TrainWreck's Trooper Blunderbuss... I mean T-21 scratch build

[TrainWreck[501st]]

This will be a cross posted thread with MEPD.

 

So out the gate I'm saying this is not a tutorial. This is a simple build thread.

I've never attempted anything like this at all.

 

If you're looking for a good T-21 template may I suggest Pandatrooper's (the one I will be using):

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/10313-new-t-21-blaster-template/?p=130310&hl=blaster%20template&fromsearch=1#entry130310

 

He also has a great tutorial here:

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11017-how-to-t-21-blaster-scratch-build/

 

I'm also very fond of Batphobic's build tutorial over at MEPD:

 

http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=12776

 

So with all of that out of the way lets get this circus started!

 

First I had a friend at a print shop print me up a couple of Pandatrooper's templates on large single sheets of paper (many people just print it out in sections and tape it together).

 

 

I then cut out the bottom side view of the template and using Batphobic's trick flipped it over, used a pencil to layer on grafite along the outline (on the reverse side of the print), flipped it back over and taped it to an appropriate length piece of 1"x8" white board, and the traced out the outline with the pencil thus transferring the image (my English teacher is rolling over in her grave from that sentence):

 

 

Now I don't have a band saw or an electric jigsaw. I have a coping saw. So in an attempt to develop Zen like patience I began:

 

 

...and I slowly worked my way across the bottom:

 

 

...and once done with that I drilled a hole in the trigger guard and cut that out:

 

 

 

...and that's what I had in me tonight. I thing for a first attempt it's not terrible. I have a lot of sanding ahead of me to get the rough shape defined. Only major problem so far is when I did the front bottom bulge of the grip I was sawing at an angle instead of straight across so "cut off" the buldge on that side but I will research fixing it.

 

...and that is day one.

Edited May 8, 2014 by TrainWreck

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Might just be me, but I don't see any photos.

 

For what it's worth, the narrative is compelling. I really do WANT to see it.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

They are showing up when I look at it... :/ Hmmm. If no one else can see it I'll try to remedy the situation tomorrow evening. Thanks for the heads up Tim.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Never mind... For some reason, they are here now. LoL

 

Off to a great start. Brother!!

 

Oh, I received official notification - Fort Worth it is. No later than 10 October.

[usaeatt2]

Looking good, Brian.  Now I'm feeling pressure to finish my E-11...you're well underway on a second gun.  Cutting that stock with a band saw or a jigsaw would be daunting, but a coping saw?  You've definitely got perserverance!  When there's a will, there's a way.

 

Tim: Orders?

[TrainWreck[501st]]

@Aaron yeah the cutting you see in those pics represents about 2 hours of my night. I posted a ppic or two on Facebook last night and have had a friend offer the use of his band saw if I need it. I'll probably finish the main body and two buttstock pieces with what I have and if I've gone crazy by then told him I might take him up on that when I get to all of the magazine housing pieces. Since all of my carpentry experience is in making theatrical platforms and shelving I might keep this up for now (I've never been know for my accuracy with power tools, but I'm learning).

 

@Tim. Not to underplay the daunting task of moving a family with a new born cross country (my youngest was 6 months old when we moved here) but on my end that's really cool! If I had to pick between Dallas and Fort Worth, FW wins that vote. Welcome to DFW and if when you get here if you need anything from sagely advice as to the area or just another back to move a couch don't hesitate to ask. I'm know to break free of my little college town on occasion.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Aaron - Not yet, but I have received Assignment Instructions, and it is showing up everywhere in my official files now, I've got an email from my assignments manager confirming it. At this point in time, I'm training up my interim replacement (because in true military fashion, my replacement won't arrive until I'm gone) and awaiting those orders.

Brian, I'm a pro at moving around. LoL Last time was from Seattle to Southeast Alabama, before that was Chicago to Seattle. The little guy will be maybe a month to a month and a half old when we hit the road, depending on when he arrives so that is going to suck, but I'm really excited about getting there and being back in a big city again. Near an NHL team so I can see my Blackhawks play from time to time, and I'll definitely be picking your brain, inviting you over and all that good stuff at some point after we get there.

Aaron got it right... That coping saw is serious commitment. LoL

Edited December 3, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Oh, and the added benefits of having a big city to troop around, instead of being no less than three hours from 90% of the troops will be nice, too!!

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Eh, the coping saw is as old as I am and the blade broke this evening... I guess I was more committed than it was.

 

Got a friend trying to excavate his cheep electric jigsaw for me. We will see. I've never actually used one. I'm kind of stalled out until I get my hands on another detail saw of some sort. But I knew this overall was going to be a slow build.

 

Tim looking forward to it.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

I'll have some pictures up a little later when I get a bit more done. My friend dropped of the jigsaw which on the one hand is infinitely faster but it is at the cost of accuracy for me. I got the rest of the gun cut out and two 1/4" oak panels for either side of the butt stock. I'm currently glueing those on, cursing that they don't match up perfectly with the center piece, and will start trying to sand, correct the shape, and just general shaping tomorrow for the buttstock. Eh if this all goes astray I have a plan B for the buttstock. I'm only $10 in right now anyhoo...

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Looking forward to it!!

 

Exciting project.

[Batphobic]

Thanks for the shout-out Brian! Great start. Like others have said - huge props for getting this far with the coping saw. Yeah, tough to get great accuracy with a jig saw but I cut wide of the cut line and then used rough-tooth files to really eat away at the wood to get back to the line.

Can't wait to see the progress.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Thanks Batphobic.  I went a different route with the shaping which I will explain now!

 

Update time!

