DIY and Mods: User Friendly Chamber Flags

Chamber flags are useful safety items and even when not required due to range rules, I’ll use them just as a courtesy to other shooters.  However, some of them are not the most user friendly of devices, often they require a ‘bit of fiddling’ to get them in and out of the chamber.  With that in mind, here’s how I modify chamber flags.  [as usual, click images to enlarge]

Before and After.

All those right angles and nibs sticking out make for plenty to snag on.  I trim the outside corner and trim the sides to make it easier to insert and remove.  Trimming the inside corner of the flag provides a ‘finger hook’ that makes removal as easy as swiping a finger alongside the receiver.

Also while the standard flag will fit in a .22 rimfire bore, you can make your own by using a piece of string trimmer line and adding a wire crimp butt connector.  (I resisted the impulse of sophomoric humor; the link is safe)

A piece of weed whacker line and a crimped wire connector makes a fine rimfire chamber flag

While the crimp connector isn’t absolutely necessary, I like it there for the peace of mind knowing the trimmer line can’t slip all the way into the bore.

For shotguns, the flags themselves aren’t really unwieldy but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be improved.  I recommend simply drilling a hole and adding a key chain of your choice.

“Because I like it” is enough reason for me.

I realize that these aren’t revolutionary, life-changing mods but they make life a little bit easier on the range.  I hope you find them useful too.

How To Build an Ammo Can Rack (a.k.a the Overbuilt Shelf Project)

I’m getting a late start on my Spring cleaning but at least it’s in progress.  Shortly after beginning my effort to reduce, condense and catalog I realized that I had stashed ammo cans throughout the house in various closets, cabinets, etc.  As I began to gather them all in one place it became obvious that while it’s nice to have them neatly stacked and orderly, the chances are that whichever can you need at any given moment is usually the one on the bottom and on the second row back.   What I needed were shelves, very sturdy shelves.  Shelves that could hold several .50 cal cans full of nothing but lead (if need be – I bought bullets for a penny a piece from a caster that went out of business a while back and still have a few cans full).  I first looked at commercially available heavy duty shelving units from the Orange and Blue big box hardware stores but none were even close to the specific size I needed so I decided to build my own.  [Keep reading there will be lots of pictures a bit farther down]

Let me first explain that both of my grandfathers were of the opinion that “If one will do, five (or more) will do better.”  My paternal grandpa worked at the Carswell AFB machine shop building and fixing B-29’s, B-36’s, and B-52’s.  I have fishing lures of his that he made in the 50’s using spare titanium airplane engine shims.  Still no rust on those!  My maternal grandpa was a craftsman as well and the lake house he built has 3 times as much wood as any other house in the same subdivision.  I can personally verify that, as I had difficulty boring holes for wiring because the studs were so close together.  The lady that lives in that house now said all of her neighbors seek shelter there when the occasional hurricane blows through.  So with a double helping of the ‘overbuild’ gene, a few tools and measurements and some wood, I was ready to start.

I recalled reading a blog post of a similar project at Walls of the City a while back and found it again with a quick search.  My shelves were built based off that plan but with slightly altered measurements: they are 13″ deep and the space below the first shelf is slightly taller (9 1/2″) to accommodate cases of Winchester AA shotgun shells, MTM Dry Boxes, or the odd “Saw Box/Fat 50″ ammo can.  The remaining shelves are 8″ tall for standard .50 and .30 cal ammo cans and the overall width is 29” which allows four “.50’s” per shelf with a little wiggle room.  Also, I did not include a center support.  I used 1/2″ plywood (instead of Linoge’s 3/4″) partly because it was cheaper and partly because it made the math easier.   About seven hand picked white wood (fir) 2′ x 4′ x 8′ studs were picked for the frame – looking for the straightest I could find.  For screws, I decided to try Spax #8 Construction (wood to wood) Screws in 2 1/2″ length.  They use a Torx-type bit to drive them (included in the box), were priced competitively and advertise “no pre-drilling required”.  My experience is that the ‘no pre-drilling’ claim is bona fide; I did not have any split boards and the screws finished nicely.  However, this project needed 140 screws* and the one pound box of screws said “approx. 130 screws”, so I made up the difference with some 3″ #10 coated deck screws on the back side to secure the shelves to the frame.  Those I pre-drilled with a countersink bit.

