Good Morning Tacoma
04/01/2012 – Not a Sunrise, but Rainbows are Pretty Rad
All of the way across the sky. My my oh my god look at that rainbow.
03/28/2012 – Lomosurnise
Just getting some hipster all up in the Tacomas.
03/08/2012 – Whoa, Sun.
It's March~
02/05/2012 – A Sunny Sunday Sunrise on Ruston Way
Just a sunny Sunday sunrise in Tacoma.
And while I'm in the North End...
02/03/2012 – Sunshine, on my Fridays? IMPOSSIBLE!
Two days of sunshine in a row? With more sunshine in the forecast? Heck yes.
02/02/2012 – It’s a Great Day to be Outside… Too Bad it’s Thursday
Oh my! Look at the distinct lack of clouds this fine morning.
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The Last Practice: Tacoma’s National Guard Armory Shuts Down
Members of the Dockyard Derby Dames scrimmaging for at the armory for the last time.
Words go here.
Scrap Card Holder (It’s the magazine well off of an AR-15 lower receiver)
One of my preferred clients found out that my father has been teaching me how to operate his milling machine in our spare time. They decided to aid me in my efforts and donated a small pile of scrap aluminum to be mangled. Included in the pile was an AR-15 forging that had been destroyed when an end mill broke off and wallowed out a few pin holes. Their attempts to salvage the lower failed so they destroyed the fire control potion of the lower which was partially milled out and then allowed me to use the sacrifice the solid aluminum magazine well to the milling machine gods.
Not wanting to waste a totally cool looking piece of aluminum I decided to convert it into a business card holder for my office. Who wouldn’t want half a gun receiver for a card holder, right?
It’s not a particularly hard project and it was the perfect choice for learning about feed speeds and listening getting a better understanding of how the whole process of metal mangling works. In fact the exercise demystifies a lot of what goes on in in a proper CNC Mill. It’s a shame that most high schools don’t have full metal shops anymore. Even my local community colleges have fairly restricted manual machine shop courses. Everything is about learning to input G-code into a computer these days.
Being able to shred and mangle metal with your bare hands (ok not actually with your bare hands, but they are involved in the whole metal mangling party) will is really really really cool. Even if you’re horrible at it.
50 ACP – Bigger May Not Be Better, But It Sure Is Badder
Generally I avoid wildcat calibers but occasionally something incredible comes my way. Today’s wildcat loading was graciously sent to me by B4CTom1 along with a few goodies for my AR of Very Poor Decisions project. This new round, .50 ACP, takes a 655 grain projectile designed for the Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun (M2HB) and a casing designed by John Moses Browning himself and mates them into some serious subsonic excellence. No more will we rely on measly 230 grain projectiles to save us from the [insert popular culture threat here].
While no firearm currently exists that can handle this extreme loading with a reverse taper/rebated neck I am confident that I will find a hammer large enough to encourage round into the appropriate firearm.
Product Photo: Michael Vagnino’s Feathered Steel Masterpiece
This feathered steel work of art was crafted by ABS Master Smith, Michael Vagnino. If you look closely you’ll notice that the feathering in the hilt of the knife matches the feathering of the blade when the knife is fully extended. The blade is made out of folded 1024 and 15n20 steel which is cryogenically frozen to remove some of the stresses generated by the forging process. By relieving the stresses on the grains of the steel the blade becomes more resistant to cracking and chipping. Michael finishes the knife off with checkered cocobolo panels that give the knife’s grips gorgeous grain and excellent wear resistance.
Also found in two of the photographs is a Belgian made Fabrique Nationale Herstal Browning Hi-Power. More photos are below the fold.
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H&R Top Break Revolver in .38 S&W
In the late 1970s my aunt was given a small H&R revolver for her wedding day. My grandfather had purchased it used from a friend for a few precious dollars as a wedding gift for her. When he handed over to my aunt explained to her, “This pistol is for your new husband. You use it on him if he ever tries anything.”
While my aunt never had to use the little H&R to keep him in “straight” it still lives on her night stand.
