I just watched this video after seeing another excellent one you made about your friend’s Prodigy. Once again, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and your perspective. I’m 1,000% in agreement with your points. Thanks again.
I have literally sat and watched all of your barrel porting videos along with some of the tuning videos(trigger and spring stuff). Seeing as I want to work in the field of customization as a gunsmith and get my feet wet doing this on a mill, I am always looking to learn the why's and how's behind this type of stuff and I can confidently say that I have learned more about the technical aspects of barrel porting and tuning than I have found in most of my time researching. From the way that you explain how you came up with the port size, locations, angle, etc and sharing the measurements/drawings these videos have been extremely informative and I hope that you share all of the projects you have to offer seeing as everything is so "gatekept" regarding firearm customization. This is really good shit man honestly and I'm excited to see your channel grow!🔥🚀
I think your content and work quality is 20 times better than most guntubers video quality and editing skills. Trust me, you’re far higher above the curve than you think. I’m glad I found your channel and I love the gun upgrades you do and love and respect you give to your father that helped train you in machining. You’re a real treasure if you ask me. If you’d like more work flow for content making, I can hook you up with a custom 2011 builder that would love to have your machining and porting work.
I really appreciate you saying all that. i know my content wont have wide appeal to a general audience(like larger gun channels). its always nice to hear from the folks that my content does connect with. It really means a lot to me! I love working on 2011s... thats kind of my current obsession haha. But i think that could quickly get into a business type of arrangement which I want to avoid. I appreciate the thought and offer. Who knows how stuff goes down the road but for now I'm flush with projects.
@@EngineersArmory I really do genuinely appreciate your attention to detail and how you explain your testing, train of thought, and all the steps you take to make it what you want it to be in the end. You’re doing everything that the “everyday” man only dreams he could do. I’m still on the hunt for someone that will take my G10 grips and cast them in aluminum……for the last 14 months lol and still looking. Meanwhile you’re building whatever you dream of. I think it’s amazing and I’m all for it 💯 you definitely got another subscriber and friend that will support you in any way I can 👍🏻👍🏻
@@Bryan-1980 I'm very fortunate to have the experience I do. If i think of a project I can pretty much make it happen. I bet there are aluminum grips out there that are close to what you're looking for that you could just buy. But I also understand wanting that custome, one-off piece no one else has. I have sand casted firearms parts before. I made weights for the backstraps of some polymer frame pistols out of bismuth (its almost as dense as lead, non-toxic, and has a very low melting point). Its not out of the realm of possibility for a person to cast aluminum themselves. You need a ceramic crucible, and casting sand. Both can be bought off amazon for cheap. Below are what I bought for my project: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J1V7ZD3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M16H361/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bismuth melts at around 520F, so i was able to melt it on a camping stove in the crucible. Aluminum melts around 1200F. you would need a propane torch but probably not a forge. Maybe make a little insulated nest for your crucible and just point the flame right at the aluminum inside it. Make a small box out of wood. Pack the casting sand in, then press your G10 grip in as the mold (texture side down). Melt the aluminum and pour it in. The tricky part would be capturing the detail of the G10 texture. Thats what the finer grit casting sand I linked to is for. The mold would need to be level and the surface of the melted metal would be the back of the grip. They would have to be machined after - make the back flat and drill relief holes for the grip screw bushings. You could literally melt down pop cans for this. Once melted all the contaminates from the printed on labels would rise to the surface and could be skimmed off. Pop cans are nice thin aluminum that would heat up and melt quickly. Not necissarily encouraging you to attempt this yourself. But its really not that difficult of a process. Thanks for watching, commening, and contributing to this channel dude!
@@EngineersArmory the grips are from a Mischief Machine X-Macro commander grip module. If it was a standard 1911 then m sure I could find a pair that’s close to what I want and slap em on, but they’re not your average 1911 grip size. I’ve watched countless hours of people casting but still have no faith in myself to try it at home with no help or professional around. I was also told that investment casting would be best because the grip texture would be lost in regular sand casting because it’s too small/fine detail 🤷🏻♂️ I’d gladly send em your way if you ever wanted to give it a shot for me. Just let me know if you’re interested. I’d gladly pay you for your time and knowledge and tools.
