Firearms Friday: Miscellaneous Parts

This summarizes the majority of the spare parts that I have... 

When sorting through the boxes, drawers, and safes around my work bench it is amazing how much stuff that I am able to uncover. Not only is it a useful exercise in updating my parts inventory but it is also a means to reorganize all the miscellaneous items that got put aside at one point or another but never properly cataloged. Not get me wrong, anything with a serial number is well documented but anyone that does any gunsmithing or replaces parts knows that there are always pieces that simply get consumed by the workbench.

However, what I find to be the most interesting part of the process if not finding the useful parts and pieces that I can either use right away or store in my bench for later but the parts that I have no idea how I got them. Well, that isn’t completely true. Many of the items revealed during the excavation are from firearms that I used to own. We all have that miscellaneous box or drawer of parts laying around full of items that we thought we would use but never did. Before we knew it, the parts had been swallowed by the work bench and the firearm was sold or traded.

Then there are the parts to firearms that I never owned. These come about because of three very simple reasons: I hope to own that particular make/model in the future; I didn’t read the box, bag, or description closely enough and bought the wrong nonreturnable item; or, it was too good of a deal on a part that I can easily use for trade fodder. I know that I am not alone in having some things fall into one of these three categories.

At this point it is a matter of pulling together all of the different parts and separating them into a system that will work moving forward. Actually, it is more about updating the current system. This basically comes down to parts that I expect to use immediately, backup parts and those that were swapped out, parts that I will use in the future upon acquisition of the correct firearm, and those that will be exclusively used for trade fodder or will be sold. Of course, this is all in the hope that I will be able to maintain this means of organization moving forward and now that my wife and I have settled down that is actually a possibility.

Firearms Friday: The Calm Of Cleaning

As I have written before in the past, I am not a fan of cleaning. It is definitely not a secret. I like having a clean and organized space but I could do without the process by which that is achieved. I know for certain that I am not the only one that feels this way but, like many things, there are always exceptions.

I have found that there are many people like myself that dislike cleaning in general but actually enjoy the act of cleaning when it comes to firearms. You would be amazed, well at least those of you unfamiliar with this set of tools, at how many cleaning products the average gun owner has at their workbench or in their cleaning kit. There seems to be a solution for ever kind of grime, a brush for every surface, and a new product coming out every few months that is supposed to make the process easier.

While I have limited the supplies that I have and use on a regular basis every once in a while I will try something new. While those solvents and cleaning tools are fine for a little while I find myself reverting back to the old way of doing things. It is a time consuming process no matter how you approach it but it is one of those things that lets you just tune things out for a few minutes. No other form of cleaning has the same effect.

Maybe it is the detailed work that is involved in making sure every corner is cleaned. Maybe it is the importance of making sure that everything functions properly. Maybe it is the appreciation for the engineering, design, and overall beauty of the workmanship as the carbon is removed. I actually think it is a little bit of each of those things.

And I know that I am not the only one. I have had this discussion many times over with people I know are not the tidiest human beings but their firearms are impeccable. It is one of the oddities that is within many of us. I guess it is similar to the person that frequently washes and polishes their car but that could care less if the dishes are piled up in the sink. I am sure that there are other examples but that is the one that comes to mind and that seems to most closely parallel.

Of course, I have also seen those people who just don’t clean anything or actually have the opposite situation… they keep everything in their world neat and organized but they never clean their firearm. I have seen many accidents and witnessed beautiful pieces of engineering ruined by this neglect. In the end, there are some cleaning projects that can be put off and there are others that can’t be postponed.

Maybe the enjoyment that many of us have in the process of cleaning will slowly grow and include many other aspects of our daily lives. You never know, it could happen. Until then, I will just focus on the small things and continue looking forward to the end results of others to motivate myself in getting it all done even if it is sporadic at times.