[*requires lots of screwing]

Tools used were:

• Makita 10″ mitre saw w/ stand (for the 2×4’s)
• 7″ Skilsaw circular saw (for plywood)
• Craftsman industrial hand drill, corded
• Speed square
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Wood glue, 1 medium bottle
• 5″ Flexible bit holder (to attach shelves)

Rather than re-write Linoge’s post, I will instead post some pictures of the various stages and include a few notes along with them.

Beginning notes:

1. Be safe – wear goggles when cutting, keep fingers that you want to retain away from spinning blades, etc.
2. Remember the thickness of the saw blade and which side of the line to cut.
3. Measure at least twice as often as you cut.
4. Consider that when using a circular saw the best cut edge is on the bottom.
5. Remember the thickness of the plywood when figuring shelf heights.
6. Even though I used studs and plywood I still considered ‘presentation’ when assembling the shelves so that most ink stamps and knots were on the inside, underside or back of the finished work.
7. Pictures shown here were taken with a cell phone so the distortion evident is due to the camera lens and angle of the shots, not due to haphazard construction
8. There is no such thing as ‘straight wood’.
9. Do not attempt this project if you live in California.

"Warning: This product may generate wood dust, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer"

Everything causes cancer in California.

Alright, here we go.

Set up to cut up

Preparing to build 'ladders' (note temporary spacers between 61" legs)

The long boards will be the vertical supports (legs) of the shelves.  I used 3″ spacers to keep the boards parallel.  Finished 2 x 4’s are actually 1.5″ x 3.5″ so a 3″ spacer makes a 10″ wide “ladder”; with the external horizontal supports in place the depth overall becomes 13″.

Adding 10" shelf supports (rungs), note spacer still in place. Every joint "Glued & Screwed"

Starting to build the ladders.  Use a straight edge to true the bottom edges to each other.  Do the top and bottom shelf supports (rungs) first, then add the other rungs shelf supports.  Work on as level a surface as you can.

A matched set of "ladders"

OK, I forgot to take a picture of the basics of the next step – but again I cut matched 26″ spacers for top and bottom that indexed against the vertical supports (legs) and the upper and lower most shelf supports (rungs) when laid on the ground.  This assisted me, working alone, to maintain parallel from top to bottom.  They also served as minor bracing to aid with assembly.  I attached the top and bottom exterior horizontal shelf supports (stringers) then worked on the middle ones.  I did one complete side (all glued and screwed), flipped the project and did the other side.

Horizontal supports ("Stringers"?) added. Spacers not shown.

Next, cut shelves from plywood using the circular saw.  My Skilsaw cuts a better edge on the underside, so I made sure the face of plywood I wanted to show on the top of the shelf was on the underside when I cut it.  Also I cut the top shelf larger to completely cover the top edges of the vertical supports.  Here’s another reason I used ‘half inch plywood’:

Thickness .453" --> That's right, it's .45 caliber plywood

Handy tip: Cut your own wood.  Don’t think you can get any kind of accuracy from the giant table saw at the big box hardware stores.  The complimentary cuts they offer are only good for fitting your purchase in your car.

Shelves added, secured with screws using flexible bit holder (and more glue)

So, how did it turn out?  Well, Spax says the shear load of each screw is 350 lbs maximum and I used six at each corner of each shelf but only four actually insert into the vertical supports so we’ll only count those.  So, in theory each shelf can hold at least 2.8 tons (glue strength is not factored in) and with 5 shelves that makes for a total of 14 tons of capacity… I’d say that’s fairly stout.  Then again maybe later I’ll add some more screws, you know, just to be sure.  Stay tuned for the action shot.

