Quick Convertible From Water Cooled To Air Cooled

[Bill Akins]

Although it resembles a Browning when in either its air cooled or truly water cooled configuration, this is actually my own design of my latest water & air cooled Ruger 10/22 stock build. This is my 3rd of three prototypes and represents the best of everything I have learned designing and building 3 prototypes over a four year period. This is semi auto, NOT full auto. It has the option of using a crankfire trigger activator so it can be crankfired like a Gatling gun.

 

This 3rd prototype is quickly convertible from truly water cooled to air cooled in about 30 seconds.

 

Although the final surface finish has not been applied yet, and a few small parts are still to be fabricated, these pics give a good representation of how the convertible to air or water cooled stock will look when I finish it.

 

On my water cooled barrel jacket, I used a front sight of my own design that resembles a Browning 1917's hooded front post sight. On the rear I used a sight mount of my own design that holds and allows spring assisted raising of the WW1 Enfield rifle's ladder sight, that I have modified to enable to be used for windage in my sight mount. Works very well and looks historically representative of tripod machine gun's sights from that era my stock resembles.

 

This is my mockup of how the 1919a4 style front sight will look when in the air cooled configuration.

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/25541/2404750370099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

I decided to also be able to use AA spider sights on the air cooled model also as in these sight mockups I did here where the rear and front sight are not yet attached. Just to see how it would look....

 

http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/2989/2035993240099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

A few days ago, I made the quick removable rear ladder sight bracket. That once removed, will not have any unsightly threaded holes. So that I can mount the spider sights on the air cooled version when I remove the water jacket from the water cooled version. I realized that I could mill off the triangle on the right side of the rear sight bracket and just keep the triangle on the left side (like on a real Browning 1919) and still be able to secure the sight bracket without it having any kind of looseness or "rock" at all. All that is left to do with this sight bracket is to drill and tap the sight riser plate for the ladder sight's spring, and then to drill the sight protector "ears" and install a small diameter bolt through them and the ladder sight so I can effect windage. The 1917 Enfield rifle ladder sight I am using did not have the ability for windage. It was a flip up type only. So I tapped its pin hole where it flipped up, so it is threaded. The small diameter bolt I will put through it will enable me to turn the bolt to make the ladder sight travel left or right on the bolt, thus effecting windage. I left the sight protective "ears" a little higher than I needed until I mount the ladder sight's spring and the sight itself. Then I may be able to trim the “ears” down some maybe an 1/8th inch or so. So when you look at it now, the protective ears may look a little higher than they will eventually be. When I made them, I figured better to have them too high and be able to trim them after I finished mounting the sight and its spring, than to have made them too short. You can always trim metal, but it is hard to add when you have cut off.

 

Here's a link to a short video.

CLIP1314.ASF videos from good times videos on webshots

 

....and the latest pics of the rear sight bracket that does not have the ladder sight or front hooded post sight attached yet, with the water jacket mounted....

 

http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/42119/2805128060099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/20852/2271451050099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/32460/2413672880099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/46143/2119354510099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/18405/2018853200099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/28630/2635795210099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

I did a little redesign on the bracket mount for the tripod. I think it looks better now than just the earlier bent piece of steel mount bracket it was. Much stronger too.

 

http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/47822/2546196110099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/21554/2927143480099763970S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

Just a few sight fabrications to do and final surface finishing. It's not finished yet, but getting very close. In range firings, I found out that a heavy, expensive full size MG tripod just isn't necessary for the minimal recoil of the .22 cartridge. I mounted one of my earlier two prototypes on a camera tripod and it works great on it and I have been shooting it on it every since. The camera tripod is cheap. Available anywhere. Lightweight to carry to the firing line. And has a lot of options of movement including side angle that you just don't get with most MG tripods. I personally really like the movement options and the way I can crank the tripod up to the exact height I need to sit comfortably on a bar stool to shoot at the range. Since all camera tripods use the same standard 1/4x20 tpi threaded bolt to secure the camera, my mount has the same corresponding threads and will fit the gun onto ANY camera tripod.

 

There are some people who do not like the looks of the camera tripod. To have an absolutely authentic looking tripod, the tripod plans from CCS prints should be able to be adapted to work with my dress up stock. CCS prints also makes plans for dress up stocks that use the Ruger 10/22 as the host rifle that makes them look like the 1919, the 1917 and the Ma deuce. But their plans are quite different from my design. Their plans place the well of the magazine over their tripod head so that you can only use a flush 10 rd magazine. The barrels on their plans are situated too high and do not look right in

height in relation to their fake receiver plans. Their water jacket on their 1917 model is fake and does not hold fluid and the muzzle sticks out the top of the front of the water jacket rather than the bottom as it should on a real Browning and as mine does. You cannot use a crankfire trigger activator with their plans. You have to highly modify and mill the Ruger 10/22 receiver and also completely mill away the trigger guard and mill the trigger itself down to a little nub. None of them are convertible from one model to the other. I'm not criticizing their prints/designs, I'm just pointing out the differences between their designs and mine.

 

My design requires no modification to the Ruger 10/22 receiver in any way. It can accommodate any high capacity magazine. It's water jacket is not fake, but truly water cooled. It is quick convertible from water cooled to air cooled versions in seconds. It can use a crankfire trigger activator. It's barrel height is in correct height relation to the faux receiver and exits the bottom front of the water jacket like it should. It is able to be mounted onto any camera tripod and may also work with a surveyor's transit tripod. Or its mount should be easy to modify to mount to full size MG tripods if wanted.

 

 

 

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[timkel]

Very nice work. I salute you!

 

[Bill Akins]

Very nice work. I salute you!

 

 

Thanks very much Timkel (returning salute), glad you liked it.

 

 

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[Bill Akins]

It's been a while since I last posted about my crank fire creations, so here's an update on my latest 3rd prototype that is convertible between being water cooled or air cooled in under a minute and showing it firing at the range. I used to use Webshots to upload my photos and videos to. But when they closed down, all the pictures and videos I had linked to there in my online posts, disappeared. I still have my pics and videos on my computer and saved to disks, but they disappeared in all my online posts since they were all linked to Webshots. Now I use Photobucket as well as YouTube.

Here's a video I just finished creating showing the evolution of my crank fire dress up kit prototypes versions 1 through 3. The first one is air cooled only. The second one is (truly) water cooled only. But my third prototype is convertible in under a minute to be either air cooled or (truly) water cooled (no fake water jackets here). I learned a lot making the first two, and my 3rd prototype incorporates new design changes that I learned from making the earlier ones. In the last several minutes of my video you will see my latest 3rd prototype firing at the range using the new GSG 110 rd drum mag and it's really spitting out the rounds. Hope you enjoy it. Bill

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[dalbert]

Thanks for sharing the video. Great stuff!

 

Obviously, this keeps the 10/22 receiver and barrel in the original configuration. Have you given any thought to a newly designed belt-feed mechanism? I'm sure it would be a huge effort to design it...

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com