Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Heavy Barrel Sleeve for a BAM B26-2 Part 3 Final

Quick note:  As you've noticed, Nick hasn't been posting much of late.  He and Felice are a bit hectic these days making, selling, and shipping jewelry to all parts of the globe.  Click here and give them some support and get something handcrafted for your wife/sister/girlfriend.   My wife has several pieces of Felice's jewelry and says they're worth much more than the asking price.  The garden vases are especially elegant if you can't pick jewelry and know someone who spends time working in the yard.   Yeah, it's a plug, but it's really beautiful--and affordable--stuff.  Please consider giving them an order if you're able.  They'll appreciate it and you'll have something uniquely made by human hands.


OK, the barrel shroud.  Yep...  I blued it with Van's cold blue and it was a rather dark gray color and doesn't quite match the metalwork on the B26-2.  Don't think the issue is the Van's so much as just each cold blue giving a different result with each alloy.  It was completely uniform in color.  In an attempt to get it both blacker and a bit more "steel blue", I burnished some Birchwood Casey Permablue paste into the piece.  This colored it almost exactly as below.  After drying the piece, I wiped it down again with another coat of Van's on a gray Scotchbrite pad.   Again, it blended seamlessly.  Next, I rinsed the shroud in cold, then hot water.















Once dry, it was slathered with Rig grease.  Rig grease came out on top of Brownell's corrosion protection test a few years ago.  I coat all the metalwork on my airguns with it.



































The sleeve--after fluting--weighs in at just over 12 oz.  Three quarters of a pound.




















After installation, point of impact changed roughly 0.750" low at 33 feet.













The gun is noticeably muzzle heavy and I like it.



















Not sure what's next.  But check back soon.