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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    43

    Default

    That turned out really nice. Pretty much redefined my concept of a Martini. I know exactly what you mean when you mentioned that done wrong, a Martini rifle is ordinary at best. I think of the Sportco Martinis with the over-wide sort of triangle cross section fore end as being high on the list of contraceptive devices. I have never hunted with one, but now you've got me interested.

    I just spent ages (very long ages even) trying to sort out the skip line chequering on my Parker Hale 1200 Safari, and I didn't get anywhere near the result that you did. Congratulations on an extremely good job. If it was mine - you could always bring it over as I'm probably only down the road a bit - I would be very proud.

    Great work. Looking forward to your next project.

    Simon

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    134

    Default custom build

    beautifully done outstanding work

    steve

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
    Posts
    4,255

    Default

    Excellent work...that stock will cause some jealously...as will the metal....i assume it groups well?

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    257

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by eskimo View Post
    Excellent work...that stock will cause some jealously...as will the metal....i assume it groups well?
    Thanks mate.

    Yeah shoots quite well. They aren't bad shooters within their limits. By design they kind of do everything wrong for accuracy in that they have a two piece stock and the barrel doesn't float. That said, while they aren't a bench gun they are more than capable for hunting accuracy. I've been getting groups off the bench hovering around the 1/2" which for my purposes is perfectly acceptable. I've got other rifles that fill that need that shoot better than I can.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Berowra Waters
    Posts
    149

    Default fine longarm

    I grew up with one almost exactly like this, Dad built it in 1964, it was chambered in .219 Zipper, which was basically a necked down 30/30 with a .22 projectile, short barrel, and a massive triangular fore end. It was outrageously accurate and flat. won heaps of fox shoots with it and thousands of bunnies and foxes it took. Sadly, it was stolen along with all my arms 2 from the shed safe 2 weeks after he died.
    Well done on the build, brought back some great memories.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    257

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by riverbuilder View Post
    I grew up with one almost exactly like this, Dad built it in 1964, it was chambered in .219 Zipper, which was basically a necked down 30/30 with a .22 projectile, short barrel, and a massive triangular fore end. It was outrageously accurate and flat. won heaps of fox shoots with it and thousands of bunnies and foxes it took. Sadly, it was stolen along with all my arms 2 from the shed safe 2 weeks after he died.
    Well done on the build, brought back some great memories.
    Thanks for the comments.

    Sorry to hear that. What a pity, and with a sentimental attachment too that you can't replace. Sounds like it was a nice rifle, I hate to think of what became of it. I'd like to do another in 310 Cadet and also 218 Mashburn bee. But the project ambition is a little too high at the moment. I have a few other things to complete before I go back and do another one of these.

    Cheers.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    WOW what a beautiful design in the timber. Thanks for the write up and memories.
    I had 3 Martinis a 22, 310, and a 222, I could get 5 shot groups about 10mm with the 222. using home loads, can't remember what I used now. It was deadly on the bunnies 150 yard headshots, mind you it had Bipod mounts and a 7X20 scope I think it was.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    54
    Posts
    825

    Default

    What a great project and an outstanding finished result.
    The colour hardening of the action has come out fantastic, thanks for sharing.
    Is there any chance you might share the technique you used to time the slots in your screws so they align when tightened?
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

    Default

    Looks very good however I wonder about the case hardening whether it will do any damage to the action.

    My understanding of the process is just using essentially carbon will not really do much as far as putting carbon into the iron other then a superficial depth. But could the process weaken the action at all? I once case hardened a toolmakers clamp I had made with a proper case hardening mix and it was tempered as well. The clamp broke in half at a later date. The steel grains were rather coarse in size where it broke.
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Wodonga Vic
    Age
    38
    Posts
    633

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kwijibo99 View Post
    Is there any chance you might share the technique you used to time the slots in your screws so they align when tightened?
    Cheers,
    Greg.
    I would also like to know how you did it, can't screw them in, mark them and screw them back out to be slotter

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    257

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kwijibo99 View Post
    What a great project and an outstanding finished result.
    The colour hardening of the action has come out fantastic, thanks for sharing.
    Is there any chance you might share the technique you used to time the slots in your screws so they align when tightened?
    Cheers,
    Greg.
    Thanks guys, I appreciate the complements.

