Posts by «swirt»
- 1975 Ithaca Model 37 pump shotgun
One of my nephews has been joining us several times at the clays course. After he shot my Ithaca Model 37 pump, he decided he might want his own. I don’t know if he was enamored with the brilliance of John Browning and John Pedersen’s design, the history of the gun, or if he was […]
- C. Parker Machinist Vise
Shortly after I got my first house, my Dad came for a visit and brought me this old iron vise and said “you’re going to need one of these.” He was absolutely right. That vise has been a fixture in my workshop for nearly 30 years now. Out of all the old tools I own […]
- Ithaca Model 37 refurbish
Thirteen year old me had a dream of getting a pump shotgun. This was pre-internet so the only thing I had to go by was what I saw in “Guns & Ammo” and “Field & Stream” magazines, that and nonsense reporting from my friends. I thought I wanted a Remington 870. They probably had the […]
- Mossberg 500CT stock refinish
When I was 14, my dad bought me a Mossberg 500CT pump shotgun for Christmas. The C denotes 20ga and the T indicates a less fancy model that was sold through department stores. My Dad bought it in 1981 from Two Guys dept store in Henrietta NY. The company went out of business that same […]
- Corner dog with big mouth
I picked up an odd variety of Workmate-like portable table a few years back at a Habitat for Humanity Restore, I hadn’t seen one like it before and can’t find another like it now. It has two clamp threads that go forward and back like most Black and Decker Workmates, but it also has side-to-side […]
- Shotgun chamber reaming for 2-3/4 inch shells
I bought another of my favorite shotgun, the Ithaca Lefever Nitro Special in an online auction recently. I now own 4. One in every length they made 26″, 28″ and 30″. This particular one was made in 1926. It is a 20 gauge with 26″ barrels. It was in pretty good shape. My only hesitation […]
- Shotgun forend repair
I bought a used 95 yr old shotgun from an auction that was in pretty bad shape. Nothing catastrophic, but needed some help. One of the issues, was a crack in the forend. As a woodworker I thought “I can fix this!” I knew that if worse came to worse I could put a dowel […]
- Cypress Trestle Table Intro
Out in our pool cage we had a glass table top with metal legs that was rusting. The humid salt air on the coast of Florida is not kind to steel parts. I wanted to make a table that was nicer and could seat more people. I also had a bunch of Cypress from two […]
- Lefever Nitro Special forend lug repair
My son and I were shooting sporting clays the other day and his 20ga Lefever Nitro Special (side by side) suddenly stopped closing correctly. The forend was loose, and that prevents the gun remaining together when opened. For safety, we stopped shooting it until we could figure out what was wrong. The the bottom rib […]
- Custom gun stock spacer
A few months back I purchased an old 20 gauge Lefever Nitro Special shotgun. As is often the case, somebody had cut the stock down in length to fit a child. It was too short for me, and my son has been using the gun when we shoot clays and his arms are longer than […]
- Checkering a gun stock
I recently bought a 94 yr old shotgun. It was in pretty bad shape. Over the years, the checkering on the stock had been worn, sanded, refinished until there was only the faintest trace of it remaining. In most places you could see the dark lines, but could not even feel them with a fingernail. […]
- Refinishing an Ithaca Lefever Nitro Special 20ga
I own a 16 ga Lefever Nitro Special that is my favorite shotgun for shooting sporting clays, but it costs me about 50% more for 16 gauge ammo than 12 or 20 ga and the choices of type are also more limited. So I bid on an auction for a 1929 20 ga version of […]
- Ithaca Lefever Nitro Special
Having had a love of old tools for many years it is probably no surprise that I also like old firearms. I am not a hunter, I am not opposed to hunting, it just doesn’t suit me. I am also not a prepper, survivalist, or delta force wanna be. I am just an older guy […]
- Tung Oil – Best stock finish
As you may know, I am a big fan of pure Tung oil as a finish for many wood surfaces. I use it for most of my furniture as well as tool handles and carvings. I think one place it absolutely shines is firearm stocks. Why pure Tung Oil is great for wooden stocks […]
- Harbor Freight Gun Cart
I used to shoot trap when I was in high school and college, and then it slipped out of my life for ~35 years. Recently a good friend got me out shooting “sporting clays” (not even sure that existed 40 years ago) and has rekindled my passion for ridding the world of clay UFOs. I […]
- Live edge standing desk
Back in 2014 I built my manually operated sit/stand desk. It served me well for a decade, but because it was inside an armoire style cabinet, it had limited desktop space. As I put more hardware on the desk, it became harder to lift and lower. So I eventually grew lazy about any standing. I […]
- Review: TayTools Jack Plane
TayTools #5 jack plane more than lived up to my expectations of what a jack plane should do.
- Low profile bench dogs
I don’t often work with thin stock, but when I do, I have issues with being able to plane it because my dogs are too tall. I need some dogs that are along the line of 1/4″ thick. My wood dogs are too thick, as are my plastic ones. So turned to the internet to […]
- It’s a feature, from a bug
I had some oak from a neighborhood tree. While it sat in my porch or in my workshop, developed a bit of a bug problem. I could see exist holes and little piles of sawdust coming from it, so I knew it had to go. I decided to run a piece of it through the […]
- Sunset Heart Candle Holder
Back in February 2020 I was looking for a small fast project to make with my son. Some of my projects are kind of big and he loses interest, so I was looking for something small. I came up with the idea for a candle holder made from three pieces of wood laminated together. I […]