<![CDATA[Bob Boyd's Blog]]> Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:17:02 -0400 alisa@wildcountrystudios.com (Shooting Illustrated Forums) IP.Blog 60 <![CDATA["The Fun Function Test Affair"]]>
Their system screws onto the end of the pistol barrel (just like the TV show prop). What's more, thanks to the presence of it's built-in L.I.D. (linear initerial decoupler) the system functions flawlessly—even after adding the extra weight of my real suppressor. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait to paint the unit in Alumahyde II or even add Paul and Eric's cosmetic U.N.C.L.E.-style handguard before taking it to the range for function testing. Nonetheless, I didn't think you guys would mind seeing videos of the barrel extension with a snazzy two-tone finish.


Enjoy the videos.





Special thanks to former NRA employee and fellow White-tail wacker Lloyd Derby for serving as my camera man.]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:43:00 -0400 Project U.N.C.L.E. Special Blog Entry List theunclegun.com, the following is a detail list of links to each of my blog links detailing my efforts to construct a live-ammo firing U.N.C.L.E. Special:


1:) 12/12/08 "Open Channel D"
2:) 12/22/08 “The Gun Like No Other Affair”
3:) 12/23/08 “The Full-Auto Fiasco Affair”
4:) 12/24/08 “The U.N.C.L.E. Special Affair”
5:) 12/29/08 “The Friend From U.N.C.L.E. Affair”
6:) 12/30/08 “The Parts, Parts Who’s Got The Parts Affair”
7:) 12/31/08 “The Cage And Threaded Skirt Affair”
8:) 01/05/09 “The Finicky Spring Affair”
9:) 01/07/09 “The Bob Or Not To Bob Affair”
10:) 01/12/09 “The Metamorphose Affair”
11:) 02/02/09 “The High-capacity Affair”
12:) 02/03/09 “The Potential Problem Affair”
13:) 02/12/09 “The Waiting Affair”
14:) 03/03/09 “The Mountain State Affair”
15:) 03/17/09 “The Subtle Change Affair”
16:) 03/23/09 “The Wall Hanger Affair”
17:) 03/30/09 “The Almost Happily-Ever-After Affair”
18:) 03/31/09 “The Karmic Fate Affair”
19:) 04/09/10 “The Final Phase Affair”
20:) 04/14/09 “The Shipping Fiasco Affair”
21:) 04/20/09 “The Reprise Affair”
22:) 04/22/09 “The Hunter Thompson Affair”
23:) 04/24/09 "The S.B.R. Affair"
24:) 05/04/09 “The Modicum of Movement Affair”
25:) 06/04/09 “The Holding Pattern Affair”
26:) 07/16/09 “The Not So Silent Affair”
27:) 07/16/09 “The Set Screw and Spring Washer Affair”
28:) 07/21/09 “The Back to the Drawing Board Affair”
29:) 07/24/09 “The Persnickety Pistol Affair”
30:) 07/27/09 "The Finicky Feed Lips Affair"
31:) 08/11/09 “The Next to the Last Stop Affair”
32:) 08/13/09 “The Prior Planning Affair”
33:) 09/02/09 “Hobby Gunsmith" Hell
34:) 09/11/09 “The Prior Planning Affair #2”
35:) 09/23/09 “The Reason for Celebration Affair”
36:) 12/21/09 “The Return of Man from U.N.C.L.E. Affair”
37: 01/07/10 “The Flattery & Affliction Affair”
38:) 02/09/10 “The Oregon U.N.C.L.E. Group, a Blizzard and Caribbean Cocktails Affair”
39:) 03/30/10 “The Locking-Block Roadblock Affair”
40:) 05/17/10 “The Some Folks Have All The Luck Affair”
41:) 05/18/10 “The Solution-B Affair”
42:) 06/29/10 “The Poised For Completion Affair”
43:) 08/06/10 Project U.N.C.L.E. Special Blog Entry List
44:) 08/30/10 "The Fun Function Test Affair"]]> Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:07:00 -0400 “The Poised For Completion Affair” whimpering at this late stage of my project to produce a live-ammo-firing variant of the U.N.C.L.E. Special, I can’t help it. His decision two weeks ago to send the aluminum components (grips, scope mount, carbine barrel handguard and mock suppressor) back to be re-anodized a darker shade of black as opposed to the typical matte gray, clearly exemplifies his perfectionist streak. In my opinion that is one of those rare qualities that separates mediocre gunsmiths from great ones. Either way, all other pistol/carbine components have been beautifully refinished. And, while this unforeseen-but-reasonable delay has postponed the project’s end by a week or so, I’m sure it will be worth it.
In the meantime, whether you’re a curious new comer or one of those hard “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” fans dying to see a functional U.N.C.L.E. Special in action, hopefully these youtube videos will suffice in the interim:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_NHKW_2lMI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZuErXLfQlM...feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFhGcpQ1fFE&NR=1 (fast forward to the car chase scene and gun battle around 1:28 - 3:25) — communicator pen tip to Stymie & Vinnie his vicious Bengal for helping me find this awesome example!

