New member, new project

[greg_t]

Hi all, I joined this forum a couple of weeks ago while looking for some info on action screw spacings and barrel threads for Savage rifles. I picked up a Stevens a while back with the idea of making a project rifle out of it. A couple of weeks back I scored an almost new 260 barrel from a model 12 LRP, I turned it down and rethreaded it for the small shank Stevens action then needed a stock to put it in.

I started designing this stock a while back and had the solid model sitting on the computer. My CNC packed it in a couple of weeks back and I got all the new parts for it late last week. I wanted to run something through the mill to test it all out before I did some customers jobs just in case something went haywire so I CAM-ed up the model I had drawn for chassis to fit a Savage into AICS skins and chopped it out of some acetal yesterday to see how it would all work.

It's looking quite do-able. The skins need to be opened up in the magwell area but this should fit into some long action skins. The area around the bolt handle is a bit tricky, the bolt release lever makes the action as wide as the chassis in that area so I'm extending the cutout in the right skin so the chassis will fit around the bolt release and will look factory when it's done. It will just mean the cutout in the right skin will need to be made a little longer to suit.

I'll knock up a proper one out of aluminium in the next couple of weeks and might do a program to cut out a set of viperskins to suit. I reckon it'll make for a pretty cool rifle.

Some photos of yesterday's fiddling around. Bear in mind this is pretty rough, it was more of a "proof of concept" thing to see how it would work. I thought I'd go for a 3D machined round inlet rather than a v-block. Any thoughts on it?

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1482.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1483.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1484.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1485.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1486.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1489.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1490.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1491.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1484.jpg

[Opus Dei]

Hello and Welcome. That's all kinds of cool; are you planning on selling them, eventually?

[greg_t]

Thanks for the welcome! This isn't really a commercial thing, I'm a corrections officer as a full time job, this is my hobby. I've run an engine shop for the past 15 or so years and still have a pretty well set up workshop and I've made similar setups for Howa and Sako rifles, I just haven't done a Savage before. I'm actually pretty impressed with these actions given it's a $350 rifle (I'm in Australia so they must be really cheap in the US), I haven't had anything to do with them before this. Here's a couple or stocks/rifles I've done in the past, the top one is a Howa in 6BR and the bottom one a Sako 85 in 260.

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/IMG_1120.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i321/peart_mark01/260reminViperSkin2r.jpg

[ellobo]

Welcome to the site. Very cool rifles, sort of a non-traditionalists wet dream. No doubt they all shoot wonderfully. Some hobby you have there Greg. Keep them coming.

El Lobo

[lrpv-shooter]

Sweet. Welcome and keep up the cool projects

[greg_t]

Almost there, the skins on this are a bit rough around the bolt release block because I just buzzed then with the die grinder to see how it would all fit together, it came up pretty good:

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1501%20-%20Copy.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1516.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1515.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1514.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1513.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1512.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1511.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1510.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1506.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1505.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1502.jpg

[greg_t]

I tried to post up some new photos of this project a couple of days back but it's been moderated. I'm not sure what the go is there?

[Roger SS]

I tried to post up some new photos of this project a couple of days back but it's been moderated. I'm not sure what the go is there?

Welcome Greg. Keep posting pics man. Wow....very cool rifles.

[greg_t]

I'll have another try. The skins on this are a bit rough around the bolt release block because I just buzzed then with the die grinder to see how it would all fit together, it came up pretty good:

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1501%20-%20Copy.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1516.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1515.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1514.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1513.jpg

[greg_t]

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1512.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1511.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1510.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1506.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1505.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1502.jpg

It doesn't really show in the photo but the inlet changes behind the rear action screw so the action is free floating from there back. Everything I've read about bedding Savages recommends doing them that way so for the sake of a quick change to the CAD model of the inlet I thought it was worth doing. It's got .008" clearance from the rear screw back.

[Opus Dei]

Lovin' it!

[fgw_in_fla]

That has GOT to be the coolest hobby I've ever seen in 60 yrs of wandering this earth. Now I feel like all my hobbies suck.... Good luck with your projects & keep 'em coming.

Very nice work indeed.

Frank in Fla

[thomae]

Is the AICS-looking skin from an airsoft gun? I have seen Mark IIs mounted in those, but not centerfire rifles.
Cool. I wish I had a machine shop to fool around with! I'm envious...but in a good way. Keep up the good work.

[greg_t]

Thanks fellas. Thomae, they're proper AI skins, I just made the chassis to suit the different action to fit into them. I actually prefer the viperskins (http://www.victorcompanyusa.com/viperskins.html), that's what's on the other two rifles in the photos above.

[Roger SS]

Nice!

[rattfink]

So this is just definitely one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I would love a range report.

[stangfish]

I hate you!..............LOL I'm over it. Great stuff. If you were in the states you could sell a few im sure.

[thomae]

So this is just definitely one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I would love a range report.+1
What he said! Thanks for sharing!

[greg_t]

Ok, boxing day was nice and quiet and gave me some time on the mill and with the spraygun. All finished, cerakoted and ready to have a shoot. I didn't have a scope rail so I machined one up from a piece of EGW picatinny blank. It's got 20MOA cant on it and is 3d profiled to fit the action properly, it came up pretty good. The chassis is midnight blue cerakote (like blued steel and close to black anodising) and the barreled action is OD green cerakote. The skins are OD fleck viperskins.

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1517.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1519.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1522.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1523.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1524.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1525.jpg

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1529.jpg

Seeing how it's a Savage, I gave the wombat logo a couple of feathers..

http://proengines.com.au/gunstuff/Savage%20AICS/IMG_1530.jpg

What do you reckon?

[mattm0812]

Start a business and sell them for cheap :D