I'm Batman[501st] Posted July 6, 2014 Report Posted July 6, 2014 I think you're lying to us Aaron. You just ducked out and bought a brand new Sterling off the shelf and are trying to pass it off as a 60 year old weapon! Quote
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted July 6, 2014 Report Posted July 6, 2014 Wow, Aaron! Looking incredible. You're going to have to have that thing publicly certified by some authority as a prop, and carry paperwork stating as much. Beautiful. Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) Thanks, Ian...I think. Yeah, I wish it were that easy, especially for what $$ I've got in this, becasue I would have jumped on that deal. I saw a $10,900 price tag on the Wiselite Arms replicas...if I had that kind of cash laying around, I probably wouldn't be building props... Edited July 6, 2014 by usaeatt2 Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Posted July 6, 2014 Thanks, Tim! I still haven't addressed the demilling...which may be a problem at this stage. Maybe it will just stay on display at my house because at about 15 pounds, I certainly won't be trooping with it! Quote
sskunky Posted July 7, 2014 Report Posted July 7, 2014 I can't believe I have missed this "EPIC" Sterling restoration and E11 build! This is above and beyond what I have ever seen before! This is totally inspiring and makes me want to learn welding! I have a Sterling parts kit sitting in the cupboard waiting for something to happen like this................. Just need to buy some more man machines and tools....... To put in my workshop that's being built as we speak.... Thanks for such a great thread... Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks, Mathias!!! Thank you for your "epic" comment, Mark. It's quite humbling. I just welded a few pipes together and drilled some holes. Having the right machines and lots of reference material from the FISD makes the difference. I took welding classes on my G.I. Bill at the local community college - one thing I can say: no matter what skill you learn, nobody can ever take that away from you. From there, practice and experience only makes you better. I only wanted to learn how to TIG weld, but as it turns out, I had to take all the other welding classes as "pre-requisites" - gas welding, brazing, stick welding, MIG welding and finally, TIG welding. An interesting thing happened in my classes too... a girl cashier from a local convenience store ended up being the best welder in all the classes. What the? And she's still a cashier, years later. She should be doing metal sculptures - she made some of the most beatiful welds I've ever seen, but she had no interest in it as a profession... like me, she just wanted to learn a new skill. Huh. Good luck with your shop. If I could rebuild my shop from scratch, I would install air compressor plumbing behind the drywall. Oh, and I'd have an air conditioner or at least more ceiling fans. And a urinal. Do yourself a favor and calculate square footage and heat loss for the correct size heater/furnace. My first shop furnace was WAY too big...100,000 BTU for 1500 square feet. The furnace would kick on in the winter and the shop would be 80 degrees in like 3 minutes, then a long cooling period. When the heat exchanger cracked in that furnace, I asked an HVAC friend to do the calculations - he recommended 60,000 BTU maximum. Now, when the furnace kicks on, it runs for awhile, but the temperature stays much more constant - my shop is almost more comfortable than the house during winter. One time, the house furnace went out and my wife and I just slept out in the shop until we could get the house furnace repaired. Ah, those were the days... Thanks again for your compliments!!! Quote
sskunky Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) Good advice! My workshop is only 21 sq meters 7 x 3 so it won't need too much heating.... I must decide where everything is going then I can run air line hose to the places I need to. I'm already thinking I need a bigger space for everything I want in there but to this day my workshop has been a B&W workbench outside the back door, so whatever I have is more than I have ever had! The compliments are justified, you've done a great job on this Sterling rebuild and E11 conversion. cheers! Edited July 8, 2014 by sskunky Quote
Snaps[TK] Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 What an awesome looking piece of work...can't believe I didn't see this until now! Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 Thanks, Steve! You must be the "other" Steve I've seen referenced in other threads... Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) A little update moving towards completion... Airbrush music: Earthless - Rythyms From A Cosmic Sky Track 2 "Sonic Prayer" Coated the bolt and related parts with KG Gunkote "Titanium". Feeling sorry for the resin guys who have to mask off the Doopy T-tracks, I decided to two-tone the bolt. Masking tape hell ensues. Coated the raised strips with KG Gunkote "Brushed Stainless". Completed airbrushing. Parts are baking in the oven right now! After baking @ 325 degF for 90 minutes, I allowed the parts to cool, greased the spring cups and assembled the bolt. I purposely took several "disassembled" pictures here since a lot of troopers doing resin builds are including the shell extractor detail. This shows all the bolt parts close-up and includes sort of a step-by-step assembly. This is the side of the bolt you see through the extraction port. This is the back side of the bolt where most of the action happens. As the bolt slides forward, the two rails "push" each round out of the magazine, up the magazine ramp and into the chamber. The ejector sticks up between the rails (in the middle slot). When the bolts travels backwards, the little hook on