Hand Made Gun Parts Emergency Production Post #2

Before the industrial revolution all products were made by hand. At first thought we might think of such things as primitive examples of an inferior minded people. Yet they were as smart as we are but were left to work with tools that had not changed in thousands of years. Even with these limitations they produced some things by hand that by today's standards would be considered fantastic. The industrial revolution is just over 200 years old. We on the other hand are equipped with some very fine tools but little understanding of what could be done with them in an emergency. Emergency production of  weapons would not be limited to single shot weapons but could include full auto guns produced in home workshops, though such guns would be limited to pistol bullets they could and would be formidable weapons. With a number of people working at the same time such guns could be turned out rather quickly.

  Tools you have could be readily made to serve a greater purpose. A drill press for example is useful for more than just making holes, it can do: 1) Tapping. Making threads in holes. With the motor off, this is done by placing the part with the right sized hole chucked in the drill press vice. The tap is chosen and the chuck has a cone shaped device placed in it that will be used to keep the tap centered over the work keeping the tap well oiled. The tap is turned back and forth by hand progressing 1/8 turn farther than the last turn each time. Stop and unscrew the tap a little and go 1/8 turn deeper. Import tap sets are as little as $15 on sale, 2) Lapping. Where two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive past between them. The STEN Sub Machine Gun has a bump in a socket that replaces the firing pin. This could easily be made by chucking the part in a drill press vice and using a lapping shaft with a hole in the center, thus making the pocket as well as the firing pin nub at the same time, some hand work will be needed to finish the firing pin protrusion. Another lapping procedure would be to crown the gun barrel even if making a smooth bore gun it will be more accurate with the exit hole crowned. This is preformed with a round head steel bolt larger than the gun barrel chucked in the drill press. Lapping compound is used and the spinning bolt is pushed into the exit hole. 3) Sanding. Is preformed with a flat disk with an abrasive paper or more commonly a round drum spinning with an abrasive paper probably most useful for wood or plastic. 4) Counter-sink. This is where a cone shape is made in the metal over a hole so a cone shape screw will set flush with the metal. Counter-bore is where a slightly larger pocket is drilled in a bolt hole to allow the bolt to be below the surface of the metal. 5) Drilling. Chisel point is the tip of a drill bit that cuts the metal and allows the cutting edges to penetrate the steal and make the hole, however by drilling a small pilot hole even if you cannot go to its desired full length you will lengthen bit life as the chisel point is not being worked to make much of the cut. This point when dull makes it necessary to resharpen a drill bit. This can be preformed by hand at a bench grinder.  Though not apparent to the eye and contrary to popular belief a drilled hole is not round but misshaped. In this condition it could be used as a gun barrel but it would be more useful if you had the right sized boring bar. 6) Boring. This is usually a lathing procedure but in an emergency a very usable short gun barrel could be made on a drill press. A boring bar if available makes a drilled hole perfectly round. The right sized hole must first be drilled and then the it is followed by the boring bar. If the hole is to small the the boring  bar will break. A boring bar has it least four cutting edges and it is slowly inserted in the hole making it round unlike drilling. A little oil is useful even if only drilling a hole. 7) Grinding. Although it is not thought of as a grinder some very fine grinding stones are sold specifically to be chucked in a drill or a drill press. 8) Honing. This is where a device with grindstones on a spinning shaft smooths the inside of a hole like in a engine block cylinder hole or a drum brake hydrolysis cylinder rebuild. 

  If care is used a drill press can be turned into a parts mass production tool in an emergency. The biggest failures with any machine tool is the failure of the parts holding device and part alignment. If care is taken and jigs are made, quick production of gun parts will be possible in a few days. A jig is made to speed up a repetitive part construction. The last concern of paramount importance is feed and feed which can be found on the internet. A number of drill presses side by side with jigs could make a lot of gun parts. Making simple guns is discuses in my other book along with five types of homemade powder and primer production. Richard W Norman

  
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