@@Bryan-1980 ah I gotcha. Well I dont really have enough faith in my process either haha. Investment casting is probably the best idea to preserve the most detail but that's not something I would want to get into. You have already planted the idea in my head. I'll add it to the list of projects I may try some day. I already have the casting sand, crucible, and torch haha. It would be cool to even make smooth side 1911 grips and polish them to a mirror finish. I also have the ability to anodize aluminum whatever color I want.
First and foremost, congrats on the growth of the channel. I like the work you do on your guns, furthermore the sharing of parts and tools used on them. Keep up the good work
The light reflecting in your glasses in this vid was whacked. I love all the vids I have watched. Some of them made me feel like a caveman with how technical they are. But it made me say “I can do this” and I appreciate that!!
Thats awesome! the way i learned to do all this was by just jumping into it. I have no formal gunsmith training. Its a process and its gotta start somewhere. Of course be careful. But if i can quip you with some information and tools to try a project i think thats pretty cool! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank you for taking the time to share your philosophy, approach, and the broader context. I am glad to hear that you are running an independent channel that’s not influenced by manufacturers or marketers. I have to confess - as an engineer, I always had a suspicion that you’re from the clan😊.
Have you done a video on the various polymers and plastics modern firearms are manufactured with? Advantages vs disadvantages, weaknesses, strengths, failure of critical parts of firearms manufactured with polymers? Can gun lube affect modern polymer firearms? You have a fantastic channel! Cheers
I have not done a video on that. I appreciate the kind words and I am glad you are enjoying the channel. As far as I know most modern firearm polymer frames are made out nylon, polypropylene, polyester, and thermoplastics. The majority are fiber reinforced - generally glass fiber. Some use carbon fiber. Sig has a tungsten infused polymer grip for the P320 to add weight. Of course, all the details of the specific formulations of polymers used by namufacturers are very hush hush. Unless you work for one of these manufacturers you would likely never know the details of exactly what polymer is used. However, these polymers will all have similar properties in common - they have to if they are to function reliably in the application of a firearm frame. These attributes include: strength, striffness, impact resistance, they need to be tough (and I mean the material science version of tough that deals with how much energy a material can absorb before plastically deforming), dimensional stability, resistance to heat and cold (they cant get squishy if you get them too hot), ease of injection molding and forming complex shapes, chemical resistance (they all have excellent resistance to oils and numerous chemicals that a firearm may or may not come into contact with), UV resistance (different formulas have better UV resistance, there are also additives that help). Those are the ones that come to mind. If you're curious about chemical resistance check out a page like this: www.calpaclab.com/nylon-chemical-compatibility-chart/?srsltid=AfmBOooz7GwDbFiTFPKX0chD-tMRHxQabtQ4neNyDpgbHIYgnSpyxLAM All the polymers that are used in firearms have been around for a long time, they have been tested extensively and are appropriate for the application.
I like the cat! (opossum) I also can appreciate your anonymity, Jobs, Bosses, Employers, etc can be a REAL problem given the political climate in the past 20 years and it's getting much worse every year. Going back to watch the Tisas series again. Probably going to be ordering it. LOL!
I've quickly come to appreciate your work. I like a nice technical breakdown of specific things. I've always been a fan of knowing how the sausage is made, and think that often times, that if we know how things work in explicit detail, we can better use those things. I've written for a gun website for a number of years, and really hate most gun media. It's often shills, thinly veiled advertising, or just bunk info. However, it's made me latch onto content made by people who care about what they do, are honest, and are detailed. I've gleamed a ton of value from your videos. For a channel name, that's hard to say. Opossum Pistols? Thanks for uploading, and thanks for giving us a little look behind the curtain here!
I’m the opposite of you. I got a mechanical engineering degree and hated working in an office so I went to being a mechanic, then HVAC tech, then pool tech because like you I like to tinker.
Tuning your sear spring? you probably didnt get it installed correctly. I bet the sear left (all the way to the left if looking at the back of the gun) is under your sear, not on the back of it.
Did you get your spring figured out? I did the same thing trying to tune the trigger on my MAC 9. It was exactly like EA said the left side of the spring was out of place. It's called "hammer follow". Lots of YT videos on the subject, but NONE of them mention the spring being installed incorrectly...
