dirigoboy

Okay...it was kicking me off, so I have to do this in small chunks. Apologizies.

Ha....you asked for it. Here is my WWII Marine to date. Still working on trousers, shelter half, stakes and other minutae. I also have a complete I.D'd WWI USN uniform (sans shoes)...that I didn't pull out of the closet lest the rest of the contents avalanche on me. Also displayed are my Grandfather's WWI USMC tunic and campaign hat, and in the group photos, one or two other uni's, which include my mum's WWII Women's Marine uniform. As an aside, if any of you have been watching HBO's "The Pacific", you'll be meeting John Basilone's wife in a future episode, possibly tonight. My mum was instrumental in fleshing out Lena's character for them as she served during the war out at Camp Pendleton with her, and lived in the same barracks. She did numerous interviews with the writers to develop Lena's character. I provided some photo documentation, and set up the interviews with the lead writer who I knew. Hope you enjoy the photos

Looks good and solid. Are you going with a sheathing on top? Where are you putting this? If you're looking for shop lights, Lowe's has some reasonably priced ones.

Sure. I itemized most of that on the first page, so I went back to that for reference, but here it is: (9) 2x4x8 fir studs @ $17.73 (1) 4x8 pegboard sheet @ $15.47 (40) 2"x 1/4" lag screws for legs @ $9.20 (2) 4x8x7/16 particle board sheets @$15.54 (1) 4x8x23/32 fir sheet, (bench top) @ $37.88 (1) bench kid ($84.99 + $17.20 tax/shipping) @ $102.19 (1) 43 pc. peg board hanger kit @ $13 For a total, I get $211.01 I found out I didn't need the lag screws, so subtract that. It comes with screws. Also, keep in mind that geographic locale's and fluxuating lumber prices will bump that up or down a bit. Obviously, you'll dress this out to your own design, For mine, I can factor in the 4" vise, from Grizzly which with S+H comes to $71.65 and a nice two-bulb, 48" fluorescent shop light from Lowe's at about $31. I'll also add a Cabela's lighted magnifier lamp @ $70, so with those personal additions, I am looking roughly at $384 to date. When you tally that up, your bench, however you personalize it, begins to be seen as an investment. And it's why I decided to do this thread. Keep in mind, I didn't bother to throw in the price of Dewey rods nor the squeeze bottles, gun mats and other cleaning gear I'll be adding. It just takes time if you're like me and doing it on OT money. By and large, I'm impatient and want things NOW, so this has been good in a way as it's forced me to shop around, price things out.....and more importantly, to be patient. But I can stand back now and say, hey, I have solid work station to store and work on my firearms. No more flopping stuff on the kitchen table with old newspapers. Mother didn't appreciate, the boquet of Hoppes gun oil intertwined with her evening meal either, so it's a win, win. ;) Shop around for vises. I like this Grizzly, as it's just right for me and fits my budget, but I found that it does not lock solid in the upright position for clamping things horizontally, so I will have to see whether I am missing something (a real possibility) or that I'm going to have to drill the housing and throw in a bolt for stability. Also found that the kit, while straighforward and relatively easy to assemble would be easier to do with two people. The legs are a heavy plastic, but I found that the molding isn't exactly square, so your bench corners aren't going to go precisely together at 90 degrees, which may bother the purists among us. If you can live with that, as I can, you'll have a relatively inexpensive work station to take on any project. I'm sold. Hope that helps?

I have enjoyed collectiing militaria. I used to do living history. I'm trying to finish up the uniform and equipment for a WWII Marine, and I'm nearing the end on that, but it gets expensive. I suppose that's the point.....hunting until you find the right piece at the right price.

Is there a 180 option? I can handle that.

Exactly. If ever there as a cry for States Rights...

Hunkered down and waiting for this storm to abate. In the meantime, to amuse myself I'm bookmarking some stuff for the gun bench, once my OT check hits.

Yup.......getting hammered as we speak and I think I must have received everyone else's share. Two 5 gallon cans of petrol standing by the generator as we speak........and it's crazy. Toward the weekend, we're suppose to be sunny and 70's.

First there was the scare about the Obama militia......or civilian force that he had proposed that was to be separate from the military, but have similar powers. And now, we have two Congressional knucle heads, Shumer and Graham, New York and South Carolina respectively who have proposed this jewel: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100330/us_time/08599197492700 Any wonder why fringe elements get created? And I have to tell ya, I'm a very rational human being, but this type of stuff is enough to drive you to the gun bench to drive a patch through the bore. I don't trust any of them.

