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Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:01 PM
A custom Martini cadet

This will be a post with a lot of photos. This project has really been in the pipeline for 2 to 3 years waiting for things to align.

I've had a desire to build a nice custom martini in either the English Rook Rifle style or along the lines of a mini big game rifle like the Wesley Richards and Rigby mausers. But in 22lr - mainly because I have much more opportunity to shoot a 22lr over a large centrefire and the idea of a walk around bunny gun always appeals. Martinis are an acquired taste for sure and if done right they can look really good, but if done wrong can be one of the ugliest guns you can find :D


The stocks:
I had seen a stock pattern many years ago by Geoff Slee that was a two-piece English style pattern with a pancake cheekpiece that looked perfect for a small frame cadet and was the style I was after. Geoff died many years ago and his patterns have passed through several hands of stock maker before finally landing with Cameron at Hatcher’s Gunstocks. I'd enquired years ago but he wasn’t doing two-piece stocks at the time and didn't have the capacity to drill the draw bolt hole. So, I had to wait until they eventually came up. I think it was two years or more but finally some stocks became available. I was after something with deep colouring and mineral streaks and got one of his XXX grade, after some more complications around the draw bolt hole tooling they finally arrived.

https://i.imgur.com/ypyesPp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jSR9Kh4.jpg

So the process began. I had a Sportco Martini that was in reasonable shape and a good candidate for the project. I chose to leave the original barrel in the rifle, mainly because I really didn’t know how it would all turn out and to be honest they don’t shoot too bad. Depending on how it all came out maybe I’d consider a custom barrel in the factory taper down the track someday but it’s just a bunny gun.

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:12 PM
So the process began. I had a Sportco Martini that was in reasonable shape and a good candidate for the project. I chose to leave the original barrel in the rifle, mainly because I really didn’t know how it would all turn out and to be honest they don’t shoot too bad. Depending on how it all came out maybe I’d consider a custom barrel in the factory taper down the track someday but it’s just a bunny gun.

So, I set to work fitting up the buttstock to the action, inletting for the barrel, inletting the lever, making a new draw bolt, bending the lever and then making an ebony forend tip, grip cap and buttplate from an ebony carving that I found at the tip shop. A few challenges along the way and a fair bit of trouble shooting to get around some problems. Then I of course had to finish the woodwork. They came in a good state of finish but there still was countless hours to go to remove imperfections, mate to the metalwork and proportion correctly and smooth and fill the grain and bring it to a reasonable level for finish.

Here is the slow process of fitting the barrel to the forearm. Blacking the metal with a kerosene dips stick to soot the metal work and then drop in the stock. Remove the black high spots and repeat.
https://i.imgur.com/jdorWbi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/c1hjQA9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ypcTkYs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gMwMmCi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/x09uu26.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:13 PM
This was the sacrificial ebony carving from the dark continent that was run through the bandsaw to make the forend tip, the grip cap and the butt plate. :D

https://i.imgur.com/HsXjOx6.jpg

Slowly opening out the ebony tip to match the barrel and forearm

https://i.imgur.com/6HTkA4i.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DiKAlQz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Gczz6Ht.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:15 PM
Butt plate
https://i.imgur.com/N6IQHyf.jpg

Grip cap
https://i.imgur.com/hpDHl41.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fivrnlG.jpg

Full buttstock
https://i.imgur.com/25FYPNQ.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:16 PM
Starting to build some oil finish and fill some pores

https://i.imgur.com/TRoNbEj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DndtzNM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/n18kfBf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NeY6bzH.jpg

Pretty close to a finished buttstock

https://i.imgur.com/9HiZcpc.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:18 PM
I’ve obviously got a lathe so it made sense to make all the fittings etc. Here is a brass echelon in the forearm.

https://i.imgur.com/Wf5GV5y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qWY6PQe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TFjy86W.jpg

Full stocks together on the gun

https://i.imgur.com/lpkarFf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6i5hJZW.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:35 PM
Metal work up next.

