patchett project(hatching a flock of sterlings)

Where did you get that, stof, and do they have more?

I got it from DS-Solutions along with a couple of mags, sadly they now seem to be defunct, they did have standard stocks as well at the time.The only place I have been able to source genuine parts has been E-Gun Parts in the US. IMA might be worth trying too ( also US) they did have Sterling parts for sale.

I did find a genuine stock (which seems to have a slightly different butt plate latch design from that normally seen) from a UK dealer.
WRT caps: E-gun and IMA don't have them, and everywhere I've found that does have them won't ship outside the US...

what im aiming for is for the end cap to be as close to the one in stof's picture as possible but as its a casting there will be some compromise,im probably going to machine it out of ally then add a serparate part that the stock lock's into ,the beauty of the crincle finish paint is that it will hide many sins.as for what kit im going to be useing,well it's really a post ww2 weapon so probably 50's cold war and it will probably be a looks-like weapon as a sten for my son in ww2 games, both the others are going to be used in a cold war loadout,i actually like the idear of a falklands look.
more progress ive now got twomag-well's fitted only one left to do,typically the first one went on straight and true first time and i thought it was too easy ,the second was tacked on 5 times before i was happy witrh it it took me most of the afternoon to get it right .

Check out this build. He starts the end cap near the bottom of this page:
http://www.darksidesithlord.com/my-cost ... on-06.html
The parts he assembles for the main cap could be turned as a single piece, making it more suitable for using the sling loop, then weld on the "formers" for the stock notches, then fill.

thats sort of the plan ,cap and sling loop mount as one then mill a slot lower down and fit the stock locating part into the slot ,as its going to be ally and i cant weld ally they will be subtly joined with countersunk screws that will mean the sling loop is solid and the stock mount will be pushed into place by the stock and the screws wont do anything but locate it.

I was kind of planning on full aluminium, using this: http://www.durafix.co.uk/

never seen that stuff before look's like the solution to a lot of problems ive had in the past,thanks for the tip i might have to get some and have a play

third mag-well finished and working just needs welding on,was hopeing to have all three done and welded on by the end of today but ho-hum.pictures of all three to follow when they are done,just cant be bothered tonight.

pic's as promised,two recievers fitted the third to be done but is a finished workig unit. i tried to take pic's of the internal design as it'sc something i had to think about,basically the thumb knob pushes down onto a rocker whitch in tern pushes the sprung magazine cach up.if you used original mags and gutted them and fitted an airsoft mag inside you wouldent have this problem as the recess in the mag for the catch is on the bottom not the top but i wanted to use standard mp5 mag's as i just couldent face makeing up 15 magazines.

I'd be inclined to look at milling a cutout in the other side of the mag.

that would still mean moding every mag and accuratley,its a fine line between not engagewing the catch and not feeding but i agree in an ideal world its a better solution,maybe make up a cutting jig so that it can be done repeatably and accuratly ,its just that im makeing three guns and what is an easy thing to do a few tinmes for one gun becomes annoying if both my customers want 8 mag's each,its why for me this was a better solution,for just one gun i might have baught 5 original mag's and converted then but to do a huge batch was something i just couldent face.

last mag-well went on today along with the finger guards on the sides to keep fingers out of the bolt and away from the muzzle.made up some front sight protectors up and found it inpracticle to make the exact shape in the thickness of steel but im not sure i like them,there's sonmething clumsy in the design,i might try thining them down widthwise and see if they are better.

reprofiled the guards and welded on,happy now.



funny but untill i fitted them i didnt ralise they were so important to get wright.

front sight blade assembly's finished and adjustable for windage,they slide left or right and lock with a small grub screw.

i probably overdid it with the amount of adjustment but better more than less.
just the end caps and stocks left to do now ,oh and the end cap locks located ender the rear of the main tube, that and paint cocking handles and fake bolts etc etc...

Wow, these are amazing - so much detail!

end cap started still needs the the sling loop mount milling out of the large round section at the back and will be modelled in epoxy putty to make it look like a one piece moulding.

Interesting idea.
Are the stock-locking slots long enough? They look a bit short.

Also: What process did you use for drilling the main tube? Hand drill, drill press, rotary table on a milling machine, etc.

the main tube was first drilled as a pilot then bored out on the lath useing a boreing tool,i had to paint a cut off bit of tube first so that the hole was a good fit takeing paint thickness into account with the crincle paint being so thick.the slots are 4mm deep that should be enough under sping tension ,if it is'nt then i can just make another or just modify the design for the other 2

Sorry, I meant the perforations in the receiver tube, not the end cap.

the main tube was drilled useing a drill chuck in a millhead and the work in a mill vice with tube jaws on the cross bed makeing it easy to drill a line of paralell holes,i would also recomend useing a scenter drill to pilot the holes as this means you dont have to scenter punch each hole and it prevents the drill from wandering off true,that was for the vent holes.for the cocking handle slot it was drilled at one end as there is a larger round hole ,then useing an end mill working out from the hole for the slot makeing several shallow passes untill all the way through.the other holes for the mag well and ejection port were drilled then milled to shape.the large hole for the gearbox to go through on the un derside was cut out using a jigsaw with a shortened blade then milled to the presice shape.just looks like a pipe with a lot of holes but its a good days work to make and if you stuff up once its in the bin.just a quick tip on milling slots if you havent done it before and you mentioned that the mill was a new toy i believe,the end mill will tend to wander off scenter when cutting a slot from a drilled hole,try it on a piece of scrap to get the hang of witch wag the slot will go ,ist because there is allways some slack in cross bed but the result is you have to start a slot slightly off the scenter line to allow for wander.in an ideal world end mills should only be cutting on one third to a half of there width to prevent this thrust but there are allways times when you have to use them to cut a slot using their hole width.one more thing it may sound obvious but when cutting large sections away from the tube it becomes weaker and the vice will noy hold it secureley,i turned up a wooden rod that fitted snugley inside the main tube so the vice did not become loose or crush the tube when cutting the larger holes for the gearbox ,cocking handle ,mag well and ejection port.hope all that helps.