For those brave enough to delve deeper into the mind of Bob Boyd, vist Boyd's Blog fan page on Facebook, or subscribe to its Twitter feed.]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:52:00 -0400 Half-Fitz-worthy Carry Gear Novak-customized S&W Model 65 Half-Fitz Special, I discovered a downside to being both a writer and photographer: The dilemma of not being able to use all the cool photos.

A great example is the super-swank Galco International carry gear I chose to use with my Half-Fitz Special. As a long-standing fan of their products for more than 20 years, the decision was as much of a no-brainer as my selection: a Combat Master holster paired with a single speedloader carrier and 2x2x2 ammo carrier.

Enjoy the detail shots.
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]]> Mon, 24 May 2010 13:26:00 -0400 <![CDATA["Fitz and Begorrah"]]>
Read about my efforts to put a pseudo-contemporary spin on the classic wheelgun—the a Half-Fitz Special.]]> Thu, 20 May 2010 14:20:00 -0400 Fedoras, Zoot Suits and Heaters
Listen here cousin, the skinny is a new gang, by the name of the American Zoot Shooters Association (AZSA), has made the scene in a big way—ready to hit on all sixes and blow away the competition, like Dillinger in Little Bohemia.

Dressed to the nines, participants are clad in costumes reflecting the era of Prohibition and use period-correct firearms.

The end result is gaggle of mugs and dames clad in glad rags and zoot suits with roscoes and Chicago typewriters ready to sling lead at the sound of the buzzer.

So, dust of your derby Jackson and grave your gat, the AZSA is the Bee’s Knees—with the brass and lead to back it up.]]> Wed, 19 May 2010 12:19:00 -0400 “The Solution-B Affair”
Case in point: by itself my carbine assembly with the steel barrel extension that Joe Hayes machined for me will function reliably. Although the abundance of mass created by the longer barrel has its negatives: The extension mass, combined with the rebounding of the action generated enough force to unseat the cosmetic handguard Joe Hays constructed for me (as chronicled in "The Back To the Drawing Board Affair"). And prior attempts to fire my AAC suppressor off of it transformed the range session into an outright jam session without the benefit of musical instruments. The discovery suggested my suppressor added too much mass onto the end of my carbine assembly.

A solution came with the arrival of friends/fellow U.N.C.L.E. Agents Paul and Eric in the form of their contemporary, low-mass carbine assemblies (thanks to the presence of titanium). However, they soon shared my concern of excess inertial mass when I brought their attention to the amount of force the rebounding slide and barrel generates during reciprocation. Stress could cause wear on the barrel threads and the gun overall.

Then I recalled numerous conversations I’d had with my friend John Rhoda regarding linear-inertia-decouplers, (LIDs) and the subsequent research that followed to incorporate such a system in a U.N.C.L.E. carbine barrel. I shared my findings recently with Paul and Eric.