 “]Final notes:

1. That was a lot of screwing.
2. I plan to add some method of securing it to the wall. It would take a serious bump to knock it over but I tend to err on the side of safety.
3. Now that I have most of my ammo cans together in one spot, my stuff is easier to find, sort, tally and also I’m re-discovering some neat stuff I forgot I had.  Like a pristine box of .357 Black Talons, for instance.

How to: Home Built Target Stands

I have been looking to build some target stands for a while now.  With the pre-made versions selling for as much as $60, I’d rather fabricate my own and have more money free to buy ammo.   Up until yesterday, I thought that I would use the steel angle iron from an old bed frame for the project. However, that was until I stumbled on the ‘scrap wood’ bargain bin at the local Home Despot.  In a fortunate case of being in the right place at the right time, I happened upon four 2’x4′ sheets of half-inch double-sided paneling for the outrageous price of $0.51 each!  [I think that they normally sell for about $10 each.]

With little more than the paneling, a scrap of 2″x 10″ pine in my garage, a circle saw and a hand full of deck screws I was able to fashion 5 target stands for under $10.00 (most of which was the cost of the screws).

The materials.

Using a speed square, circle saw, and a field expedient work surface, cut the paneling (can substitute plywood) into 9″ x 24″ strips and the pine board into 2 5/8″ blocks.  I sanded all cuts with a ‘sanding sponge’ to make the stands easier on the hands when assembled.

Strips and blocks

Pre-assemble with glue and clamp into a shallow box.  The long slot in the middle should be just under 19″ wide.  Pre-drill holes for screws  (prevents splitting)  at 1″ in and 1″ up from bottom edge and 1″ in and 1 1/2″ from top.  Flip the box and do the same again.  Use 2″ deck screws to secure.

Shallow boxes. Long slot allows for different widths of target.

For the feet of the stand, cut paneling into 7 1/2″ x 24″ planks.  Find the center and mark perpendicular line with speed square.  Mark screw positions at 2.5″, 4.5″ and 6.5″ from bottom edge.  (At this point I chose to cut the upper corners of the feet at 45 degree angles for cosmetics and to save possibly scraped ankles.)  Find centers of small edge of the assembled shallow boxes and mark at same distances.  Pre-drill for screws.  Apply glue and attach feet with deck screws.

Finished Target Stands

How do they work?  Pretty darn good; with a base of 24″ square and made of solid wood they are very stable.  I set up a homemade cardboard target, cut from a furniture box, stapled to 1″x 2″ furring strips.  There was a little play front-to-back due to the depth of the slot (using 2″ thick boards as spacers) .  To solve this I used cutting scraps of paneling as wedges.  Next time I’ll try stapling the target to the 1″ side of the furring strips instead of the 2″ side.

Target Fixed and Ready

Not wanting to wait to get to the range to test the stands I loaded up my Airsoft 1911 (KJ Works GBB-614) and thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of my labor.  Front sight, press, smile, repeat.

Update:  They also stack for storage.

Stackable for storage

How To: Install a Mag Cinch (with Pictures)

Previously, I had not experimented with rifle magazines ‘jungle clipped’ together.  As my gunsmith said, “I’ve haven’t yet had to shoot anything more than 30 times”.  A quick search of the interwebs quickly found apocryphal stories of jungle clipped ammo where recoil caused the spare (non-seated) magazine to eject live rounds every time the gun fired, leaving the hapless shooter trying to reload with a mostly empty second mag.  Which I suppose could happen… maybe…

Still, it’s a gun accessory I wanted to investigate (and seemingly a popular one for all the versions available: Mag Cinch, Blackhawk?, Command Arms, Springer Precision, Mako Group, etc.)  Also, with the AR15 being the ‘Mr. Potato Head’ of firearms, isn’t it incumbent upon AR owners to try as many accessories as possible?