Nope, it's free standing. As for beating and banging stuff, I think it's pretty sturdy and would stand up well to most anything. As a measuring stick, I can feel a 'roid, (just the tip mind you) popping out when I go to move it. 8)

Alright. A few new improvements. I know to some, this is boring, so you may want to pass, but to others like myself on a very limited budget, learning to plan and be patient enough to do things step by logical step can be an encouragement.....at least, that's been my approach on every firearm and collateral piece of equipment I've invested in. If you're patient, and save your pennies, you can realize your goals, and it's one of the reasons I've been doing this gun bench piece. I want to encourage others who, like myself have to rely on overtime, and depend on limited budgets to improve their situation, that their weapon systems, and maintenance areas can improve with planning, and that yeah, it can be done. Just remain unwavering toward your goal. My gun bench is neither necessity nor luxury. You can clean a weapon anywhere, and if you were like me it was the same old ritual of laying down newspaper on the kitchen table and rooting out gun cleaning stuff from every available crevice as needed. I finally decided that this was really stupid, and subconsciously told myself it was time to man up and upgrade. As a result, I've dedicated myself to assembling what I call my shtf home defense system in firearms and am now reaching that plateau where I feel I have the proper place to maintain them, and not only that, but extend that to include reloading if I so choose. That all said, this is my ground zero area. There are many othes like it, but this one is mine. I will add to it, streamline it, and make it more efficient as time goes on. But for now, every one of my weapons has a new home from which I can maintain them more efficiently. Today, the latest additions include a 43 piece peg board set from Lowe's @ $12. Next up? A nice 48" dual lighting system with plug in and light cord for about $30.

Headed for the gym, but I'll check 'er when I get home. Seeing that it's James Julia, I already can hear MC Hammer in the background singin', "cant touch dat...." ;)

Maine Gun Shows Sanford, ME - March 20th & 21st 2010 Sanford Arsenal Lewiston, ME - March 27th & 28th 2010 Lewiston Armory Newport, ME -April 10th & 11th 2010 Sebasticook Community Center (Former National Guard Armory) Biddeford, ME April 24th & 25th 2010 Biddeford Ice Arena Augusta, ME - August 28th & 29th 2010 Augusta Civic Center Bangor, ME - Sept. 11th & 12th 2010 Bangor Auditorium Sanford, ME - Sept. 2010 Sanford Arsenal Waterville, Maine - Oct. 2010 Champions Fitness Club Waterville, ME - January 2011 Champions Fitness Club <

That was fast. Got my Dewey rods today. Less than a week. Just like Christmas in March. It came packed in Toys R Us newspaper. The irony wasn't lost on me. ;)

Thanks. Shipping was $11.70 for 22 lbs.

A couple insignificant things for cleaning. I bought a 40" nylon coated Dewey rod for my AR, and a chamber rod and brush for same. Nothing earth shattering, but I'm trying to build up a decent grouping of cleaning tools. Still need squeeze bottles and other small things. It's coming together.

Got my vise today from Grizzly. I opted for the 4", so it's a little smaller than a standard bench vise, but it rotates 360, and I can clamp vertically as well. Also, on the other side of the main mouth is one for clamping tube or other round stock. Gotta hit the hardware store for a couple of bolts and we're in bidness. Oh, meant to mention. From the time I ordered, it was here in less than a week. Here's a photo

Sounds good!

I'd like to this new Bushmaster ACR added to the list of "other brands." I liked what I saw in the demo vids and I think it's a pretty innovative system, and really does seem to be the next generation weapon. They're not givin' them away though with MSRP somewhere in the $2-3,000 range. Lotta guys are saying they'll pass on it. I still feel it will be an interesting rifle to keep an eye on.

Eureka! The "man-voice" of reason! I almost blew my pepsi out through my nostrils. This is THE best response I've ever read. Good one!--ha.

I did a quick look and didn't see that it had been asked, so I'll ask a couple questions about C-Product mags. I bought a DPMS AP4 in 7.62 late this Fall (which I haven't shot yet), and I was wondering what others thought about the compatibility, quality, and durability of their mags? I have to say that I like the idea of paying less than $20 per mag for a C-Product vs. over $40 for a DPMS, but knowing that you get what you pay for, I don't want to waste money unnecessarily either, so curious as to what others experience is?

Thanks. It's a work of art as long as you don't get too close. I found a nice vise at Grizzly @ $59 that I'm going to add to one end of the bench The vise opens to 4", rotates 360 as well as vertically and has an anvil on the back. http://cdn0.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg288/h/h8188.jpg I'll start adding everything else as I perfect my whining.... :D

Finished up my bench Saturday. I did have to get two more 2x4's for the upper bench/peg board piece, but other than that, it's done. My final thoughts is that it's a basic work bench. I found that no matter how square you cut your lumber, the plastic molded pieces may be a little out, so getting things to join tightly and square if at all, is a chore....a two-man job or both. I needed a blue collar bench, so this fit the bill for me. If you want a pretty bench you may want to keep looking----for the money, it's worth it for me. Though my bench measures 6x3 and change, you could probably go 6x2.5 I wanted a little bigger surface to fit a vise and other stuff on it, which will include lighted magnifying glass, overhead lights, and accessories off the pegs which I want up and out of the way of the work surface. It ain't necessarily pretty, but it fits my need. Hope others will include their gun benches as well, as it's an under reported facet of gun ownership.

Hope to get this zipped together this weekend. I'll start out by displaying the kit itself, then photos of the post sockets for the upper section of the table, as well as the reverse side of the main table legs. I don't know if you can see the shelves on which the 2x4's sit, but they are held in place by what are essentially sheet rock screws. The legs themselves come with pre-drilled holes to guide the screws in, which is an assist.