Judging by their reaction, you’d think I discovered the ballistic equivalent of the Holy Grail. Following our conversation I sent them a sketch of my idea of how to incorporate the idea, along with a device called a recoil regulator.

From conception to result, Paul and Eric’s latest YouTube video provides a successful—not to mention extremely humbling—workaround for the long-standing problem of excessive inertial mass. They intend on producing a similar device of their own to incorporate into their barrels. The end result will enable suppressors to be integrated to the carbine assembly without hindering reliability or causing undo stress on the firearm. (A gracious tip of the communicator pen to the Oregon U.N.C.L.E. group, John Rhoda and his cantankerous counterpart Vinny the vicious Bengal for all their hard work and top-notch guidance.)

Enjoy!



For those brave enough to delve deeper into the mind of Bob Boyd, vist Boyd's Blog fan page on Facebook, or subscribe to its Twitter feed.]]> Tue, 18 May 2010 10:08:00 -0400 “The Some Folks Have All The Luck Affair”
In the meantime, while I’ve been choking paint fumes and setting records by seeing just how many times I can paint and then strip the same parts, it’s nice to see Paul and Eric hard at work testing their invention—as their latest YouTube video clearly demonstrates.

Enjoy!

]]> Mon, 17 May 2010 08:11:00 -0400 “The Locking-Block Roadblock Affair”
Paul and Eric’s carbine barrel arrived and looks positively fantastic. Somehow, despite several months of e-mail correspondence, we experienced a communication goof regarding the barrel’s titanium extension. For some reason, I was under the impression the extension would anodized (I blame my editorially taxed brain), but it turns out neither Paul nor Eric has access to the equipment necessary to anodize titanium. While nothing more than a simple miscommunication to be viewed as a minor setback, the fact is I promised you completion photos were forthcoming.

So, I turned to the possibility of coating the barrel extension and handguard in Brownells Alluma-Hyde II—an extremely durable, epoxy-based paint I’ve had success with in the past. Brownells technicians confirmed the product will adhere to titanium, provided the surface is roughed up prior by glass beading. Thankfully, my co-worker John had the proper facilities and came to my rescue—only to report that the barrel extension had a super-hard finish that literally sparked when the beads hit the barrel extension and failed to provide even coverage. As a result, we switched material, only to try blasting it again with sand. Luckily, after a couple of tries, the switch worked. John also gave me an airbrush to use when applying the Alluma-Hyde II, but I need to buy a can of propellant before I can proceed with finishing the barrel. (Of course, given the recent chain of events, as luck would have it, all local hobby shops are currently out of stock.) Section 2 is currently investigating possible intervention by T.H.R.U.S.H.

To make matters more “interesting,” this barrel did not contain a locking block when I purchased it, and all of my attempts to install one have met with failure—including one shooting session that ended on a sour note when the loose block shifted under recoil only to completely seize the barrel and slide assembly. At the time I suspected the commercial locking blocks I was using were incompatible with my war-era barrel, although I have yet to find any supporting text for confirmation. Regardless, I contacted Earl’s Repair Service and ordered a war-era locking block along with a locking-block retaining spring. At present, the replacement parts seem to have fixed the problem, but another range session is needed to know for certain—once time and workload permits.
]]> Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:53:00 -0400 “We’ll always have the Ballistic Grapevine” Coconut Telegraph”, or—no offense to Jimmy Buffett—as I like to think of it, the ballistic grapevine.

For example, take my previous post regarding the late Paris Theodore and his Enigmatic ASP Pistol. For those of you who think the highly customized Smith & Wesson semi-autos was the only pistol the company converted, so did I—that is until I learned about the ASP revolver.

I’m been told be several people, including Doug Wicklund of NRA’s National Firearms Museum, that Armament Systems Procedures made conversions to a small batch of Ruger Speed- and Security Six revolves, modifying them from .357 Mag. to .44 Spl.

I’ve spent the last several years searching the Internet for additional information, along with canvassing local gunshows and online auction sites—all to no avail.

Until now.

Enjoy the photos.]]> Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:32:00 -0500