I’ve done colour case hardening before on several other rifles so this one was up for the same treatment. I’d build a heat-treating furnace previously for the purpose and have been collecting bones to make the bone and wood charcoal necessary for the CCHing.

Polishing the action up on flat plates and working carefully not to round any corners it gets to the point where you wire it up in the frame and pack it in the box with the charcoal. I did the action, the block/trigger guard and the lever. Leaving the block in place to help minimise warpage, then wiring in some shielding plates to help hold the charcoal in contact with the steel for a few moments longer during the quench. Shielding helps create the colours and minimise the chance of a flat grey outcome. I like a lot of colour but I do also like the smoky greys and browns. On this one I went for a lot of colour and I’m happy with the outcome.

My heat-treating oven. (I have a much better welder now  )

Wired up for packing in bone and wood charcoal at a 1:2 ratio

https://i.imgur.com/ADbusQU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YqyLjvp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Q2tPgkH.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:41 PM
In the oven and the cooking starts:

https://i.imgur.com/3IKYkCM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HKZDhha.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tCPaCgB.jpg

Hold it there for an hour at 790C, then drop the temp down to 590C and let it stabilise before quenching in aerated cold water from the local mountain. Normally distilled water or rain water is recommended, but the water in Tassie is very soft and works fine. That said, I get it from the mountain to avoid any treatment.

https://i.imgur.com/Q2HcBQN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zbnfI0d.mp4

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:43 PM
Fresh out of the quench and with a bit of oil to stop flash rusting. Yikes, kind of bright with a few pinks. Might back that shielding off a little next time. Luckily it will tone down with the tempering step in the oven.

https://i.imgur.com/fesLtEz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OUUh0PT.jpg

Post tempering and with a coat of automotive clear lacquer shot from an air brush to protect the case colours. I’m really happy at this point. Happy in the look and also happy that nothing cracked in the quench, which is a small risk but so far, I’ve been lucky.

https://i.imgur.com/K22mSNE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uUKnByN.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:46 PM
Action back in the stock for a little look.

https://i.imgur.com/TUsEUa2.jpg

The banded sling swivel.
I’d always had in my mind to make a banded sling swivel and banded front sight, and then maybe a folding multi leaf express sight if I could manage to make it. Otherwise I was thinking I’d go for a quarter rib. Either way I wanted to still mount a scope so the quarter rib was winning. I thought about making a multi leaf folding sight mounted in the quarter rib but space was getting tight without making it look too bulky on such a small rifle and I figured the chance of actually pulling it off without stuffing it up was kind of low so I took the easier option of QR with a single folding leaf.

I taper bored the banded sling on the lathe in the four jaw to offset the hole, leaving me enough material to cut out the sling portion on the rotary table.

https://i.imgur.com/cGfXHT2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1Q37pWd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/f0axKEp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/27ubaw4.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:48 PM
Pretty close to finished before the next steps of milling the contour, drilling the hole and then hand filing to a pleasing profile.

https://i.imgur.com/zWaiRzk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sEqsKQM.jpg

The quarter rib.
Thinking out the quarter rib, testing for ring locations and testing eye relief with the two scopes most likely to find their way on top. Eye relief is a big thing on scoped martinis and so is access to the loading port.

https://i.imgur.com/ki9OHit.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/j9Z7tnV.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:49 PM
Milled out
https://i.imgur.com/UadzLjg.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wxJueLY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/B46HC2j.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/i6Dn8kN.jpg

I balked at the multi leaf folding sight and went for a single Lyman folding leaf, as realistically I didn’t rate my chances of success without screwing up the quarter rib. There was a 0.55mm taper built into the base of the rib to match the barrel taper and provide a top dovetail on the rib that was parallel with the bore.

https://i.imgur.com/0CYnJEm.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:52 PM
I drilled and tapped the barrel and put it together to see how I went with alignment and dealing with the barrel taper to see if I would be able to get a scope zeroed. Turns out it was damn close. I put a scope on in Millet rings and it shot to within about 2” of point of aim at 50m with the scope centred in its travel for elevation and windage. I lucked out.

