Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

This really piques my curiosity. I've never heard of "hickory syrup." Is this a sweet syrup, like maple? Something you'd put on pancakes and waffles and ice cream... or a savory, to be lathered on meat before going into the smoker? And where does one find this stuff?

Sixty bucks for a mug...??

RIP, Pluto. Alas... no more planet named after Mickey's dog.

Rolling bandages...?

Can anyone idetify this scabbard?

Obviously the fella replaced all the screws. Wondering where he found them all - although the rear tang screw has the wrong size head, they look much nicer than the boogered up originals.

Not quite five years ago I posted a link to a YouTube video - Jimmy DiResta rehabilitating a basket case '73, cambered in .22 Short: Link to Diresta thread This evening I stumbled upon another similar project - this one, a .38 WCF (.38-40), done by the Kinzler bros. Dunno if this has been posted before or not; I'd never seen this video, but found it to be as good as DiResta's. Enjoy!

I thought this was gonna be a tale about "The Swamp!"

I do! I do! Not allowed to eat it anymore, dangit. But I still make it! WITH a good brandy soak.

Engineers seem to have a somewhat odd collective sense of humor. Admittedly, even! Ms Helen Brimstone is – or was – one her ownself, and hangs out with a bunch of ‘em. Anyway, she was inspired by her early days being spent in the company of engineering types: during the war, her dad was a machinist for Douglas Aircraft, and her mom, Alice, was Donald Douglas’s secretary and personal assistant. And Helen grew up around aviation and engineering types; she knew the Douglas family, later worked for another Douglas company, and even Hughes Aercraft. Often, when she’s with her buddies, they speak in a strange language. For instance, Helen jokingly describing a request from the parts room: "Gimme a bolt with sufficient modulus of rupture to counteract the tension and shear developed in the front spar joint when the plane passes through a 30 ft/second gust at an indicated speed of 400 knots. "And I need it NOW!" Yup… when she gets together with her buddies I wander off before I start to feel terminally stupid.

Dropped into Bass Pro last Sunday ~ "Black Friday Weekend" deals abounded! (Me in the reflection ) Ya gotta love a good sale!

A very respectful presentation; moreso as the three gentlemen are Jewish. Well done!

Yup. Thassit.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Germany's most decorated pilot* in WWII, lost a leg during the war. He kept flying. A hard-core Nazi, the man was not a nice guy; but his biography, "Stuka Pilot," is a good read. *Rudel was credited with the destruction of 519 tanks, one battlesip, one cruiser, 70 landing craft and 150 artillery emplacements. He claimed nine aerial victories and the destruction of more than 800 vehicles. He flew 2,530 ground-attack missions exclusively on the Eastern Front, usually flying the Junkers Ju87 "Stuka" dive bomber.

That was my first thought... followed immediately by "Naw; this is Joe. Gotta have somethin' to do with sailing ships!"

I remember reading about him in a Reader's Digest story when I was in high school or junior high. As I recall, they were convinced when they found the remains of his parachute in the plane's wreckage.

I gots a Gras ~ picture is my son holding it. A college buddy gave it to me fifty some years ago. Story was that some relation of his had brought it back as a souvenir from WW I. It passed down until he got it; he had no interest - but I did. Long booger with the bayonet on it!

LOL... I would consider it... but I awreddy gots one - Ruger No. 1. Been pondering it, and one caliber that caught my eye is the 9.3X57. Basically an 8X57 expanded to 9.3mm. 🙂 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/9.3×57mm_Mauser

Seriously pondering taking this on as a project ~ easy enough to remove the nickel, a bit of judicious welding could build up the bridge and replace the bolt-stop ears - an alternative worth exploring would be a Ruger 77 bolt stop. And as far as the weird "ball bearing" goes, I prefer Model 70 style bolt handles anyway. Here's a "Yugo" Mauser I sporterized a bunch of years ago: Bell & Carlson stock, Beuhler safety, mounts and rings, Timney trigger, ancient Weaver K4-w scope. Metal work done by the late John McCrae of Vallejo; barreled action and Beuhler accessories were Parkerized my my old pard Hank. That said, I does likes me a good Mauser ~ having one with "Spandau" stamped on it might be kinda cool! Hm. If I did this... what caliber...?

Well, I have been given an intereting "artifact" - a 1916 Spandau Gewehr 98 action. Actually a basket case, but what the heck - it's interesting. And could be the basis for a long-term project. Anyway, someone has done some really cruel things to the critter. First off, at some point, it was nickel plated. But prior to that, the bridge was ground down, as if to make clearance for a receiver sight perhaps? Then, the bolt stop was removed and the "ears" ground off. But the oddest of all, the bolt handle was cut off and a replaced with the strangest thing I've ever seen: a stub with a captured steel "ball bearing" (last picture). This sphere is evidently secured with a horizontal pin that allows it to spin vertically in it's "cage." Any ideas wotinell this might be about??

Almost absurd and totally cool!