Not sure if you have another way to interact with you (reddit, discord, etc.) But something popped in my head. Do you think packing a firearm suppressor with fiberglass packing similar to a dirtbike silencer would effectively reduce the sound signature of a firearm similar to "wetpack" or the Welrod's wipes?
Honestly, I completely understand wearing a mask. Even if you didn't mind sharing your face/identity, there is always someone that will take advantage of it over the smallest thing they've taken offense to. It's twisted, but definitely not worth sacrificing a career and financial well-being over.
For the most part I wouldn't expect any issues. Most people are resonable. But there sure are some stupid and crazy ones out there that ruin it for the rest of us.
If you are changing the name something along the lines of Engineering Armory. The content is a refreshing change from the usual “watch me shoot”. I hope the balaclava hides your Bruce Wayne identity
Thanks for asking. Nope I gave up brought to gunsmith. And yes he said my sear spring out of place. I don’t see how because I watched 1000 vids. Anyways he fixed and put in a red devil? Trigger. It is a 2 pound pull which is nuts. Picked up a few days ago he was great and a good price. Have not shot yet. Thanks again for asking.
Love what you arw doing. I have learned a tremendous amount of things & often binge watch your videos.
Love hearing stuff like this. It means a lot to me. I am glad you enjoy the videos and find them helpful!
I just watched this video after seeing another excellent one you made about your friend’s Prodigy. Once again, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and your perspective. I’m 1,000% in agreement with your points. Thanks again.
I have literally sat and watched all of your barrel porting videos along with some of the tuning videos(trigger and spring stuff). Seeing as I want to work in the field of customization as a gunsmith and get my feet wet doing this on a mill, I am always looking to learn the why's and how's behind this type of stuff and I can confidently say that I have learned more about the technical aspects of barrel porting and tuning than I have found in most of my time researching. From the way that you explain how you came up with the port size, locations, angle, etc and sharing the measurements/drawings these videos have been extremely informative and I hope that you share all of the projects you have to offer seeing as everything is so "gatekept" regarding firearm customization. This is really good shit man honestly and I'm excited to see your channel grow!🔥🚀
Much appreciated! I dont mind sharing knowledge at all!
Also wanted to add. I love the honest of your work.
Found your channel yesterday and I appreciate the response you gave me. This channel is great. Thanks for sharing all this useful info.
love this channel
I enjoy your content, very concise and thorough. Refreshing to see in the youtube space.
Thank you, we all appreciate your honesty and anonymity, there is no way in hell I would ever show my face on any social media either.
Love the content and seeing someone enjoy their hobby.
I think your content and work quality is 20 times better than most guntubers video quality and editing skills. Trust me, you’re far higher above the curve than you think. I’m glad I found your channel and I love the gun upgrades you do and love and respect you give to your father that helped train you in machining. You’re a real treasure if you ask me. If you’d like more work flow for content making, I can hook you up with a custom 2011 builder that would love to have your machining and porting work.
I really appreciate you saying all that. i know my content wont have wide appeal to a general audience(like larger gun channels). its always nice to hear from the folks that my content does connect with. It really means a lot to me!
I love working on 2011s... thats kind of my current obsession haha. But i think that could quickly get into a business type of arrangement which I want to avoid. I appreciate the thought and offer. Who knows how stuff goes down the road but for now I'm flush with projects.
@@EngineersArmory I really do genuinely appreciate your attention to detail and how you explain your testing, train of thought, and all the steps you take to make it what you want it to be in the end. You’re doing everything that the “everyday” man only dreams he could do. I’m still on the hunt for someone that will take my G10 grips and cast them in aluminum……for the last 14 months lol and still looking. Meanwhile you’re building whatever you dream of. I think it’s amazing and I’m all for it 💯 you definitely got another subscriber and friend that will support you in any way I can 👍🏻👍🏻
@@Bryan-1980 I'm very fortunate to have the experience I do. If i think of a project I can pretty much make it happen.
I bet there are aluminum grips out there that are close to what you're looking for that you could just buy. But I also understand wanting that custome, one-off piece no one else has.
I have sand casted firearms parts before. I made weights for the backstraps of some polymer frame pistols out of bismuth (its almost as dense as lead, non-toxic, and has a very low melting point).
