Measure Twice, Cut Once
Always Read The Fine Print...
The process of mounting a scope on the K31 just got a little more complicated.
The drill & tap mount and the curiously expensive scope rings arrived this afternoon via UPS. Naturally, they arrived right at 5 p.m., leaving me no time to get over to the gunsmith's shop before he closed. I took today off just to deal with little tasks like this, but apparently conspiracy and ill will on the part of the goods-schlepping industry have left me out in the cold.
I was reading the directions for installing the mount, in the vain hope I'd be able to tackle it myself with a power drill and a bench vise. Ha. As if. No, this one's gonna require a proper drill press and a set of "V" blocks to hold the barreled action tight before any drilling commences. I don't even own a set of 10-32 taps, so I'll probably drop the gear off with my father, along with a wad of cash so he can run the errand for me while I'm out toiling for The Man. He's retired, and it's high time he was inducted into the fine art of loitering around gun shops.
The fun part came right at the end of the directions. I quote: "Some wood must be removed to accomodate the base."
Well, damn. That'll bump the gunsmith tariff a tad bit, unless I do it myself. I hate the thought of carving on the stock of any rifle with the handy Dremel, even a rifle stock as bunged up as this one. Still, I keep telling myself "$100 rifle... $100 rifle... $100 rifle". I could carve "Ted Kennedy Fears This Rifle" deeply into the stock, inlay the words with hot pink epoxy, then varnish the whole thing with gold metalflake finish, and actually INCREASE the value, just as a novelty item. Heck, I could probably sell it to those whack-a-zoids at the Birch Society booth for double my investment at the next gun show.
So, I'm carefully doing a test fit, marking off the section of stock that's gotta go. If it goes well, I might take some pics. If not?? Well, let's just say there's one more use for duct tape. Covering up mistakes!
The process of mounting a scope on the K31 just got a little more complicated.
The drill & tap mount and the curiously expensive scope rings arrived this afternoon via UPS. Naturally, they arrived right at 5 p.m., leaving me no time to get over to the gunsmith's shop before he closed. I took today off just to deal with little tasks like this, but apparently conspiracy and ill will on the part of the goods-schlepping industry have left me out in the cold.
I was reading the directions for installing the mount, in the vain hope I'd be able to tackle it myself with a power drill and a bench vise. Ha. As if. No, this one's gonna require a proper drill press and a set of "V" blocks to hold the barreled action tight before any drilling commences. I don't even own a set of 10-32 taps, so I'll probably drop the gear off with my father, along with a wad of cash so he can run the errand for me while I'm out toiling for The Man. He's retired, and it's high time he was inducted into the fine art of loitering around gun shops.
The fun part came right at the end of the directions. I quote: "Some wood must be removed to accomodate the base."
Well, damn. That'll bump the gunsmith tariff a tad bit, unless I do it myself. I hate the thought of carving on the stock of any rifle with the handy Dremel, even a rifle stock as bunged up as this one. Still, I keep telling myself "$100 rifle... $100 rifle... $100 rifle". I could carve "Ted Kennedy Fears This Rifle" deeply into the stock, inlay the words with hot pink epoxy, then varnish the whole thing with gold metalflake finish, and actually INCREASE the value, just as a novelty item. Heck, I could probably sell it to those whack-a-zoids at the Birch Society booth for double my investment at the next gun show.
So, I'm carefully doing a test fit, marking off the section of stock that's gotta go. If it goes well, I might take some pics. If not?? Well, let's just say there's one more use for duct tape. Covering up mistakes!
posted by El Capitan | 6:24 PM
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