Mounting a Fuseend 3X28 IR Compact Scope to my .20 Cal Crosman 2050

My simple red dot equipped .20 cal carbine project didn't stick.  Mostly because the red dot wasn't doing it for me.  Or, mostly because I'm weak and wanted a shiny new toy.  I was scrolling ebay for I don't know what, when I found a small 3X illuminated compact scope. 

And just like that, some 30mm dovetail rings from UTG almost finished the project.

 

 "Almost" because that front ring ate up too much real estate on the tube.  I'm not a die hard lens cap guy, but a thinner ring would hold the scope AND allow for the cap.  Of course, no one makes that.   

Off with the ring.

The set up in the milling machine was a bit tenuous.  The 1-2-3 block gets the clearance above the vise jaws.   Couldn't find a great way to hold the ring as securely as I wanted.  Lighter cuts will have to suffice.

Want to remove half of the 30mm clamping band and allow clearance for the scope cap-- but leave the two-bolt dovetail portion untouched.

And I didn't want a sharp corner at the bottom of the cut left by the endmill. 

A gage block stack representing HALF of the original ring thickness.

This went on the 1-2-3 block the ring is supported on.  Changed to a 1/4' ball mill and touched off.

Set the Z-axis to zero. 

Brought the base of the ring to zero with the ball mill.  

This gave me a radius--rather than a sharp 90 degree corner at the transition

Repeated with the flat bottomed milling cutter.  Touched off on the same gage block stack.

And re-zeroed the Z-axis.

Looks OK

Deburred and gave it a quick hit with some sand paper and a scotchbrite pad.

Ready to retouch the color on the milled surface.

And it's ready to install.

Cap-Less

 

Cap-Ped.  Good clearance and fit.

And I don't think it looks like I messed with it.  So, that's a win, right?

I have some brief thoughts about the scope I'd like to share next time around.  It won't be a product review.  

Tweaks to Volvo’s Walther LG55 Air Rifle

Haven't had much to report lately.  The dearth of posts probably gave it away.  I've mentioned before that it's difficult to post when we're just doing repairs or minor tweaks that seem mundane.   The house has also been demanding attention this year.  The roof and deck both needed some love.  The basement is now calling for some fresh paint.  Airgun projects sometimes get back-burnered.

Nevertheless, I do want to get something new posted.

Made a couple tweaks recently to the old Walther LG55 I got from Volvo.  I de-glossed the stock with a very fine bronze wool pad.  Didn't even touch the base color, just removed most of the sheen and gloss.

I also had another opportunity to have more metal work  FNC black nitrided by H&M.  

Didn't have a lot of notice, so I was scrambling to find something to add to the batch.  The Walther's barrel sleeve made the cut since it had a bit of rust freckling, scratches and some discoloration from the last 60 or more years of wear and tear.  The constant handling of break barrel guns also makes them prime candidates for ferritic nitro carburizing.  New life with an almost bulletproof new finish.

Sorry for the lack of pics of the work I did.  I polished off all the bluing and took the barrel shoud to about a 1200 grit polish.  Then I masked off a bit more than the lower half of the barrel.  I then bead-blasted down the length of the top of the shroud--essentially the sighting line.    Removed the tape and just got it wrapped up in time to ship to H&M.  A couple days later, I had a black two-tone barrel sleeve.

Can you see the two finishes?  Click on the picture(s) to enlarge it for a better look

Must've shot these pics three times.  Can't get the light to cooperate.  The top of the shroud between the front and rear sights now has a fine matte black finish.  The rest of the barrel looks like polished blued steel.  

It's VERY subtle.  Almost goes unnoticed, but it's a nice touch on such a fine target gun.

Between the subtle stock treatment and the new color on the barrel sleeve, I think she looks amazing. I have another modification I'd like to make, but I'm still mulling some things over.

Updates:

Couple posts back, I'd mentioned refinishing the Crosman NP2 Trail stock my Remington Summit is currently wearing.  Haven't forgotten about it.  It's probably nearing the top of my que.  

My .20 cal Crosman 2050 carbine project gun has also been getting some target time.  Put a tiny 3X scope on it the other day and it's perfect.  Ok, it's not perfect, it actually has some issues that are probably deal breakers for some people.  It works well enough for what I'll use it for.  I wouldn't mind blogging the new scope as it's something I hadn't seen before--Leave a comment if you're interested.  

We'll see what shakes out.  As always, thanks for following along.  

Benjamin Nitro Piston Pistol Carbine Conversion

Was kicking around for a simple project the other evening and remembered that I had a Benjamin Nitro Piston pistol.  Years ago, this model was reviewed on the Pyramyd Air Blog and Gaylord mentioned that it might make for a nice carbine.   Thought I'd finally make that happen and see if it would somehow transform what I think is just a mediocre pistol into a world-beating, shining-star, short-barreled rifle--and actually shoot it a little bit in the process.    

Gas sprung in all it's glory.  The Benjamin NP pistol is big, heavy and relatively powerful for its size.  Initially, the pistol's accuracy was abysmal though after putting in some effort and fixing the almost non-existent barrel lock-up, it now shoots to point of aim all day long.   But it's still big and heavy.  

For the carbine conversion, I'm just going to make a quick and dirty adapter for my modified AR15 buffer tube(s).   IF it pans out, I'll probably remake a cleaner version.

Added an M5 threaded hole to the end cap.

Found a slice of 1" OD aluminum tubing and made a short adapter:

Adapter bolts to the threaded hole in the end cap.

My modified AR buffer tube is then attached with a socket head cap screw to the adapter.  Maybe there doesn't need to be a cleaner version.  

Since I mounted a pistol buffer tube, here it is with a Strike Industries pistol brace. 

Doesn't get much simpler than this.  Unsurprisingly, it cocks even easier than before using that stock as leverage.  Shoulders quickly and the red dot is easy to acquire.

Well, it's still not something that I'd pick to shoot all day at paper targets, but with a reactive target like a swinging steel silhouette, its a fun afternoon.  Sometimes that's enough.