Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats A new color for Big Stick >>>>

Purple with blue and yellow --- unknown mixture

DUDE!!!! Jerry Garcia LIVES! This be the perfect camo pattern for Deadhead-ing... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bill,
That brings back "Dead Head" phyadelic memories. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

GB

Hmmmm ... its my understanding if you did it "right" there would be no Memories <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Stick won't go for that at all. It won't match his favorite pink purse.

Whoooosh........yikes! what wuzzat??

JimF

I'd like to see the whole rifle.......... Might just look ok.........

Colors are ok but I don't think I would be happy with the carbon cloth showing through the gel coat. I've got a Sako Varmint that the carbon cloth shows through just a touch on the fore end but nothing like that.


That bad boy would be going back if it were mine! That's ridiculous............................



X-VERMINATOR

Speaking of the Grateful Dead, did you hear what the deadhead said when he ran out of drugs? "Hey, dude... this music really sucks!"
John

Ditto what Xverm said. That is plain horseshit to have that much cloth showing through.....especially for $450. I would be embarrassed to send out such an eye sore. Flinch

Actually the photo makes it look much worse than it is. I didn't get a complaint from the customer so the over all look must have been acceptable. Remember, when you take a close up of anything, (a persons face for example) things show up in the photo that you wouldn't ordinarilly see. I'm not saying it's not there, but when you look at the over all finish, I doubt you would be as bothered.

For the record, it's not graphite, it's fiberglass, and as a general rule we try to avoid having any cloth show through, but we rarely succeed 100%. If you'll take a close look at that photo I'll try to explain what happens when you see this type thing.

The areas where the cloth show most are the light blue areas. This color is actually put in the mold first along with the yellow. Once the two secondary colors are put in the mold, the entire mold is coated with a gealcoat made of the primary color. The first two colors should be made just a little thicker so that they stick to mold and don't just wipe off as the base gelcoat is being applied. Remember, this is all done by hand using mixing cups,
craft sticks and ones finger tips. Yes, just like finger painting. Once the base coat is applied, the fiberglass cloth is wet with epoxy resin that has been pigmented to the same color as the base gelcoat. The cloth is then laid in the mold, working all the air from between the cloth and the gelcoat and the layers of cloth. This is done by rubbing the cloth with your finger tips untill most of the air has been eliminated. This takes some pressure. Then the mold is put together and the mold is pressureized from the inside with 45-60 psi. This eliminates any air that remaind as well as any excess resin. It also allows the stock to cure under pressure creating a stronger lamination between layers of cloth.

Unfortunately it is at this point that the trouble occurs and we have no control over it. As the pressure is increased, the cloth is pressed hard against the surface of the mold. The example shown in the photograph, unfortunately the light blue gelcoat was not quite thick enough to keep the pressure from forcing the weave of the cloth to the surface.

We of course didn't know this until the next day when the stock was removed from the mold. By this time we have a large amouint of time and material invested in this particular stock. I suppose we could have thrown it in a heap and started over, but there is no guarantee that tomorrow or the next day or the day after that we were going to produce a stock that was perfect. To be honest, we just couldn't afford to take that approach.

So, we set a minimum accpetable standard for all "swirly's" in terms of how much cloth will be allowed to show through and still pass. There are 5 people who judge this standard on every stock we make, with the final say being in the hands of my General Manager Dick Davis (he's worked for me for almost 20 years, I trust his judgement completely.)

The above stock obviously exceeded this standard. We are not embarrassed by it at all.

If you are the type of individual that requires a stock to be prefect when it comes to the finish, then I suggest you order the stock painted. We can guarantee that the finish will be perfect when we paint them. If not, we can just paint it again. Unfortunately with a molded color, there is no doing the finish over.

It might scare the anamals!

Flinch..............You sound like a union boy whining about the salad bar at break time.

mcmillan,

I would very much like to see that; just for the aesthetic qualities of it. Don't get me wrong, I am seriously a figured walnut stock guy (don't like plastic rifles/stocks), but that process would be worth seeing.

Yeah, say what you will, but art is art, and beauty is beauty; anyone who can make either, in any form, ought to have some attention paid.

While Swirlies certainly can be pretty (to the eyes of some, at least) people need to remember (from HERE):

There's enough cloth showing through on mine I'm sure some would complain. But I won't. If I wanted a work of art, I would have paid much, much more for some fancy walnut. But I didn't. I bought the stock for its utility. That, it provides in spades. As an added bonus, I think it looks pretty cool too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> But not so "perfect" I'll be afraid to use it.

1

mcmillan, that small amount of cloth exposer would not and does not bother me at all. I understand the process and how it works.... it is what it is.

Accraholic, I despise unions and how they are killing America. I bet you like how the paint peels off on your Chevy or Ford truck and how often you like to take it to the shop for "little things" that bother you. I bet you really like how the tires wear funny as well. Those are little things that bother me, kind of like cloth showing through. I like perfection in rifles. Yes, they are tools, but fine works of art to me. I take care of them and like to ogle at them and fondle them frequently. I get the same satisfaction out of fine glass stocks as you do with fine walnut. We just look at things differently.

Kelly, thanks for the informative reply. I guess that is why I always buy your painted stocks. I just can't like the swirlies and cloth showing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Looks fine to me. I don't care about the looks that much because its not interesting if its not accurate. And if its too perfect to take into the woods and get dinged, scratched, etc... whats it really worth then either.

McMillan-- ever get stocks molded that don't pass muster IE discounted ones because of visual yet unimportant "flaws"


Jeff

renewed as you were out of town

An A5 in that coloration with matted black metal,would look fairly sinister.

I could drive it..................