My STEN project...

[tiriaq]

Perhaps the easiest way to get professional looking markings done is to have them professionally applied with a pantograph engraver. Recently saw an example of this type of work on a No. 4.
Of course, the first LB Stens had their markings hand stamped with individual character stamps. Production must have preceded the making of the dies.

 

[Spencer]

Perhaps the easiest way to get professional looking markings done is to have them professionally applied with a pantograph engraver. Recently saw an example of this type of work on a No. 4.
Of course, the first LB Stens had their markings hand stamped with individual character stamps. Production must have preceded the making of the dies.

I think you are right. This cost me $10

 

[tiriaq]

Nice clean work, Spencer.
There are also engravers which use computer generated fonts. With these it is possible to duplicate pretty much the exact size and style of characters. Might even be possible to work from a scanned drawing or photograph. Chap I know has one that will also engrave on curved surfaces.

 

[Spencer]

Another potential isue, I suspect you will loose some of Saskatchewan when you weld it.

Yes I have thought of that one myself I have a nice little mig welder with gas that sometimes does some neat work even when I'm using it, but I will have to be very carefull.

 

[Spencer]

Nice clean work, Spencer.
There are also engravers which use computer generated fonts. With these it is possible to duplicate pretty much the exact size and style of characters. Might even be possible to work from a scanned drawing or photograph. Chap I know has one that will also engrave on curved surfaces.

The machine that did the engraving above could do any kind of font, everything you could think of and a whole load more. It can even engrave pictures. Can only do flat surfaces though.

As I pointed out earlier this one is purely for the powers that be, I wanted there to be no doubt that it was newly made, and that it is made to function only as a semi auto.

 

[NavyShooter]

In other news....my registration certificate was issued on the 14th of July, and should be waiting for me when I get home from sea....

NS

 

[Spencer]

NS,

Did you have any issues fitting your magwell tube over the reciever tube after welding ? The reason I ask is that I remember you saying that you left 1 thou clearance so that it was a nice tight fit. I was a bit careless and took too much off, I had over 5 thou clearance and it was too sloppy, but I reasoned that this would give me a bit of flxibility for adjustment if I had any feeding issues so I carried on. I expected to have to put two or thee spot welds inside the tube so I could file down to get a good fit, but after I had welded the box tube on I found that the tube had contracted and the fit was perfect. This makes me think you might have encountered a problem.

 

[Claven2]

Same here. Welding makes the collar shrink slightly. If I recall, I put mine back in the 4 jaw and took a skim cut so it would fit right again.

 

[NavyShooter]

Mine tightned up a bit, but I was able to zip it out with a half-round file, and smooth it up with a dremel.

My cert has now been married up with the receiver. ;-)

Life is good!

Pics to follow.

NS

 

[Spencer]

Same here. Welding makes the collar shrink slightly. If I recall, I put mine back in the 4 jaw and took a skim cut so it would fit right again.

A four jaw chuck is something I don't have unfortunately. As luck would have it five thou oversize before welding did the job nicely though. If I make any more I will do them the same.

Looking forward to the pics NS.

 

[NavyShooter]

Ok,

No pic of the reg cert yet (got two sick kids on hand....some nasty infection stuff going on....bug bites that got infected and went DEEP inside.)

That said, here's some pics of the Hammer, and the barrel being made.

Here's how the barrel starts.

Oops, realized I forgot to rotate this image....DOH.

Anyhow, on the bottom, you see a Douglas 9mm barrel blank. On the top is the dewatted barrel from the parts kit I had. On the right, you see a reamer, and go/no-go gauges, with many thanks to Tri for his lend of them.

Bear in mind, this is the first barrel I've ever built, or reamed, so bear with me, ok?

Blank chucked up, ready to turn...

Turning the profile:

Barrel spun around to do the chamber end:

And reaming....

More to follow.....

 

[NavyShooter]

And now, thanks to someone who was willing to lend me theirs for a little while, I can show you a comparison between the SAS Bolt, and mine:

The blued finish is the SAS-3 bolt.

My cocking handle is a bit off, but so was my cocking handle slot, so no harm, no foul. I didn't mill the hole for the cocking handle hole until after I'd cut the slot.

In this image, you can see the bolt face. Note that the spacing on my guide-rod holes is not quite right, and that my ejector cut isn't quite deep enough. *shrug* maybe it'll still work?

I was also concerned about having to file off a bit of the rear of the ejector, so I milled in this little "extra" spot you see at the rear of the ejector slot.

Here you see the firing pin area.

Here we are, with them both assembled.

(note, mine did not, at this point, have a firing pin in it.)

And here we are, both sets side-by-each for comparison:

Enjoy....

NS

 

[NavyShooter]

Spencer,

I'm following the rules....so far, my cert says "Frame or receiver only", and I got it late on a Friday afternoon.