Its not out of the realm of possibility for a person to cast aluminum themselves. You need a ceramic crucible, and casting sand. Both can be bought off amazon for cheap. Below are what I bought for my project:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J1V7ZD3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M16H361/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bismuth melts at around 520F, so i was able to melt it on a camping stove in the crucible. Aluminum melts around 1200F. you would need a propane torch but probably not a forge. Maybe make a little insulated nest for your crucible and just point the flame right at the aluminum inside it.
Make a small box out of wood. Pack the casting sand in, then press your G10 grip in as the mold (texture side down). Melt the aluminum and pour it in. The tricky part would be capturing the detail of the G10 texture. Thats what the finer grit casting sand I linked to is for. The mold would need to be level and the surface of the melted metal would be the back of the grip. They would have to be machined after - make the back flat and drill relief holes for the grip screw bushings.
You could literally melt down pop cans for this. Once melted all the contaminates from the printed on labels would rise to the surface and could be skimmed off. Pop cans are nice thin aluminum that would heat up and melt quickly.
Not necissarily encouraging you to attempt this yourself. But its really not that difficult of a process. Thanks for watching, commening, and contributing to this channel dude!
@@EngineersArmory the grips are from a Mischief Machine X-Macro commander grip module. If it was a standard 1911 then m sure I could find a pair that’s close to what I want and slap em on, but they’re not your average 1911 grip size. I’ve watched countless hours of people casting but still have no faith in myself to try it at home with no help or professional around. I was also told that investment casting would be best because the grip texture would be lost in regular sand casting because it’s too small/fine detail 🤷🏻♂️ I’d gladly send em your way if you ever wanted to give it a shot for me. Just let me know if you’re interested. I’d gladly pay you for your time and knowledge and tools.
@@Bryan-1980 ah I gotcha. Well I dont really have enough faith in my process either haha. Investment casting is probably the best idea to preserve the most detail but that's not something I would want to get into. You have already planted the idea in my head. I'll add it to the list of projects I may try some day. I already have the casting sand, crucible, and torch haha. It would be cool to even make smooth side 1911 grips and polish them to a mirror finish. I also have the ability to anodize aluminum whatever color I want.
First and foremost, congrats on the growth of the channel. I like the work you do on your guns, furthermore the sharing of parts and tools used on them. Keep up the good work
The light reflecting in your glasses in this vid was whacked. I love all the vids I have watched. Some of them made me feel like a caveman with how technical they are. But it made me say “I can do this” and I appreciate that!!
Thats awesome! the way i learned to do all this was by just jumping into it. I have no formal gunsmith training. Its a process and its gotta start somewhere. Of course be careful. But if i can quip you with some information and tools to try a project i think thats pretty cool! Thanks for watching and commenting!
First! Love your channel. Glad I found it.
I appreciate you!
Back at ya buddy!
Yes sear spring. So I get what you are saying. Too frustrated right now tomorrow I will look at that again. Thanks!!!!
Yep. Good idea. Take a break and get back at it later haha.
Thank you for taking the time to share your philosophy, approach, and the broader context. I am glad to hear that you are running an independent channel that’s not influenced by manufacturers or marketers.
I have to confess - as an engineer, I always had a suspicion that you’re from the clan😊.
😂From the clan... You got me!
Have you done a video on the various polymers and plastics modern firearms are manufactured with? Advantages vs disadvantages, weaknesses, strengths, failure of critical parts of firearms manufactured with polymers?
Can gun lube affect modern polymer firearms? You have a fantastic channel! Cheers
I have not done a video on that. I appreciate the kind words and I am glad you are enjoying the channel.
As far as I know most modern firearm polymer frames are made out nylon, polypropylene, polyester, and thermoplastics. The majority are fiber reinforced - generally glass fiber. Some use carbon fiber. Sig has a tungsten infused polymer grip for the P320 to add weight. Of course, all the details of the specific formulations of polymers used by namufacturers are very hush hush. Unless you work for one of these manufacturers you would likely never know the details of exactly what polymer is used.
However, these polymers will all have similar properties in common - they have to if they are to function reliably in the application of a firearm frame.
