Wooden machine gun

[ezdays]

Christmas 2022 my family gave me a wooden steam engine to assemble. It was fun working on it and kept me occupied for quite a while. The progress from that project are in this thread, and here's the results:

   
 
This past Christmas, knowing that I like to target shoot, this time they gave me a machine gun to assemble. As I remember, that steam engine had about 300 pieces. I also remember that because of a problem with some loose parts in the drive spring assembly, the engine wouldn't run and I couldn't repair it unless I took the whole thing apart. I find that this gun has just about as many laser-cut parts, but the tolerances are a lot tighter, so parts fit a lot better. That being the case, and if I follow the instructions properly, there is hope that the gun will fire both rubber bands and wooden plugs when I finish the assembly.

I didn't think to take progression photos, so this is one after the fourth step. Just so you know, there are multiple steps in each step which is broken down in sub-assemblies. Step one has 24 separate steps and step 4 has 14. there are 8 main steps, than a few more to actually use it.


   

   

   

   

[Charlie B]

That project is too far above my kindergarten skill level but I will be following along. It may be just the thing to gift (pay back) my gun collecting cousin  
So far it looks great. 
Charlie

[ezdays]

Thanks Charlie. What boggles me is just what kind of mind does it take to design something like this and to get the assembly instructions in the right order so as not to have everyone screw up and quit halfway through. Even the sketches are precise. The steam engine came with a small mallet and it's been a handy tool for this one. They also included two screwdrivers since there are a number of different size tiny screws and a small wooden multi-tool. The one tool I could not do without though is my magnifier lamp. It helps me read the instruction steps and then swings over to work with assembly. Some parts are smaller than 1/4" square, many can be put in upside down if you don't pay attention to the sketches. All-in-all though, it's a great project.

   

   

[ezdays]

Moving right along, I've finished step 7, which just about completes the gun and started step 8 which is the magazine. Now that I'm at that point I understand now about the ammo. It will shoot up to 12 rubber bands without reloading, and will eject wooden pegs as if they were the cartridge cases. Just thinking about it, shooting those pegs would be a bit dangerous, but my first clue came when I saw the barrel was two cross pieces and not a round tube. It doesn't matter, the joy in this is building it, if it actually works, that would be a bonus.

   

   

[Charlie B]

Days, 
      That is quite a build and looks great.  It looks a lot like a Thompson to a guy with little knowledge of machine guns.  
Our area is famous for the capture of "Pretty Boy Floyd" a notorious bank robber. After a couple days local chase his body, according to the local papers, was riddled with bullets from the FBI and local police that had at least 2 Thompsons in the posse. (he was hit with 2 bullets).  There have been several movies made about his adventures, My cousin and the policeman that founded the East Liverpool Police Museum were featured in the latest documentary and they tried to be as accurate as they could be  Pretty Boy    I played this for Wayne on his last visit and we got  kick out of it.  I don't know if it will be on line soon but if you ever see it take the half hour and give it a view. They do alot about the ballistics that you would enjoy. 
Charlie

[ezdays]

I think I'm finished with the build, but not finished working on it. I did fire one rubber band and then it jammed. All 272 pieces fit tight enough that most require a tap with a mallet to get them to fit, all but one and it fit loose. It happened that it was the part that fell out and caused the jam. Fortunately, it was easy to get to and now I have to figure out how to keep it secure without getting glue all over other parts. There were also 27 parts left over, they all look like they are duplicates but I'm going to check to be sure. I question why they chose those parts to duplicate, there's a possibility that they were needed on a different model gun. One proof of that is that the gun did work like it should... once.

All-in-all, there were 94 separate steps to finishing this, (the steam engine had 96), the 272 parts (270 wood, 2 plastic), does not include the steel rods, springs or screws.

[Charlie B]

Oh goodness, how much realism can they put in a wood gun. Built in jamming just to be prototypical is genius. 
Charlie

[Tyson Rayles]

[ezdays]

All done, I got that part secured and fired a few rounds. It has one mode, full-auto. I loaded a few rounds of rubber bands and pulled the trigger and off they went, one after the other. I did not load the magazine with those wooden slugs that are suppose to act like spent cartridges, but I will. It entails removing the magazine to load it and it's a tight fit right now.

Anyway, here are two photos of the finished gun, plus one of the instruction sheet on how you operate it. I also figured out how it works, and made a summary sheet of that just in case anyone is interested. It is a very cleaver design and a fun build. At it's widest point, there are 14 layers of plywood in different thicknesses.

Although it works, I doubt that I'll be taking to the range anytime soon.

   
   

   
   

[FiatFan]

How about a video?

Tom

[ezdays]

Thank you Mike, I can now target shoot in my backyard without anyone calling 911... Well, really, I don't even have to go outside, not sure of the range but I'd say maybe 10' at best.

[ezdays]

How about a video?

Tom

That's a possibility, don't know if I could do it alone, but I'll see.

[Tyson Rayles]

Congrats Don, I doubt I would have the patience to build that. If you want to target practice at home you need to check out some of today's air guns. They have them all the way up to .50 cal.
 I recently got a .177 rifle. It comes with a scope for $150. It doesn't have iron sights as it is a break down type. Muzzle speed is 1389 ft. per second and will go thru the wall of a steel building. All you hear is a little pop. The gun is called the "Whisperer". There was a Monty Python sketch in which you could buy thru their info commercial a neighborhood nuclear superiority weapon that would destroy everything on your neighbor's side of the fence while leaving your side untouched. If I should ever move back to the suburbs I would have to get some of those!  

[TMo]

What jarred me was the close resemblance of the barrel magazine to a turntable! I almost thought it was a separate project. After two years of this, I think I see what your family is trying to do to you!

[ezdays]

Congrats Don, I doubt I would have the patience to build that. If you want to target practice at home you need to check out some of today's air guns. They have them all the way up to .50 cal.
 I recently got a .177 rifle. It comes with a scope for $150. It doesn't have iron sights as it is a break down type. Muzzle speed is 1389 ft. per second and will go thru the wall of a steel building. All you hear is a little pop. The gun is called the "Whisperer". There was a Monty Python sketch in which you could buy thru their info commercial a neighborhood nuclear superiority weapon that would destroy everything on your neighbor's side of the fence while leaving your side untouched. If I should ever move back to the suburbs I would have to get some of those!  

I could use one of those right now. My neighbor has two pit bulls who bark some days 24/7. I think they take turns sleeping just to keep things going.

It does take patience and is time consuming, but a lot of fun doing it. I am amazed by how it works, but more amazed to think that someone actually had to design it, then get all the parts to fit precisely (well, all but one). I'm kind of hooked on building these, they have a Ruger revolver and an AK27, all shoot rubber bands, plus a myriad of other things, many which run, like the merry-go-round or the trolley car.