Lacking in valuable information

)

This book is incredibly rudimentary. Important information, e.g. the design requirements for the trigger/sear, are sadly lacking. The most disappointing section for me was the section regarding the barrel. The section begins "The barrel can be turned from a commercial blank or made from a surplus military barrel." Perhaps I was expecting too much when I thought that the book would cover the making of the barrel too. Even so, there is no discussion on crowning angle, or even advice on reaming the chamber and achieving the correct headspace. There is better information available on the 'net - take a look at Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels for instance and what Daniel Lilja has written on the subject. How a rifle works can be considered to be pretty simple - and if this book offers anything then it at least offers moral support that building your own rifle is very possible. If you own a lathe and a milling machine, and have a good idea of what is involved in safe mechanical design, then you can probably design and build a decent rifle from information already available for free. Looking at the "Search Inside" pages of Bill Holmes' "Master Gunmaker's Guide to Building Bolt-Action Rifles " I think that this would be a much better buy.

Fifty Caliber Disaster

Just got the book this morning and let me tell you that it's going back where it came from.From a mechanical engineering designer's line of sight, the hand drawn doodles that the author dares to call drawings are terrible in quality and far from being up to ISO or ANSI standards (ever hear of CAD?). The poor dimensioning and complete lack of tolerances is highly concerning. The bolt and muzzle brake designs are equaled only by his drawing ability. I'm truly surprised it even got published and that the actual gun didn't blow up in his face.Overall review: even if you see it at a garage sale, RUN LIKE NO TOMORROW!!!

Don't try this at home!

As a gunsmith and machinist, I found Mr. Holmes' work rudimentary at best. His "drawings" are just that. They are poorly dimensioned and lack any reference to tolerances. Some of his dimensions are simply incorrect. His bolt design is overly complex as well as being, in my opinion, the weakest part of the rifle in terms of safety. As one who is actually building this rifle, or should I say building/re-designing this rifle, I believe most who attempt this project will quit long before completion. I have over 60 hours of machine time and re-design time in the barrel, barrel nut, barrel extension, taper sleeve and muzzle brake alone. It has required not only the use of a large metal lathe and milling machine, but also rather expensive fixtures such as a dividing head and rotary table. This is not the type project a beginner can complete at home or in the average garage shop.