ATT? Late on a Friday? Nope, not likely.

Now that it's registered, I can complete it, get it verified by the CFO (maybe this week!) and get an ATT issued to take it to the range to test-fire it.

If that doesn't happen, then I'll deal with it at the end of next month, when I get back from shooting CFSAC. *shrug* I have important shooting to worry about....this project is just the fun stuff!

You have a cert for yours in hand now I presume, which is how you got an ATT for it to take it to the range.....correct??

NS

 

[Spencer]

Yes I have my own range, a quarter section in the middle of nowhere

I forgot about the frame reciever thing.

PS, It's ok NS I have a licence that allows me to modify and test fire firearms.

 

[NavyShooter]

Ok,

Message sent to CFR to change it's status to a completed firearm. Copy of said message in hand.

ATT re-done to include this gun.

Now, just waiting for my car to get fixed and I'll be on my way!!!!!!!!!!!

NS

 

[NavyShooter]

Ok.

It shoots.

It shoots a nice group at 10 meters.

It does not shoot more than one round at a time.

Multiple factors.

1. (Main) Recoil spring is too strong. (I knew this before I went out, but it was confirmed.)

2. Extractor claw isn't quite right. If you recall, I had to make a new one? I have to modify it a bit to get the geometry correct. A few minutes with a file should have it good to go.

3. Ejector. Not quite long enough. I'll tap a bit of weld onto it and build it up a bit.

4. Firing pin strikes were deep. I'll shorten the firing pin a bit.

Other than that, it's functioning! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some fine tuning and then it'll be off to the parkerizing tank!

NS

 

[NavyShooter]

So,

From my original task list, here's where I'm at:

1. Permission from CFO Office GRANTED

2. Collect parts COMPLETE

3. Acquire SAS-3 Sten Kit COMPLETE

4. Fabricate SAS Receiver Tube COMPLETE

5. Fabricate Mag-well COMPLETE

6. Register Firearm with CFO COMPLETE

7. Manufacture Barrel/trunnion COMPLETE

8. Weld trigger group to receiver tube COMPLETE

9. Assemble Firearm COMPLETE

10. Test-fire COMPLETE

11. Adjust as required (See above!)

12. Apply metal finish (Parkerizing equipment ordered)

I'm not sure what my last $$ total was, somewhere around $800-ish I think it was between the parts kit, barrel blank, and some specialized tooling I had to buy.

My time was last at around 100 hours, since which I've put in about another 10-15, and expect I'll have about the same left before it's all done, including parkerizing.

VERY PLEASED with this afternoon!

Oh, and I was sharing the range with some local Police shooting their annual qual's, they were on the next range bay over. Before I started shooting, I checked in with their RO and let him know I was going to start, mentioning that I was going to be shooting a "pistol caliber carbine" that I'd built.

He dropped over a few minutes later (break between relays) when his curiosity got the better of him. He was quite interested, and mentioned that the local PD still has 4 Stens in their museum/lockup that they used to use (many moons ago) as ERT guns!!!!!

NS

 

[Spencer]

Ok.

It shoots.

It shoots a nice group at 10 meters.

It does not shoot more than one round at a time.

Multiple factors.

1. (Main) Recoil spring is too strong. (I knew this before I went out, but it was confirmed.)

2. Extractor claw isn't quite right. If you recall, I had to make a new one? I have to modify it a bit to get the geometry correct. A few minutes with a file should have it good to go.

3. Ejector. Not quite long enough. I'll tap a bit of weld onto it and build it up a bit.

4. Firing pin strikes were deep. I'll shorten the firing pin a bit.

Other than that, it's functioning! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some fine tuning and then it'll be off to the parkerizing tank!

NS

Congratulations NS. I'm sure you will get it tweaked to perfection without too much trouble. I know it feels nice having a gun come to life that you have put together yourself.

It is a good thread this one, lots of interesting info on making guns,I can think of nothing better. I am particularly impressed with the way you machined your own bolt, this is the first time I have come across anyone that has done this from scratch.

That being said I do have to question the wisdom of making guns using the SAS system. I very much hope that this does not become the accepted norm. We have enough restrictive laws as it is without voluntarily importing more from the US.

 

[tiriaq]

In one of these Sten threads, Spencer mentionned getting 4130 Cr-Mo tubing from Aircraft Spruce, rather than using mild steel tube. (w ww.aircraftspruce.ca). Nothing to do with a Sten project, see my thread on sleeving a muzzleloading shotgun barrel in the blackpowder forum, but I found this company to be an excellent one with which to do business.
Thanks, Spencer.

 

[Spencer]

You are welcome tiriaq.

The main reason I get my raw material from them is that they have the right stuff for the job, the customer service is a bonus.