the end of the extractor is holding the spent casing. The ejector "peels" the spent casing off of the front of the bolt. The extractor hook will only allow the spent casing to rotate towards the extraction port. In this picture, the parts are laid out in the same orientation as they will be installed in the extractor slot. Extractor spring installed in the bolt (with a little dab of grease). Next step is tough...push the extractor back against spring pressure until the holes line up, then slide the pin through the bolt and the extractor. It takes a considerable amount of force to compress the spring - but that's good. You definitely want the extractor to do it's job well, otherwise you'll have jamming. From the front of the bolt. This is a full automatic bolt - the firing pin is fixed (doesn't move). Here, I'm making sure the extractor functions. I'm pulling the front of the extractor up with my finger. This happens when the bolt moves all the way forward and there's a round in the chamber. The extractor has to climb over the edge of the round, then the hook snaps down and grabs the groove at the back of the round. You can see the tip of my finger is turning white because it takes a lot of force to pull the extractor up. You can also see the extractor pin (installed in a previous step) really well in this picture. Trigger group detailing. Just painted some parts of the main trigger group and the selector switch. Cleaned the everything else thoroughly. T-TRACKS: I've always wondered the following and haven't seen it posted elsewhere, so here goes: Comparison photos for Gino and Marv T-track. Gino track on the LEFT. Marv track on the RIGHT. Gino track on the LEFT. Marv track on the RIGHT. Gino track on the LEFT. Marv track on the RIGHT. Here are my measurements: Base width: Gino - 13mm Marv - 11.5mm Height: Gino - 7mm Marv - 9mm Bottom arc width: Gino - 7mm Marv - 5mm I've been told the Gino track is much harder to bend than Marv's. Because of this, I can only assume they're made of different types of plastic. That's next, so I guess we'll see. Right now, I'm leaning towards using the Gino track since I think it will sit "more flush" and more easily cover the Sterling receiver holes. Hopefully, I'll have the tracks installed in the next update... Edited July 12, 2014 by usaeatt2 Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted July 12, 2014 Report Posted July 12, 2014 Looking fantastic Aaron. Did I see a debate about which one is more screen accurate, or don't we want to go there again? So you want the holes fully covered do you? Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Marv's T-track is a "found" item in the UK. Gino's T-track is a "re-created" item, based on reference photos and possible LFL archive measurements. There have been debates about whether the Gino track is based on actual measurements or just estimates based on photos. Either way, I don't really care and I try to avoid any debate. Overall, the Gino track "looks" more accurate to me, but I don't have anything other than my own observation to back that up... That's why I ordered both...so I could do my own comparison, in person. I offer my photos for anyone considering a future purchase of either. Edited July 12, 2014 by usaeatt2 Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 ^^^^ Added many photos of bolt assembly and trigger group detailing to my earlier post (including extractor details to help the Doopy guys) ^^^^ Quote
Locitus[Admin] Posted July 12, 2014 Report Posted July 12, 2014 Nice work on the detail pictures and comparisons. I might have to nab these for a gallery, if that's okey with you. Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 Nice work on the detail pictures and comparisons. I might have to nab these for a gallery, if that's okey with you. I would be honored to have any of my pictures in the gallery! Quote
Locitus[Admin] Posted July 12, 2014 Report Posted July 12, 2014 Happy to hear that. Naturally I will give credit and link to this thread where it applies. And congrats on your 501st post. Quote
welshchris77[TK] Posted July 12, 2014 Report Posted July 12, 2014 Fantastic build Aaron, keep up the good work! Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 Happy to hear that. Naturally I will give credit and link to this thread where it applies. And congrats on your 501st post. WOW! Time flies when you're having fun. I thought about this about a week ago and wanted to do something cool for my 501st post...but there's something right in the galaxy when my 501st post ends up accepting your offer to post my pictures in the reference library. Thanks again - the honor is mine. Hopefully these will help troopers turn out even better blaster builds! Quote
usaeatt2 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Posted July 12, 2014 Fantastic build Aaron, keep up the good work! Thanks Chris. You've got me thinking about a display case... Quote
welshchris77[TK] Posted July 28, 2014 Report Posted July 28, 2014 Your welcome Aaron ,got back to doing some work on my display case the last few days, kind of hard juggling a family and building an extension on my house but try to get a few hours in on the weekend on my hobbies. Quote
usaeatt2 Posted August 5, 2014 Author Report Posted August 5, 2014 Thanks, Vern! To all, I'm really close to finishing, but we took a two week vacation in the Azores (800 miles off the coast of Portugal). I planned to put on the finishing touches upon our return, but I seem to have contracted some kind of "tropical funk" which really slowed me down. Just now starting to feel better. I think all I have left is to bend and attach Gino's T-track. Hopefully in the next week or two, I'll finish up and post some professional quality photos! Quote
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