Australian Sandalwood inside the US, I jumped on it (although like several other decisions, it hurt financially.)

Well, until recently, nobody MADE a wheelgun I would want that I could slap my fancy (beat up, worn looking, well loved and yet to be made) gunslinger's grips on. So, a large part of one gunsafe has been (insanely?) taken up by a REALLY expensive log. It is likely 10-30 years old, as it was cured well when I got it, and the old woodsmith that had it said he had it for quite a while.

Obtaining the revolver itself, well- that is going to be a serious savings project. HERE is what I am after.

I sporadically made a few sets of grips here and there, some for eBay, some not, and old some pen blanks, and a couple of sets of grip blanks, and LOTS of sawdust for incense makers.

Well, now with S-MArt out of the picture, I managed to grab an Essex arms Commander frame, and knock out a couple of pair. There are worm tracks in the wood, from some type of butterfly larvae that love the stuff, so to prevent cracking. Neither pair is set up for extended OR Ambi safeties; one set is drilled for the cross pin for the mainspring, the other set is not.

At this point, everything has tasted like sandalwood for days. I have about 4 oz (by volume, not weight) of sandalwood dust ready to go, so if any of you Wiccans want it, make an offer.

I have more information & refernece on why I am convinced that Roland's grips would be most accurate made of the Aussie sandal, versus anything else. Link is here.

So without further adieu...
The WIDE PAIR:






No, the dark streak is NOT sharpie- it is an epoxy-fille worm track. The screw/bushing hole right there was also reinforced with a brass insert, to prevent cracking along the track.


The Skinny Pair:





All 4 screw/bushing holes on the skinny pair are brass insert & epoxy reinforced, as is the crack along the main vein in the right hand grip panel.

THIS is why I wish there was better quality sandalwood available. If I could find it, I'd get it.
Neither pair is for sale, at the moment, other than to the one fellow that has "dibs," since I have made him wait since January.

Thanks to my buddy Craig in NM & his Mrs. for the sweet photo tags.