https://i.imgur.com/AakaRl9.jpg

The front sight.
Followed a similar procedure to the sling mount, but I made this front one in two parts and soldered them together for ease. I taper bored a sleeve and then milled the top part separately. Also made an adjustable bead post for it that can slide up and down for coarse elevation adjustment (not shown) and secured with a grub screw.

https://i.imgur.com/AakaRl9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/B4bdaOi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/758vEgz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gzLWRxk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/madAoYI.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:54 PM
Rust blued the barrel, banded sling swivel, front sight and quarter rib. I used Loctite 620 to attach the sling point and front sight rather than solder as clean-up is way easier and the outcome is the same and actually probably better than solder.

https://i.imgur.com/XCWfCdz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ydveEnJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/U0vyLV1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/snoOoca.jpg

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 04:58 PM
Made the screws on the lathe for the forend and butt plate and timed the slots to align before nitre bluing them. Also had to make the dovetail threaded part that slots to the underside of the barrel for the forearm to attach.

https://i.imgur.com/KYE1vRj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PY2JWrY.jpg

Finished rifle.
And I think that might nearly be it. Time to take it out and shoot a bunny. A few small things to finish like a rear sling point and the safety button, but this is how it turned out. I’ll need to try and get some better pictures but it’s hard to capture it accurately to really reflect the rifle. This was big project in terms of man hours and I spent countless nights in the shed just working through all the components but I’m pretty happy with the outcome. Hope you enjoy the pictures of the process. Cheers.

https://i.imgur.com/GwhZ24Z.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TI3g8oM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QYSSQJc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OrtXqOr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AGMR2Zm.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0Ewexlh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qusen3l.jpg

XJ9OX
4th Mar 2019, 05:35 PM
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 :D - I would be very proud.

Great work. Looking forward to your next project.

Simon

shaper07
4th Mar 2019, 07:03 PM
beautifully done outstanding work

steve

eskimo
4th Mar 2019, 08:10 PM
Excellent work...that stock will cause some jealously...as will the metal....i assume it groups well?

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 09:52 PM
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.

riverbuilder
4th Mar 2019, 09:53 PM
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.

Hornetb
4th Mar 2019, 10:08 PM
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.

KBs PensNmore
4th Mar 2019, 10:29 PM
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

kwijibo99
5th Mar 2019, 03:38 PM
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.

.RC.
5th Mar 2019, 06:30 PM
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.

NedsHead
5th Mar 2019, 10:47 PM
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

Hornetb
5th Mar 2019, 11:58 PM
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.

Hornetb
6th Mar 2019, 12:33 AM
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. :o 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 (http://www.marlin-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3732)

:2tsup:

kwijibo99
6th Mar 2019, 11:40 AM
Thanks for the method of timing the screw slots Hornet, it's now noted in my tips and tricks book.
Cheers,
Greg.

eskimo
6th Mar 2019, 08:46 PM
Where does one get bone char?

Hornetb
6th Mar 2019, 11:09 PM
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.

:2tsup:

jack620
8th Mar 2019, 12:19 PM
The stock and the rust bluing look fantastic. I read the whole thread but can't recall if you mentioned the timber species the stock was made from. To save me going back through the whole thread can you let me know please?

I also like your method for 'timing' the screw slots. I'll definitely be using that in future.

Hornetb
9th Mar 2019, 12:02 AM
The stock and the rust bluing look fantastic. I read the whole thread but can't recall if you mentioned the timber species the stock was made from. To save me going back through the whole thread can you let me know please?

I also like your method for 'timing' the screw slots. I'll definitely be using that in future.

Thanks for the comments.

The timber is Australian grown European Walnut (Juglans Regia) from Hatchers Rifle Stocks here in Australia. It turned out to be nice wood and is graded as XXX grade. The only part on the blank I don't like is a little area on the grip that just looks a bit muddy. I will probably checker it down the track when I can come up with a pattern that would fit that area.

I also plan to checker part of the buttstock too at some point.