How do you like my latest build? A convertible to air cooled or water cooled dress up stock for the Ruger 10/22 rifle. The water cooled version, is truly water cooled, not a fake water jacket.
I've built 3 prototypes now of my dress up stocks for the Ruger 10/22 rifle that utilize a crankfire trigger activator. My first prototype was an air cooled only model here.....
My second prototype was a truly water cooled model here....
Both first and second prototypes here....
Then I started on my 3rd final prototype.
Although nothing is anodized yet, the following pics give a good representation of how the convertible to air or water cooled, 3rd prototype, dress up stock will look when completed.
On my first air cooled prototype dress up stock I started on about 4 years ago, I designed it from the start to just have a rear spider sight and tall front sight to resemble a Browning anti-aircraft gun. It had not occurred to me to build a water cooled one yet, not to mention an easily convertible to either air or water cooled one like my current third prototype is.
On my first water cooled prototype I used a front sight on the water jacket of my own design that resembles a Browning 1917's hooded front post sight. On the rear I used a sight mount of my own design that holds and allows spring assisted raising of the WW1 Enfield rifle's ladder sight, that I have modified to enable to be used for windage in my sight mount. Works very well and looks historically representative of tripod machine gun's sights from that era my dress up stock resembles.
After making an air cooled and a water cooled dress up stock. I had taught myself a lot. In looking at both my designs I realized there were improvements I could make. On my 3rd prototype, I redesigned the way the water jacket seals and thus made the water jacket easily removable and able to be replaced in just seconds with a perforated air cooling shroud which has the front sight for the air cooled version built in. Thus by changing out the front end of the stock from one version to the other, you can still continue to use the same water cooled rear sight but the front 1919a4 style sight is replaced as in these below three earlier photos showing a mockup of the 1919a4 front sight, and a mockup of my rear sight which I have since changed to only have the triangle on the left side, just like the Browning 1919a4.
So with this 3rd prototype I could have one sighting system for each version that would only change the front sight when switched between the water cooled or air cooled versions.
But then I decided to also be able to use AA spider sights on the air cooled model also
as in these mockups here where the rear and front sight are not yet attached yet....
Last night I made the quick removable rear ladder sight bracket. That once removed, will not have any unsightly threaded holes. So that I can mount the spider sights on the air cooled version when I switch out the front end. I realized that I could mill off the triangle on the right side, and just keep the triangle on the left side (like on a real Browning 1919) and still be able to secure the sight bracket without it having any kind of looseness or "rock" at all. All that is left to do with this sight bracket is to drill and tap the sight riser plate for the ladder sight's spring, and then to drill the sight protector "ears" and install a small diameter bolt through them and the ladder sight so I can effect windage. The 1917 Enfield rifle ladder sight I am using did not have the ability for windage. It was a flip up type only. So I tapped its pin hole where it flipped up, so it is threaded. The small diameter bolt I will put through it will enable me to turn the bolt to make the ladder sight travel left or right on the bolt, thus effecting windage. I left the sight protective "ears" a little higher than I needed until I mount the ladder sight's spring and the sight itself. Then I may be able to trim the ears down some maybe an 1/8th inch or so. So when you look at it now, the protective ears may look a little higher than they will eventually be. When I made them, I figured better to have them too high and be able to trim them after I finished mounting the sight and its spring, than to have made them too short. You can always trim metal, but it is hard to add when you have cut off.
Here's a link to a short video.
CLIP1314.ASF videos from good times videos on webshots
....and the pics....
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Originally Posted by gewehr44
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