 

So when we last saw my build I was in the middle of cutting out the basic shape.  After a broken coping saw and an electric jigsaw emergency drop I continued forward. 

 

I cut the rest of the gun out, the two side plates for the buttstock, and glued those puppies on.

 

 

now it might be obvious but I picked up oak paneling (plywood) for the side pieces.  This is having a mixed blessing as it chips off as you work with it but hopefully all of that will give the weathering a nice look when I eventually get to that stage.

 

So I left the stock clamped over night and then compared how badly my jigsaw work matched up.

 

 

 

Hmmmm...  Not real excited by my work so I pulled the jigsaw back out and trimmed off the excess. 

 

 

 

So I will just give you a series of photos for this next part.  Basically I pulled out my electric palm sander and started shaping the stock.  I started by rounding of the top and then moved to the bottom.  Now on a Lewis the stock is thinner on the bottom than the top so I tried to somewhat emulate that with my shaping. So I rounded out the bottom at a steeper angle than the top then just started sanding like a maniac all over.

 

 

 

 

 

...and this is what I have so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and then one quick comparison against the "master."

 

 

Close enough for imperial work!

 

It's not completely symmetrical yet and I haven't decided if I'm going to take off the entire outer layer of the plywood or leave it for a rough weathered look.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

Edited May 11, 2014 by TrainWreck

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I say leave it. It looks really good!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, I did clean mine up as I applied a nice dark burgundy stain to it which really shows up the wood grain, really it's just personal choice. Keep up the good work

[usaeatt2]

+1 Take it off so all the grain is going the same direction - especially if you plan on staining at some point.  Looks really good.  I wish you guys all lived in my neighborhood so I could loan you tools - a belt sander would have taken far less time than the palm sander.  On the plus side, I bet that stock is silky smooth!!!

Edited May 12, 2014 by usaeatt2

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Yeah Aaron, I think I will take all of it off then I'll stain it, then probably bang it around my garage for a bit to give it some dings (it's soft wood so won't take much). The palm sander seems to be the right pace for me. I think there is a belt sander in a pile of forgotten tools that my dad has somewhere (it where almost all of my tools have come from thus far). I did most of the shaping with 60 grit so it wasn't that slow. Then I did a test run with 200 grit which gave it that baby soft smoothness. Looking at one of the rfrance photos I'm using it looks like I'm going to do some more shaping anyway. The back top half tapers in toward the front.

 

 

I probably won't buy stain for a week or so anyway. I'm still getting my head wrapped around what I want to do detail wise on the side assembly. I'm currently Glueing the two pieces on the grip though I'm not too excited about how much smaller they are than the grip. Looks like a lot more trimming and sanding up the tracks.

 

Thanks everyone for the kind words and suggestions!

[usaeatt2]

Brian, when you go to buy stain, make sure you also get a pre-stain conditioner.  Pine will soak up stain unevely and end up looking blotchy - the conditioner will even it out.  Although I hate doing it, there's something cathartic about sanding...until your hands go numb on the palm sander.  I restored a classic wooden boat years ago and probably sanded for hundreds of hours collectively.  Keep up the good work!

[TrainWreck[501st]]

So I cheaped out and didn't buy pine. The center board was labled "white wood" which upon further investigation is probably either aspen or cotton wood (something from the poplar family of trees). The outer pieces are oak paneling. Didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about how the stain will take to different woods. That may or nay not bite me later. Also a friend that used to work in a frame shop was telling me if I dampen the surface first it will make the wood expand just a little which will allow the first coat to soak in further which will cut down on how many coats I'll ultimately have to apply. I have never stained anything before so was planning to get some research in before brush touches wood. Any advice is welcome. Thanks Aaron!

Edited May 12, 2014 by TrainWreck

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Sorry for the media blackout. Unfortunately with summer rapidly approaching I've had to start diverting funds to things like daycare and one kid is joing up with a swim team (but my wife's car will finally be paid off in two months so hopefully that will open up some funds).

I did find a hobby store the next town down from me where I can source styrene for the side details and some parts on the magazine receiver. I also just jumped on a cheap lot of 6 Enfield straps so I'll at least have those and will will be able to offer 4 of them up for sale pretty cheaply for anyone else working on a T-21.

I did come to the unfortunate realization that my stock is a quarter inch too thin. I kept thinking it was a bit narrow. I'm just going to live with it for now. My grip has also come out a bit wonky as well as the trigger guard turned out to be too thin and the edeges on it broke off when I was hand sanding. I'll do repairs with Bondo when I get some and document the whole process. Until then take care all!

[usaeatt2]

Thanks for the update and looking forward to more.  Take your time and take care of your family!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Updates are always fun, Brian.

 

Family is always there. I'm sure that most of us fully understand that.

 

If it takes too long, I'll come over and help you with it. Not that I seem to work very fast, either. LoL

[TrainWreck[501st]]

You see the great thing about a kit is it's a kit. The bulk of what you need is there. I'm not wanting for time just materials... The E-11 all things considered whent pretty well. But it was all there... Ah well. I'll get to it. Today is garage cleaning day so that ought to keep me occupied until work tomorrow.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

So I jumped on a lot of 6 Enfield slings on eBay for cheap but it turns out of course that they were straps for Enfield ammo pouches. They are one inch wide and 28 inches long... I'm tempted to make them work (sewing time anyone?) but man!

Well I didn't name myself Train Wreck for nothing.

[Idaho Jones[TK]]

Try these im working on a T21 myself, best price I could find had to call in the order, it was under their min. online price but there on the way.

 

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/leeenfield3or4slingwwiwbrassstamp.aspx