These attributes include:
strength, striffness, impact resistance, they need to be tough (and I mean the material science version of tough that deals with how much energy a material can absorb before plastically deforming), dimensional stability, resistance to heat and cold (they cant get squishy if you get them too hot), ease of injection molding and forming complex shapes, chemical resistance (they all have excellent resistance to oils and numerous chemicals that a firearm may or may not come into contact with), UV resistance (different formulas have better UV resistance, there are also additives that help). Those are the ones that come to mind.
If you're curious about chemical resistance check out a page like this:
www.calpaclab.com/nylon-chemical-compatibility-chart/?srsltid=AfmBOooz7GwDbFiTFPKX0chD-tMRHxQabtQ4neNyDpgbHIYgnSpyxLAM
All the polymers that are used in firearms have been around for a long time, they have been tested extensively and are appropriate for the application.
I like the cat! (opossum) I also can appreciate your anonymity, Jobs, Bosses, Employers, etc can be a REAL problem given the political climate in the past 20 years and it's getting much worse every year. Going back to watch the Tisas series again. Probably going to be ordering it. LOL!
I've quickly come to appreciate your work. I like a nice technical breakdown of specific things. I've always been a fan of knowing how the sausage is made, and think that often times, that if we know how things work in explicit detail, we can better use those things.
I've written for a gun website for a number of years, and really hate most gun media. It's often shills, thinly veiled advertising, or just bunk info. However, it's made me latch onto content made by people who care about what they do, are honest, and are detailed. I've gleamed a ton of value from your videos.
For a channel name, that's hard to say. Opossum Pistols?
Thanks for uploading, and thanks for giving us a little look behind the curtain here!
Really appreciate the kind words! I like Opossum pistols haha. Thats my buddy Jeph btw.
@@EngineersArmory Some Jeph Easter Eggs in future videos could be a fun idea...
@@Paul_Whaley I agree. Hes a solid dude haha
I’m the opposite of you. I got a mechanical engineering degree and hated working in an office so I went to being a mechanic, then HVAC tech, then pool tech because like you I like to tinker.
Love ur video and content.
What is the creature hanging on the wall?😂
Thats my boy Jeph. Good dude.
Today I busted my TISAS attempting to tune the spring. Hammer won’t stay cocked. Suggestion??
Tuning your sear spring? you probably didnt get it installed correctly. I bet the sear left (all the way to the left if looking at the back of the gun) is under your sear, not on the back of it.
Did you get your spring figured out? I did the same thing trying to tune the trigger on my MAC 9. It was exactly like EA said the left side of the spring was out of place. It's called "hammer follow". Lots of YT videos on the subject, but NONE of them mention the spring being installed incorrectly...
What about the opossum amd the flying green lizard?
Sometimes the homies get cameos in my videos.
Not sure if you have another way to interact with you (reddit, discord, etc.)
But something popped in my head.
Do you think packing a firearm suppressor with fiberglass packing similar to a dirtbike silencer would effectively reduce the sound signature of a firearm similar to "wetpack" or the Welrod's wipes?
Sounds like a cool thing to try. Ive repacked my dirtbike muffler before and it made a difference. Try it out and lemme know how it works haha.
@ - well first I gotta get a suppressor LoL
@devilish_details that might help ahhaha. Wait times are low!
Honestly, I completely understand wearing a mask. Even if you didn't mind sharing your face/identity, there is always someone that will take advantage of it over the smallest thing they've taken offense to. It's twisted, but definitely not worth sacrificing a career and financial well-being over.
For the most part I wouldn't expect any issues. Most people are resonable. But there sure are some stupid and crazy ones out there that ruin it for the rest of us.
If you are changing the name something along the lines of Engineering Armory. The content is a refreshing change from the usual “watch me shoot”. I hope the balaclava hides your Bruce Wayne identity
Engineering armory is a good one! I hope the balaclava keeps my boring, definetely not bruce wayne identity hidden haha.
Do you offer porting as a service?
Nope sorry. Just doing this for fun. Not going to turn it into a business.
Thanks for asking. Nope I gave up brought to gunsmith. And yes he said my sear spring out of place. I don’t see how because I watched 1000 vids. Anyways he fixed and put in a red devil? Trigger. It is a 2 pound pull which is nuts. Picked up a few days ago he was great and a good price. Have not shot yet. Thanks again for asking.