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Lightweight Integrated Stock Platform Trials
If you’ve been thumbing around my blog you’re probably familiar with my camera stock project. The latest iteration of my camera stock system incorporates an AK-47 thumbhole stock with a quick release shoe system. This particular system lacks the trigger system of the first camera stock rig, but it’s also considerably more light weight (due to the lack of the auto-focus assist light, I’m sure) and is quite a bit easier to assemble.
I’ve received quite a bit of criticism about the utility of the first system, but I can happily report that I can squeeze around an extra stop out of my gear without camera shake effecting the sharpness of my photographs. I can also happily report that using this in public at large events has not resulted in my “death, or arrest.”
While I can’t say if other people would be able to pull off a camera stock and not end up with a felony record I will definitely continue to use and refine the system.
Been playin’ with Panoramas. Click for Big.
Seattle, Washington as seen from Alki Beach
Somewhere near San Marcos, California overlooking CA-78
I am, by far not a decent landscape photographer but I’ve had an itch to shoot panoramas for the past six months. I finally got around to playing with Hugin, an open source photo stitching application, and have found it to be quite powerful although a little clumsy. All in all I would expect to see more of these turdtacular landscapes from me in the near future as I train myself on my app.
Pierce College Night Shift Photo Set
Instead of listening to Coast to Coast AM with George Nory during my graveyard shift as a campus safety officer, I decided that spicing my patrol up with ten thousand pounds of camera gear. Although my efforts were mostly fruitless because I actually had real duties to attend to I was still able to gin up a few photos around campus that don’t look like pure butts. It’s all pretty generic long exposure, mediocre architectural work, and light painting but at least it’s not listening to someone ramble on about how the government and the greys are colluding to exchange abductees for cutting edge space laser ray guns. :toot:
TALCS Public Sighting
Photos of the TALCS are popping up on the automotive forum, R3VLimited, in the “Official 2009 E30 Picnic Photo Thread!” It is nice to note that the TALCS has officially passed through Canadian customs (and was inspected by Canadian customs with no issue) and was well received in it’s first public appearance. There’s nothing quite like reviving an old idea and finding it it both surprisingly useful and stylistic. I hope to improve on the TALCS’ design before it’s next “major” shoot.
- Why who is this very THE TACTICAL gentleman? I have no idea who he could be. -Photo by Brad Bowen
The 11th Street Bridge
Sidewalk Safe. Keep On.
How To Butcher Your Marlin 60
Last year I ended up receiving a beat up Marlin/Glenfield Model 60 semi-automatic 22LR for a job. During some down time last year I became a little desperate for a project so I decided to use up a few cans of spray paint I had left over from my Nerf Maverick paintjob and decided to make my marlin as “tacticool” as I could on my limited budget. My Model 60 went from a standard issue plinker to a “tactical bubba can snypa special” and was reliquished to the back of my closet where it spent most the past few months.
Then Clinotus of 230Grain.com mentioned that April would be “Tactipril” and I decided to break out the ‘ol Model 60 and submit it as fluff for the competition. I couldn’t just leave well enough alone and decided to get in touch with my friend James about using his metal lathe. After some idle catching up he agreed to teach me how to use his lathe and to help me with my quest for the “tacticool.” Unfortunately for me, the Model 60 isn’t as easy to butcher as it’s counterpart the Ruger 10/22 which is the firearms ricer’s dream rifle. Instead of having a barrel held in with an easy to remove screw the Model 60 has a pinned and pressed barrel which is a pain to remove, but who in their right mind takes the barrel off of a Model 60? They’re amazingly good rifles out of the box.
Unable to find much information on removing the barrel from this line of rifle I decided to make a nice and informative post on how to potentially ruin a $100 rifle. My results were positive but I can understand how this process could permanently ruin your firearm and that is why I am posting this article for entertainment purposes only.
Stock Photography
For the past several weeks I’ve been futzing around with an old Vz. 24 rifle stock that I had cut up (have pitty on me milsurp gods) to restore a bring-back Kar 98k stock that had been duffel cut. After a heated brain-storming session with some e-buddies I decided that the best route to take would be to build a “Tactical Assault Longrange Camera” (TALC) around my Nikon D200. Of course the project is still underway and needs to undergo field trials before it can be deployed in major tactical operations.
The TALC should be ready for the first field trial later this March May and will have its first review in April by the kind folks at 230Grain.com.
