Category: Blog Posts

Hands-On: NEW Precision Matthews PM-728VT Precision Bench Mill

I decided it was time to add another milling machine to my lineup! And this time I’d go smaller- I already have a Precision Matthews PM-949TV (9″ x 49″ Bridgeport clone), but for some jobs, smaller is better. It will also be nice to have a mill that I can leave setup for things like […]

Building the ULTIMATE Lathe Spider For Your Lathe

One of the first things I do when I get a new piece of machine shop equipment is to decide how I’ll “customize” the machine and organize all of the tooling. Machining is a very personal thing, and it’s therefore “just a part of the process” to get things dialed-in and setup the way the […]

Precision Matthews PM-1440GT Lathe In-Depth Walkthrough and Demo

For years I’ve wanted a high-precision engine lathe. It’s been something I’ve contemplated, considered, and shopped for on and off for about 15 years. It was precision rifle gunsmithing that finally motivated me to “do it”. It was painful to sell my Logan 11″x36″ lathe as I had put a lot of time and effort […]

Warner Swasey #2 Paint Job and Demo

Turret lathes are very handy to have when you have lots of cylindrical small parts to make- and don’t want to use CNC. In fact, for some jobs, a turret lathe can pretty much keep pace with a CNC lathe, and costs significantly less to acquire. I recenly had the opportunity to pick up a […]

NEW from iGaging: EZ-DATA Ball/Tubing Micrometer

Originally published on our sister website: http://ultimatereloader.com Regardless of whether you want to calculate the bushing diameter for a sizer die, or to measure case neck thickness uniformity, a good ball micrometer (AKA Tubing Micrometer) is invaluable! I’ve been using these tools for a long time now, but I’m rather excited about my new EZ-DATA […]

224 Valkyrie Remington 700 Build P7: AICS Magazine Conversion

Originally published on our sister website: Ultimate Reloader. When you go “off the script” (like building a 224 Valkyrie bolt-action rifle) you can expect some challenges. One such challenge with this kind of build is getting a reliable magazine configuration setup. A lot of guys have spent a lot of hours tinkering with magazines, springs, […]

224 Valkyrie Remington 700 Build P5: Custom Thread Protector

Originally posted on our sister website: Ultimate Reloader. A threaded muzzle is great, but if you aren’t using a muzzle brake or suppressor, you’ll need something to protect the (fragile) threads! That’s where a thread protector comes in handy. One of the best ways to make a thread protector is with a cut-down section of […]

224 Valkyrie Remington 700 Build P4: Muzzle Threading and Barrel Install

Originally posted on our sister website: Ultimate Reloader. Here’s my philosophy: why not have a threaded muzzle? If you want to use a muzzle brake or a suppressor, you’re all set! If you don’t use a muzzle device, you put a thread protector on, and you’re good to go. So now that we’ve completed the […]

224 Valkyrie Remington 700 Build P3: Chambering and Machining

Originally published on our sister website: Ultimate Reloader. Sometimes you have to do a lot of “prep work” to get to the “fun work”. Well, after building out our build-sheet, and preparing and aligning the barrel, we’re now to the fun part of this build! That’s right, it’s time to start machining the tenon, and […]

224 Valkyrie Remington 700 Build P2: Barrel Prep and Alignment In the Lathe

Originally published on our sister website, Ultimate Reloader. How you secure your barrel in your lathe, and the attention to detail aligning the barrel’s bore to the lathe spindle axis will both have a big effect on the outcome of your barreling work. In this post, we’ll continue our 224 Valkyrie Remington 700 bolt-action rifle […]