My latest TS45

[makenzie71]

This gun started out like all my others.  I cut a bit more out of the grip area than I normally do but it fits so lightly in the hand now.  It's a great fit.  This has been one of my favorite stocks so far.  When I got this thing it was the same generic yellow as all of them...but after strigpping all the Chinese &^^& off there turned out to be some very pretty lumber underneath.  It's stained ebony, then wiped down, then rubbed with glass.  I'll oil it in a couple days with the stain has cured.

The barrel is shortened 4".

I tried something new with a scope rail this time.  I used a piece of mild steel bracketing for this one.  I filed the edges down to fit the weaver clamps and then spot welded it to the tube through the middle (had holes going down it).  Not a lot different from my others, but I had to weld the ends of those.  This time I also crammed a lot of epoxy under the rail, and then into the gaps and everyone on top of the rail.  I got a decently smooth finish up top and added stability underneath.

I polished everything inside the gun.  Left the beartrap on so she's not quiet on the cocking stroke, but not too loud.  She shoots pretty hard and is holding a 1" pattern at 20 feet and tightening.  Still breaking in.

For those of you who've worked with these...I filed the end of the trigger assembly just a bit and she went from a 12lb trigger pull (really) to a 14 oz pull.











Next to an original...

[Fwawa20]

Nice work on your side lever!!! It seems they do have pretty nice wood for a cheap gun!

[makenzie71]

Thanks!  Of the nine I have only two had generic, no-character lumber underneath.  They all looked more or less the same on the outside but after stripping them down...I just can't fathom why anyone would want to hide that pretty grain.  I wish I knew what kind of wood it was.

[FriedTater]

8-10 coats of oil would really set that stock off nicely
Good looking tweaks for sure

[longdx]

@mackenzie71: Beautiful job. However, I have a quick question. What  do you mean that you wiped it with glass? I am curious because I love how this turned out.

[makenzie71]

You take a piece of glass....like an old school pill bottle or spice bottle or bear bottle cap etc...and rub it along the grain of the wood.  You'll get a nice, semi-matte sheen and it helps seal the wood.

I'm not very good at explaining things and googling it just shows me ways to remove sweat rings from your coffee table.  It was popular for a while on primitivearcher so I'll go there and see if anyone has a good pictoral/write up.