The Mag Cinch by Buffer Tech isn’t the original jungle clip (I believe that title belongs to duct tape) but they do have an innovative, simple and yet solid method of securing the mags.  Reading the instructions left me with a fair understanding of how to attach them but there weren’t any pics (not even at Buffer Tech’s website), something my right brain appreciates.  Another search of the world wide tubes did not reveal an instructable-type pictorial, which sounded like a waiting blog entry to me.  Thus I present to you: “How to Install a Mag Cinch”

I purchased the model for 30 round AR15 magazines.  It comes with two cinches that each look like this:

A single Mag Cinch; 2 come per pkg for a 30rd mag

Note #1: The final step of securing the Mag Cinch involves trimming off the excess nylon webbing so getting it right the first time is in your best interests.  Buffer Tech sells replacement straps for $1.25

Note #2: About the first thing thing I realized when trying to take the pictures of the process was that black brackets with black webbing on a black magazine don’t show detail very well.  However, I found a solution…

Nylon Webbing from Fabric Store: $1.29 per yard

Yes, it’s Toxic Green nylon webbing from a local fabric store.  I bought a yard and cut it in half with a hot knife (Box knife heated by propane torch) to prevent fraying.  Using a leather punch, I made a hole in the center of each half and Ta-Dah! –> replacement straps.  The selection at the fabric store allows for a wide range of choices like: tan, purple, florescent pink, black, safety orange, blue camo, rainbow (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or even Ted Nugent-approved zebra stripes.

Re-assembled with photo friendly straps

Let’s Begin.  Here are the instructions from Buffer Tech [mostly verbatim with some added commentary]:

WARNING!  Important: read instructions carefully before attempting to install. Test completed assembly in unloaded firearm to insure proper clearance prior to use.

1) Adjust screw out fully, screw should be [sic] barely engage threads.

2) Place Mag Cinch unit around magazines, making sure that the large part of assembly is on the front of the magazines.  Stagger magazines so that the right one is about 1.5 inches lower than the left.  This cinch will sit at the bottom edge of the left magazine.

Position of first cinch, amount of offset may vary

3) Pull ends of webbing tight.  Use needle nose pliers to twist ends tight.  It is critical that webbing is tightly holding magazines prior to step 4.

Tighten w/ pliers; do 2x each strap, from top & bottom

4) Tighten screw until Mag Cinch is holding magazines snugly.

5) Repeat steps 1 – 4 with second Mag Cinch.  Adjust this unit so that it sets atop the first unit.

6) Insert magazine assembly into unloaded firearm and adjust fit to suit your needs.  Make sure you can operate charging handle, ejection port cover, safeties and other operation features.

[*This is a must; the recommended 1.5 inch offset was too much for my setup and would have impinged on the knurled screw for my Holo Sight]

Last chance: Check clearance on the left

...and on the right

7) Tighten both screws until the magazine is firmly held in place by the webbing.

Tighten firmly

8 ) After you are sure that the unit is adjusted, cut off excess webbing.  Exposed webbing can be sealed with a lighter or match.  [*Or use hot knife to cut and seal the ends at the same time; you might want to put a piece of cardboard over the strapping that you don’t want to cut to protect it during this step.]

Trim and seal with blade

Afterward it should look like this:

Finished installation

Conclusions:

1) The Mag Cinch holds the magazines very securely.  There is no movement at all. If forced, I almost think that the mags would give way before the cinch would.

2) The overall result is fairly large – not something that is conducive to putting in a magazine pouch.  Methods of comfortably slinging the firearm with cinched mags are reduced due to the bulk.

3) While I haven’t had the chance yet to shoot with the cinched mags to see if the ‘spare mag’ ejects live rounds during recoil (unlikely), using the MagPul P-Mag dust cover on the left magazine would certainly prevent that from happening.

