The Gun Counter

Finally I have had enough of fiddling with long guns w/out a vise. The price tag on them just sticks in my craw. Yeah, I know time is money but the thought of molded plastic tools on my workbench goes against my grain. There's already enough plastic there with parts bins and such, no need to add any more plastic to the mix than necessary. .

So, after years of procrastinating I got busy today with a piece of hard wood (poplar or alder if I recollect). Here's the cut pieces lined up sorta like they'll be in the finished product. The bits at the right side/butt rest are for an over center clamp -- no threaded vise blocks on this unit. I just need to finish shaping the over center parts and butt rest. I'll get back out soon to put a fresh belt on the sander and a drum on the drill press for the inside curves.

Not sure whether to glue some strips on the base long edges to keep small parts/tools contained or go ahead and plunge route some long grooves in the base to act as catches. Maybe toss a coin.

Since I've got some AR's around now with full flow tubes (~ 2" dia) I made the yoke of the forearm cradle larger than I would normally (1 1/4" radius).

If I like how the proportions of this one feel after using it I could see making a few more from birch for gifts. It'd be quicker to route the curved profiles. I'm tempted to pull some router templates off these parts before I glue them up.

A CAD designer I work with has built himself an x/y table and cnc controlled router in his garage. He's probably out there making sawdust right now just about a mile or two from my house. He loves making his wood clocks. He has some vid's out there on Youtube. That would really be the ticket.