Project Appleseed

Hello, fellow Appleseeders. I wanted to start a new thread, as I've received a number of inquiries regarding the 30 Caliber scoring Gauges I've made, asking if I would be making more. For those of you who have reached out, I should have gotten back to you by now, but if I missed your email, my apologies.

For those of you who don't know, I put out a small batch of Scoring gauges to help with the 30 Caliber rule scoring. These gauges were made of brass and offered a .223 and .308 diameter gauge that would allow you to easily score shots on target according to the 30 caliber rule. The gauges were made with a hole in one end for easily attaching to a lanyard or keychain ring. I've attached two photos to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

So, in response to the inquiries I've decided to spend some more weekends in the machine shop making some more. With the materials I purchased, I'll be able to make approximately 120 scoring gauges. Of those 120, 80 will be Brass and the other 40 will be titanium. I wanted some in Titanium, and I thought it would be cool.

I've also attached an image of the raw materials that I'll be working with.

I've received some feedback from my first batch, and the only real feedback is that they would like the lanyard hole to be a little bigger. So this next batch should accommodate slightly thicker string and paracord. I'm not sure how much bigger I can go, but I should be able to bump it up a little.

I'm not sure how soon these will be ready, as in October I have an event every weekend of the month, and I have a work trip in September, along with another event. I will post updates from time to time here. If you have any questions, either post a reply to the thread or shoot me a PM.

For those of you who have already picked one or more, up, Thank you! For those patiently waiting, thank you as well.

UPDATE: 9/20/22

So I was able to get into the machine shop yesterday. I decided to try a different sequence for the order of operations regarding the process I'll use to make the gauges. After speaking with some machinists I got some advice on faster ways to batch these out. So I'm hoping to cut some time, off as the cost of materials has gone up.

I ended up chopping down all the pieces into rough approximate sizes. The final dimensions will be 1.5", so all the current pieces are at 1.75" to allow for some errors. This left smaller end pieces that are ~1.25" in length. I'm thinking I'll also make gauges out of these, smaller than the normal size gauges, but I'm not going to waste what looks like 2-3 ft of ~1.25" cut-offs.

My wife will be busy all day Sunday, so I was going to sneak back to work and play in the machine shop all day. I'll face off both ends all of the pieces, and do a quick surface finish to round them all up. By end of the day, depending on how long I'm there, I'll planning on having all the lanyard holes in all of the pieces. If it goes fast enough, I'll start to turn down the .308 diameter first.

After that, I have no idea when I'm getting back into the shop. Finished gauges may not be available till early November. I would really like them done no later than mid-November. I need to get into my wood shop and start making Christmas gifts. Why do I always start so late in the year making Christmas gifts??

UPDATE 9/25/2022:

So I was supposed to be driving down to Florida for work this weekend, but with the Hurricane about to hit down there, the plans were scrapped. So I spent today in the machine shop. So all the pieces now have been turned down to the diameter of  ~.308, one end squared off, and a hole drilled. The next steps will be setting the overall length, turning the .223 diameter, and rounding over the ends. I like the way the baby gauges are turning out. A new photo has been added.

Update 10/29/2022:

Well, I finally found some time to get back in the machine shop. I was able to set the overall length and turn the .223 diameter today on all the pieces. It was a long day, Started about 6 am this morning, and just finished now, 4 pm. Wife is not happy. 

I have to get back into the shop one more time, maybe next weekend. I need to do the round-overs on each end. I also need to polish them up a little bit, and smooth out the lanyard whole, tad bit sharp right now. No photos this time, but I'll get the photos next update.

Update 11/13/2022:

Ok, so they are finally done. I've completed the 2nd batch of gauges and they are now ready to ship out. I'm going to update the actual sales post over and "Deals and Steals", but to keep it simple. If you're interested in the gauges just send me a PM with your address and how many of which type you want. I will reply with the cost of shipping to your address. You can pay with Venmo, PayPal, cash, or check.

Titanium will be $15, Brass is $10 just like before.  I had some cut-offs that didn't meet the size for the regular gauges but didn't want to waste the material. So I turned some small, "Island of misfit" gauges. For the titanium ones I'm going to charge $12 each, and the brass will be $8 each. There are not a lot of these, so once they are gone they are gone.

Here are some new photos of the most recent batch.

This gauges are fantastic.  A+ and highly recommended.  Makes scoring crystal clear.

NightPoison - please reserve one in titanium for me

MattNH

I'd be in for a couple titanium ones as well!

Just a quick update. This is moving along fairly slowly. The lathe I use ended up breaking down and needed some repairs. It's now back up and running, but I'll have little time to work on them. I have an Appleseed this weekend, heading to Florida for work, and every weekend in October is filled with events. I'll keep you up to date as things progress.

Nightpoison,

Most of us have day jobs, and I think that a delay for helping at events is pretty legitimate.  Thank you for the work you're doing 

UPDATES: In the OP.

@AF5US,

Thank you! I appreciate that.

I've been able to post an update with some progress, a plan for the next steps, and a target goal for completion. Looks like there might even some baby gauges that will come out of this. haha.

I know I'm old-fashioned, because I'm old,     but I just carry a .308 round in my pocket and keep a few in my AS range bag. Nice looking tools though.

BTW, I don't allow instructors to claim the 30 cal rule when requalifying. As one of my mentors once said, "if you want a 30 cal hole, shoot a 30 cal." 
Ramblin' Wreck

@Ramblin'wreck

Thank you. They aren't for everyone as some have their own go to for scoring, and situations as to when they or if they will use the rule.

Regarding when/if they are used. You should check out this thread.
https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=63631.msg403193#msg403193
Some good discussion there.

I ended up making them as they do make scoring easier, when applying the .30 cal rule, and I like making stuff. Haha

updates in the OP.

I was really looking forward to buying one of these, but . . . well . . .

It turns out that another instructor was kind enough to gift me one from your previous set. 

I was able to use them over the last two days and I have to say, I like it.  It's more convenient than I thought, and the fact that we had a dedicated tool for this did seem to grab shooter attention.

That's awesome. That was nice of your fellow instructor. I'm glad you like it and has been useful.

I am pleased with my brass one,great workmanship.How much will the new titanium ones be?

I'm not sure yet. I'm guessing $15.

Update in OP.

The titanium pieces are KILLING ME. The time to turn the Titanium vs the Brass is significant. I should have timed the difference. I had the slow down the feed rate by more than half, and titanium heats up  A LOT and fast.

Ok, so they are finally done. I've completed the 2nd batch of gauges and they are now ready to ship out. I'm going to update the actual sales post over in"Deals and Steals", but to keep it simple. If you're interested in the gauges just send me a PM with your address and how many of which type you want. I will reply with the cost of shipping to your address. You can pay with Venmo, PayPal, cash, or check.

Titanium will be $15, Brass is $10 just like before.  I had some cut-offs that didn't meet the size for the regular gauges but didn't want to waste the material. So I turned some small, "Island of misfit" gauges. For the titanium ones I'm going to charge $12 each, and the brass will be $8 each. There are not a lot of these, so once they are gone they are gone.

I included some pictures in the OP.