I've gone over the text on page 1 and corrected some mistakes and added a few additional remarks. My apologies if some of the composite pics seem to be out of order, especially the forearm machining, but it's kind of a compilation of several of the five forearms showing the milling operations.
I'm quite pleased with the final forearm. Making them all, using metalworking tooling and machinery exclusively, was very satisfying. The final forearm is not an accurate copy of an actual Luger forearm, but it kind of looks like one, if you squint your eyes and stand back a few feet...
Before I stick them away forever, I thought I'd take a group photo of the five forearms that I made for this project. Two I made mistakes on, one was a 'feasibility study', one was just for practicing machine operations, and one turned out OK.
- Far left is the one made from an Ithaca M37 stock [feasilibility study]. Barrel channel was too wide, due to Ithaca attaching bolt.
- Next is a white pine - oddly, this one is by far the best. Everything just came together on it.
- Middle is made from an 1891 Argentine Mauser stock, but I made the curled tip too small. Otherwise, a good one.
- Light colored striped one is made from the 1895 Steyr straight-pull stock. I mis-measured the trigger guard distance and this one cracked when I screwed it to the lug.
- Last one is another 1891 Argentine Mauser stock piece. This one wasn't quite as good as #2 and #4 but it's good enough!
