Reader Forum

ITAR Confusion The Department of Defense Trade Control Office (DDTC) has issued contradictory and confusing guidance regarding if/when a gunsmith or gunmaker needs to register for International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliance. Rather than rely on interpretations that may be incorrect, read the DDTC’s guidance first (goo. gl/W73gow). Contact the DDTC response team DDTCRefor clarification should you find the published guidance contradictory.

Adam Kraut, Esq., a pro-gun attorney and regular contributor to The Gun Collective has an entertaining video explaining this at goo.gl/ nxr3t0. Further, he maintains a blog about legal issues concerning gun owners, dealers, and gunsmiths at goo.gl/b KNBFv. The NSSF is supporting legislation to remove the new ITAR interpretation for gunsmiths at goo. gl/1Iq Cl5. In the meantime, call your U. S. Representative and Senators and email them (house.gov/representatives/ find) urging them to support Rep.

Collin Peterson’s Resolution (H. Res. 829) demanding completion and publication of the proposed rules to transfer the licensing of commercial and sporting firearms and ammunition products to the Department of Commerce which doesn’t require registration or payment of a fee. Herbal Root, London Guns, And Hue Shawn Mc Williams points out that gunsmiths, painters, furniture makers all have used the same techniques. You got that right.

No one has stated this before, unless it was in the Stains and Finishes book The Mad Monk and I wrote over ten years ago. Yep, it’s now out of print. I used Pilkington’s stain, which I think was called English Red. I stained a stock with it and it came out a nice reddish color, but faded over time, even in my safe. I doubt it was alkanet. Reds are fugitive. Over twenty-five years ago, I stained paper with alkanet and let it sit in the window and it turned to gray within two weeks.

I did stain a plaingrained walnut stock with a ETOHbased leather stain a few years ago. While I can’t remember the name of the stain, but it has not only failed to fade, it may be a bit too reddish or oxblood in color. Venice turpentine is not something I have played with but I have made a true lead-based linseed oil which is not available today. I don’t know which dryer metals are used now but it certainly isn’t red lead oxide. I may be manganese dioxide.

Linspeed sucks, as do most "boiled" oils, which never really dry and definitely do not dry hard. And, you are right, the oil doesn’t boil. If you look at original PA rifles, the finish is black, unless it has been skinned. The black is a reaction between the lead and sulfur in the air to produce lead sulfide, which is black. That is the reason most flintlock rifles that have been skinned show black curl, which is the porous wood. I made a horn in 1990 and put a geometric design on the butt plug.

Having used a lead-based oil, you now can’t see the design as the plug has turned black. Sounds like you have somewhat of a chemical background when you wrote about solvents. English Best Guns were sent back every so often to be reconditioned, which means the stock was finished again so, you might not see that black color on the stock. My guess is that the makers didn’t use a lead-based oil, probably Venice turpentine instead. I don’t know how hard that dries, but a good lead-based linseed oil dries very hard.

If interested, I have a "quick and dirty" method of making a true leadbased linseed oil. However, it really isn’t all that quick. With the knowledge that I think you have, you will understand how I made it. Bill Mende Author Shawn Mc Williams responds. Thanks for the interesting info. I will definitely read more on lead-based materials. Venice doesn’t dry hard and the key with it is to use incredibly small amounts. Although it may improve gloss and flow, it too is soft.

The most challenging thing for all this is getting the ratios right because there is so very little information about the topic. The varnish blend I have is hard and really made for the alkanet. As aside note, I mention in the article about alkanet being ared oil The reason is because alkanet in its pure state is red but if it’s mixed with linseed oil it is actually purple. Joe Carlos Articles MSG Carlos, it is good to know you are still around and making contributions to shooting issues.

I really enjoy American Gunsmith and think your articles alone are worth the price of the subscription. The days we worked together training, retraining, and deploying Reserve and Guard soldiers were really good times. CW4 Roy W. Plumlee (ret.) Author Joe Carlos responds. Thanks a million! Comments like yours are worth way more than the pay for the very long hours spent writing.