    To time the screws I made the screw heads longer than necessary and cut a slot in the top with a slitting saw. I blued the sides of the screw head and screwed them into the location until as tight as I wanted to go, then marked both the depth of the screw head needed and the orientation of the slot. Unscrewed, cut the head to length and then orientated the screw using the marks to cut the slot in the right direction. Polish and shape before nitre bluing. Maybe not precise enough for a clock or something super critical but it worked ok for me in this instance.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    257

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    Looks very good however I wonder about the case hardening whether it will do any damage to the action.

    My understanding of the process is just using essentially carbon will not really do much as far as putting carbon into the iron other then a superficial depth. But could the process weaken the action at all? I once case hardened a toolmakers clamp I had made with a proper case hardening mix and it was tempered as well. The clamp broke in half at a later date. The steel grains were rather coarse in size where it broke.
    Thanks RC, and very valid comments. Messing around heating unknown steels can have a big impact on strength, hardness and brittleness. There are definitely steels that you shouldn't case harden (a lot of modern firearm steels actually) as you can either soften them resulting in stretching or make them brittle and depending on what action and cartridge you can be dealing with upwards of 50,000 psi - 4 inches in front of your face. Not something to play about with.

    In this instance its only a 22lr, and also many others have case hardened the martini's and its case hardenable steel. That said, I would be a little hesitant to chamber one to a large or powerful cartridge that's been case hardened because of the unknowns, as simple as that. Without dissecting a sacrificial action for proper testing you really are just guessing on just how much penetration there has been and the resulting metallurgy. Of particular concern with the martini design is the thickness of the walls of the action (which aren't overly thick) so there would be a risk of getting too much penetration in the thin sections and through hardening the walls which could make it brittle.

    I wasn't really going for the hardening properties as much as I was going for colour formation, which are tempering colours with a few other factors thrown in. Impacting factors on the hardening are temperature, time and carburising environment. In my example I only held at temp for one hour, which is quite short in terms of carbon penetration, so any hardened skin would be quite shallow. That was deliberate. Lowering the temperature slightly prior to quenching apparently serves two purposes, one it improves the chances of gaining attractive colours over a bland grey, and secondly apparently it minimises the chances of cracking, which so far I haven't run into any problems. I've previously done a Marlin 1897 lever action and a Winchester Model 62 pump action, both with great outcomes. Again, they are 22lr only.

    I got most of the info surrounding colour case hardening from a long post on the Marlin Collectors forum:

    Color case hardening - Marlin Firearms Collectors Association


  13. #28
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    54
    Posts
    825

    Default

    Thanks for the method of timing the screw slots Hornet, it's now noted in my tips and tricks book.
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
    Posts
    4,255

    Default

    Where does one get bone char?

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    257

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by eskimo View Post
    Where does one get bone char?
    I made it.

    I collected cow bones from everywhere I could scrounge. I found a few old cow carcasses on neighbouring farms and got my Dad to put aside any old dog bones. Once I had a good collection I packed them tightly into a sealed 20L drum along with some chunks of hardwood to take up space. I punched a small hole in the top of the drum to vent gas and pressure and then cooked the whole thing in a fire when we burnt off some firewood waste. It creates a low oxygen environment and burns off gases released from the contents but in turn creates charcoal. I then separated out the bone and the wood so i could work out the ratios when I mixed them back together and crushed them separately with a hammer into fine 5-10mm chunks.

    When you pack the action/metalwork into the steel box you want to fill the whole container so there is no air space which prevents scale forming. You can see the frame work that I wired the action into. This was to control how it entered the quench water. It lands upside down to how you see it in the pictures. Just works to hold the charcoal in contact with the steel briefly which is what helps create the mottled colours. Apparently varying the ratio of bone to wood and adding other things like leather and some salts can help different colours form but that seems a bit debatable. Those that do it for money keep the mystique of the process going with all sort of claims but let out little in the way of secrets but that Marlins Collectors forum has some great information and experiments. Its just a pity that Photobucket ruined so many forum resources when they pulled their free image hosting.


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