February 15, 2007
Well, they're at it again.
Once again, the brainless ninnyhammers are on their soapboxes. And, as usual, getting it wrong. This raving nutbag purposes that somehow, the RIFLE was the issue, and not the SHOOTER. I've said it before and I'll say it again: blaming guns for gun violence is like blaming flies for feces. If you read this woman's site, you can see that she just doesn't get it--she actually says that gun-owners don't use the AK-47 for home defense! Is she serious? Then she admits that the shooter purchased the gun LEGALLY. Meaning that there was no reason to deny his NICS check. Ergo, no felonies, no drug addictions, no dishonorable discharge, not a fugitive from justice nor any of the OTHER 10 questions you have to answer on a brady form. So essentially, this guy jumped through all of the legal hoops required by Uncle Sugar and proved the point that bad people do bad things with guns NO MATTER how many laws you put in their way! Stupid, idiot, asinine, backwards thinkers really get my goat. I'm sure she's a lovely lady when she's off work, but I'm so mad I'd punch her right in the face!
Oh yeah, HERE's the link.
Oh yeah, HERE's the link.
Labels: Stoopid Democrats
// posted by wayne @ 2/15/2007 05:22:00 PM 
February 12, 2007
It's finished, but not finished.
Yes indeed! Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, the M1911A1 MEU(SOC) replica .45 is finished! But, as noted earlier, not finished. Meaning that 99% of the file work and fitting is done, but I have yet to put a nice, even, black parkerized finish on the beast. The remaining 1% just the tiniest bit of touch-up work on the grip safety tang to make sure it doesn't drag on the trigger bow. Then, the absolutely-last thing will be to put the ejector back on (I removed it to fit the frame rails to the slide) and make sure it doesn't protrude from the back of the slide now that it's been contoured to match the end of the frame. Technically, I still have to make sure it feeds and ejects with dummy rounds to absolutely certain it really is fitted correctly prior to firing with live ammunition. All that aside, tonight's goal was to correct the problem of the slide binding at the end of its travel and that is done. It seems the slide rails internal cuts were made too short, so they were pinching and sticking at the end of the slide's travel. How did I know it was the slide? Simple; I put a different slide on my frame and it went just fine but when I put my slide on the other frame, it was would stick every time.
Right now it's not the most attractive piece of hardware, since all the filing and polishing I've done is plainly visible, but it's all done by your's truly. There's only one more part to buy, sadly, and that's a slide stop. I had an extended one laying around from the Norinco experiment and did a LOT of file work on that bad daddy to smooth it up all those hard angles, lighten it a bit and change the shape so it matched the thumb safety. The problem here is that I did all that file work BEFORE I checked it to make sure the pin portion would keep the barrel in battery. It's probably usable like this, but if you push down on the barrel hood it will drop just enough so you can feel it. The issue is that the pin portion is not 100% perfectly round and that allows it to drop just every so slightly. The simple solution is to buy one that is machined rather than cast because it will be as close to round as you can get. Easy fix, but still another $20 bill.
Sometime this week, I'll drop the off to have the engraving done. So far, I have 25.1 hours invested in this project, so I don't even want to think what a real smithy would've charged for it. With the parkerizing and any last minute tweaks, I hope to come in under 30 hours total. I expect built another, I could cut about 25% off that just because I know what to expect. Will there be another one? Maybe. I think I'll just focus on this one for now and see what happens. So then, without further delay, feast your eyes on The .45!
Right now it's not the most attractive piece of hardware, since all the filing and polishing I've done is plainly visible, but it's all done by your's truly. There's only one more part to buy, sadly, and that's a slide stop. I had an extended one laying around from the Norinco experiment and did a LOT of file work on that bad daddy to smooth it up all those hard angles, lighten it a bit and change the shape so it matched the thumb safety. The problem here is that I did all that file work BEFORE I checked it to make sure the pin portion would keep the barrel in battery. It's probably usable like this, but if you push down on the barrel hood it will drop just enough so you can feel it. The issue is that the pin portion is not 100% perfectly round and that allows it to drop just every so slightly. The simple solution is to buy one that is machined rather than cast because it will be as close to round as you can get. Easy fix, but still another $20 bill.
Sometime this week, I'll drop the off to have the engraving done. So far, I have 25.1 hours invested in this project, so I don't even want to think what a real smithy would've charged for it. With the parkerizing and any last minute tweaks, I hope to come in under 30 hours total. I expect built another, I could cut about 25% off that just because I know what to expect. Will there be another one? Maybe. I think I'll just focus on this one for now and see what happens. So then, without further delay, feast your eyes on The .45!