Although I have been associated with Stoner Platform rifles for nearly 50 years nowa lot of my research was conducted in the decade plus when I was the Armorer for the All Army Reserve Shooting Team. Taxpayers funded many of my studies and my articles area way of paying some of that back. If we gunsmiths continue to build these rifles the same way we did 50 years ago in Stoner’s day, they will shoot little better than ARs did back

then. So much of my research has been centered on ways to make the guns shoot better at an affordable cost. Accuracy problems I have a Browning A-Bolt chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum. I handload various 165 to 180 grain bullets from Hornady, Sierra, and Nosler with several propellants as recommended in load data published by these companies. The rifle was bought used and I found it had screws loose with a bore badly fouled with copper but these problems have been fixed.

Using a Lead Sled on a bench, the best accuracy I’ve obtained is 3.5 inches at 100 yards. I checked my overall cartridge length is 3.433 and it fits in the chamber. Some manuals list this as a maximum length of 3.340 and this particular magazine fits a maximum length of 3.390. What do you recommend as the next step? First, contact S. A. A. M.

I. for a double check on specifications for the .300 Winchester Magnum chamber and overall cartridge Submit a question or letter to the Reader Forum column by addressing an email to or posting a letter to American Gunsmith, Alexandria, VA 22310. Send subscription questions to length. Secondly, you mention loose screws. Were/are they closely related to the action? We have two suggestions. One possible fix is pillar bedding.

The other, and perhaps the best when it comes to firming things up, is bedding the action after reading up on the pros and cons of floating barrels. We know that in some installations the barrel only floats for a few inches in front of the receiver. In others the tube floats to within 8 or 10 inches of the muzzle. In both cases a means, usually a nylon screw, is installed on each side of or below the muzzle itself for making final and fine adjustments. Brake Cleaner?

What’s your opinion on using brake cleaner to clean out a barrel to get the heavy stuff out? Don Waldron Author Joe Carlos responds. I have used aerosol brake cleaner with an AR chamber brush to clean my chambers at the end of my cleaning session. I have never heard of anyone using brake cleaner to remove fouling from the bore. For the bore I recommend standard Hoppe’s No. 9 first on a brush to remove the carbon. Then I John Klee follow that with Hoppe’s Bench Rest to get the copper.

Of course, always use a quality bore guide when using a cleaning rod. Note, using brake cleaner on the chamber before getting all the copper out with Bench Rest will often "kill" the copper solvent and prevent removal of all the copper. Only use brake cleaner at the very end of the cleaning session. Also, never mix bore solvents by different manufacturers. Doing so may cause an unwanted chemical reaction which can ruin gun barrels. In the example above, I followed one Hoppe’s product with another.

That is fine, but don’t follow a Hoppe’s solvent with another by a different company. You can generally use an abrasive such as J-B Bore Cleaning Compound with most any solvent as they don’t clean with chemicals. I go into further detail in "AR-15 Bore Cleaning" in the January 2015 issue. Walther P38 A customer brought in a Walther P38 (9mm P1 stamped 4/64) with an issue concerning the hammer not falling when the hammer is cocked and the safety put on.

Obviously, the hammer should fall and I ordered anew uncocking piece (part number 11037 from Jack First Gunshop) that is called the Safety Hammer Lowering Lever on some military models. If I pull the hammer back I can put the safety on but I’m having trouble with fitting and getting full function. Walther was no help. Any advice? Henry Penedo Gretna Gun Works Postwar Walther P-series pistols had slight design differences from earlier models. As a result, not all parts are interchangeable.

Be certain the part you purchased is intended for later Walther P-series pistols. You can find very detailed take down/ reassembly instructions in The Gun Digest Book of Automatic Pistols Assembly/Disassembly. AG