4) From a practical standpoint, I’m not completely sold on ‘jungle clipping’ mags unless using them in a war zone or for action matches (3 Gun, etc.). However, if your particular storage requirements dictate having an unloaded rifle the Mag Cinch might offer a solution.  In that case, you could leave the right side magazine empty yet seated in the rifle’s mag well but also have a full magazine less than an inch away, ready to go.  I admit this defies most logic [After all, who wants an empty mag on a fighting gun?] but may allow greater readiness in situations where such policies / laws exist.

5) I need a better camera and light box setup

6) I’m pretty sure that my ‘Cinched magazines won’t be lost for lack of visibility or be confused with anyone else’s.

Holster Mutilation 101 – The Bianchi 7 Shadow II

A while back, I was rooting through the close-out bin at a gun shop and happened across a new-in-the-package left-handed Bianchi Model 7 ‘Shadow II’  for a 1911.   Being a lefty (and thankfully right eye dominant) is at times a blessing: pistol magazine release buttons work better using using the trigger finger, single action revolver loading gates are easier for us too [both can be manipulated without changing the primary grip].  One down side of being a lefty is that in-stock holster selection is generally very poor.  So, it was a done deal when I stumbled on the Bianchi for a whopping $10.

As most shooters, I have a box of forgotten holsters.  All bought with great intention of fulfilling a need that somehow just didn’t quite get filled.  The Bianchi was such a holster and for a few years was relegated to the box.  No disrespect to Mr. John Bianchi meant.  I was fortunate to meet Mr. Bianchi back in the early nineties and he is due no small amount of respect for pioneering many of today’s holster standards.  He is also a gentleman.

Back to the holster: It’s beautifully constructed and flawlessly finished, my issue with the Shadow II is that its purpose doesn’t match my need.  It is designed for carry with thumb-snap secured over the 1911 with the hammer down.  I agree with Jeff Cooper’s statement “A firearm must be made ready with the least possible delay.”  As such, carrying ‘cocked-&-locked’ is really the only way I’ll carry a 1911.

Factory configuration - designed for hammer-down carry

A few days ago, I came across the Bianchi 7 again and then soon after showed it to a friend, telling him that I was considering selling it.  When he asked why, I told him about the thumb snap issue.  His rather succinct and elegant response was so simple I wondered why it hadn’t occurred to me: “Why not just cut it off?”

Hmmm… yes.  Why not?  I am a fairly good hand with leather, even having sold my works for a time.  So, yes, I resolved to mutilate the Bianchi.

To do so I first looked at open top holsters of similar configuration from several manufacturers and took into account the existing lines of the Shadow II.  Then, using a pencil, I lightly sketched the line I would cut.  Before cutting I placed the holster over the corner of a polymer cutting board so that I would have a surface to bear against without risking the second layer of the holster and carefully cut the front layer snap off.

By then, I had decided to leave the back layer intact but remove the snap hardware from it.  That would allow for a raised ‘sweat guard’ for my comfort and protection of the gun’s finish.  Removing the snap (to prevent scratching the gun’s finish) was accomplished using a Dremel tool fitted with a cone-shaped grinding burr.  Slowly working the inside of the snap to remove the rivet flange, the snap soon fell off.  I made the mistake of trying to pick it up – ouch.  Note to self: next time let it cool off first.

With a quick switch of bits on the Dremel to the mini sanding drum, I then sanded the leather of the first layer (where I made my cut) to blend it with the existing finished edge.  Just for looks I used a stitching guide to match the embossed line just below the top edge of the holster.  After that it was quick work to bevel and burnish the freshly cut and sanded edge and paint it with matching brown Edge Coat.  [A big thank you to Terry Tucker of Tucker Gunleather who showed me many years ago (when he was still working out of his garage) how to properly burnish an edge.]

After the surgery - open top holster with improvised sweat guard

Another view:

Close up view of finished edge

With the gun:

Successful Snap-ectomy Patient

Total time of the project: about 15 minutes (including stopping to take pictures).

So how does it function now?  Great!  And it’s comfortable too.