// posted by wayne @ 2/12/2007 04:26:00 AM
February 10, 2007
I almost forgot!
Now that the bedroom is finished, you need to see the picture! Sorry about that. Bow down to Aimee's mad design skills! And give it up to Kelly, who was kind enough to brave IKEA and then ship us the orchid prints. Thanks Kelly, you rock.// posted by wayne @ 2/10/2007 05:10:00 AM
February 03, 2007
A Tale of Two Estimates
As the saying goes "There's good news...and there's bad news". The good news is that it appears The Big Black Truck may one day soon ride again! The bad news is that the woman who hit me had insurance, but not at the time of the collision! In fact, her company had canceled her policy 5 days prior to the accident. 5 flippin' days. Once the matter of whose insurance would be paying was settled, it was all about costs.
I took the BBT last Monday to Norman Body Works for an estimate and their number was $4922.62 for parts, labor and paint. Keep in mind, this is using "recycled" parts (except for the bed) which is super-PC code for used parts. And I'm alright with that, so long as they are made by Ford. Now here's where it gets a little iffy: the KBB value of my truck in its current condition (super-great) with 61,783 miles on is around $6635. Our insurance agent informed me (prior to the estimate) that USAA considers costs above 70% of the estimated retail value, but then the adjust appraised it around $6800. Which would mean that after $4760 in body work, the truck would be considered a total loss. Ah, but wait! The same adjuster came out to work last Tuesday and looks over the damage, hmmms and hahs a bit then decides they should be able to fix it for $3900 or thereabouts. He even printed out a nice little estimate list right there in his "car office" complete with the names and addresses of the yards who're supposed to have the parts. Great.
So I take the estimate down to the NBW last Wednesday and leave the truck with them. All good, right? Well, maybe not. The majority of the money the adjuster saved on his estimate can be attributed to using a recycled bed side, supposedly at a yard in Midwest City. I called the body shop Monday to see how things are progressing and they tell me they haven't been able to locate the recycled bed side at the yard spec'd, or any of 9 others, and are waiting on a return call from the adjuster. Great. If they have to use the new one the cost will jump $500 right then and there and if that happens, it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. I decided to call the adjuster to see if he'd been in touch with the body shop (earlier today) but he never called back.
All I really want is the truck fixed so we don't have to pick up another car payment. Don't get me wrong, a new Honda would be extra-super-luxuriously sweet, but so would 2 or 3 years without car payments. I'll let you know how things pan out tomorrow night. Provided I'm able to reach someone.
I took the BBT last Monday to Norman Body Works for an estimate and their number was $4922.62 for parts, labor and paint. Keep in mind, this is using "recycled" parts (except for the bed) which is super-PC code for used parts. And I'm alright with that, so long as they are made by Ford. Now here's where it gets a little iffy: the KBB value of my truck in its current condition (super-great) with 61,783 miles on is around $6635. Our insurance agent informed me (prior to the estimate) that USAA considers costs above 70% of the estimated retail value, but then the adjust appraised it around $6800. Which would mean that after $4760 in body work, the truck would be considered a total loss. Ah, but wait! The same adjuster came out to work last Tuesday and looks over the damage, hmmms and hahs a bit then decides they should be able to fix it for $3900 or thereabouts. He even printed out a nice little estimate list right there in his "car office" complete with the names and addresses of the yards who're supposed to have the parts. Great.
So I take the estimate down to the NBW last Wednesday and leave the truck with them. All good, right? Well, maybe not. The majority of the money the adjuster saved on his estimate can be attributed to using a recycled bed side, supposedly at a yard in Midwest City. I called the body shop Monday to see how things are progressing and they tell me they haven't been able to locate the recycled bed side at the yard spec'd, or any of 9 others, and are waiting on a return call from the adjuster. Great. If they have to use the new one the cost will jump $500 right then and there and if that happens, it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. I decided to call the adjuster to see if he'd been in touch with the body shop (earlier today) but he never called back.
All I really want is the truck fixed so we don't have to pick up another car payment. Don't get me wrong, a new Honda would be extra-super-luxuriously sweet, but so would 2 or 3 years without car payments. I'll let you know how things pan out tomorrow night. Provided I'm able to reach someone.
// posted by wayne @ 2/03/2007 03:15:00 AM
